By Marie Mulvenna

In strongly worded testimony before the Congressional Joint Economic Committee meeting in Atlanta, Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan termed the consequences of unemployment as "devastating." Appearing before the congressional committee headed by Senator Hubert Humphrey, who was in Atlanta conducting regional hearings on "Unemployment and Economic Policy," the archbishop presented a detailed report on the impact of unemployment and current economic policy, telling congressional delegates that "neither the Congress nor the administration has responded with programs or policies adequate to this crisis."

Archbishop Donnellan said, "We fear our leaders may be substituting forecasts of a discouraging future for effective action to meet our economic and social responsibilities. Commenting on a recent statement of U.S. bishops on the economy, Archbishop Donnellan reported that American bishops "view these (current) levels of unemployment as unacceptable and their social and human costs as intolerable.”

He told congressional representatives at the Atlanta hearing that "financial costs of lost industrial production and uncollected revenues for all levels of government run into billions of dollars, but these do not concern me as much as the impact on families and individuals." He said that efforts to reduce inflation through reliance on high levels of unemployment were "not grounded in justice."

The archbishop said bishops of the country support comprehensive legislation aimed at guaranteeing full employment, saying "we believe now is not the time to reduce our commitment to aid those in genuine need." He told the committee that the formulation of economic policy involves basic moral and social dimensions with enormous human consequences for the nation and its people, adding that "our economic life must reflect these broader values of social justice and human rights."

Explaining the recent statement of the bishops, the archbishop said the statement was unanimously adopted and covered unemployment, inflation and income distribution based on traditional Catholic social teaching on human rights. The statement declared the bishops' support of: an effective national commitment to full employment as the foundation of a just economic policy; sound and creative programs of public service employment and a decent income policy for those who cannot work through reform of the present welfare system. The full text of the bishops' statement, entitled "The Economy: Human Dimensions," was placed in the record of the congressional hearing by the archbishop who said it was a major commitment on the part of the bishops to participate in the national dialogue on economic policy and to work for greater economic justice.

Referring to recent unemployment figures, the archbishop said recent data indicates "we are still suffering serious economic difficulties, both nationally and here in Atlanta." He stated that under current policies, massive levels of unemployment will continue for the rest of this decade. According to the archbishop, the unemployment rate in Atlanta is 12.5% with 9% of the Georgia workforce jobless. He said official figures seriously underestimate the actual level of unemployment because they cannot find full-time work. In reality, the archbishop said, "unemployment approaches 12% and touches one out of three Americans through joblessness within their own family."

He stressed that rates do not adequately reflect the depth of economic problems in the south, telling congressional representatives that "the level of poverty in the south is much higher than in the rest of the nation although the level of unemployment has been relatively low. In 1970, he observed, the south was the home of 45% of the nation's poverty families although the unemployment rate was merely 3.7%, the lowest in the nation. Add to that, he said, the hidden unemployment and persons working for extremely low wages and the sub-employment rate in 1970 was 25.1%, the highest of any region in the country.

National averages do not reflect the inequitable distribution of joblessness, he said, explaining that unemployment is not only a minority problem or a problem of youth. The weakest in economic terms and those subject to discrimination are the hardest hit. Among those, he included mention of minorities, young people, women, the poor and the unskilled.

The archbishop commented on the high unemployment rate of Blacks which, he said, is double that of whites. On youth employment, one out of every five teenagers in the labor force is jobless, he said. He noted that women are more likely to be jobless than men, adding that female unemployment "cannot be treated lightly." He said millions of women "work because they have to," stating that many working families would be unable to make ends meet without the assistance of working wives." He added, "Unemployment would force these women and their children onto welfare rolls."

Other groups seriously hampered by unemployment include Hispanic Americans, blue-collar workers and non-farm laborers.

Archbishop Donnellan presented a strong statement on the social and human impact of these forces, saying that recessional and inflationary trends "have resulted in a lower quality of life for many of our citizens." He said unemployment and economic insecurity undermine confidence, destroy hope, erode self-respect and ambition and increase alienation. Such forces seriously strain family relationships and lead to family disorganization, broken homes and a sometimes devastating impact on children.

He noted crime has increased in the recession period and that joblessness also contributes to rising social and racial tensions. "Present economic distress threatens to wipe out the moderate economic gains achieved for minorities over the last decade." He added this would have "truly disastrous consequences for our society."

Archbishop Donnellan also noted the interrelation of economic troubles and mental illness, quoting professional studies which place economic instability as the single most important indicator of fluctuations in mental hospitals admissions, a relationship which has become more pronounced in the last two decades. He also pointed to the increasing figures for suicide, noting that between 1973 and 1975, the proportion of such deaths and had grown by 18%. "The impact of long-term joblessness on a person's perception of himself and his future cannot fail to influence his actions and relations with family and society," the archbishop stated.

Another issue of great concern, the archbishop said, was housing and the need for a "renewed commitment and new policies to meet the massive housing needs of our people." He said over 33,000 units (16%) of housing in the city of Atlanta was classified as substandard and housing costs have skyrocketed by 20% in the last two years. "Five thousand persons are on waiting lists for public housing in this city," he said, stating that "there is little indication that current housing policy will be able to reverse these trends."

Archbishop Donnellan said American bishops are, in general, supportive of principles and the intent of the Equal Opportunity and Full Employment Act of 1975. "We also call for adequate assistance to the victims of economic distress through improved unemployment compensation, a decent income policy for those who cannot work and other forms of help such as food stamps, health insurance and other sound programs."

The archbishop said the economic interaction of industry, labor and government has implications far beyond the workings of the marketplace. "Behind the jumble of statistics and the rise and fall of economic indicators lie human lives and individual tragedies. These numbers symbolize the struggles of families to survive unemployment, inflation and other forms of economic distress."

"The economy is presently the most critical setting for the achievement of basic human rights and greater social justice. Our economic life must reflect these broader values of social justice and human rights, Archbishop Donnellan said. He concluded his testimony to the congressional committee saying that the economy of the nation must fundamentally serve the needs of its people and the task before all was to harness the strength of America as the strongest and richest nation in the world "to more effectively serve all our people."