When Glenn Beck urged Christians to run from churches that use the terms "social justice" or "economic justice" on their websites, he stirred up the proverbial hornets' nest among the faithful. So, while I am loath to give his comments still more attention, I will add one more perspective about why I, and other people of faith, need to work for public policies and laws that are just and fair — and balanced:

My family lives in middle class today because of public-policy decisions made 150 years ago. Let me say that in another way: Governmental policies that were enacted around the 1850s determined to a large extent the economic status of my family today.
 
Here's how that happened:

My ancestors came from Germany and Switzerland and settled in the 1850s in a small German community in Texas. However, before they arrived some significant events had taken place in that part of the country.

In the late 1700s trappers and traders from the East began to settle in the Southwest, the first time Latinos and whites lived together as neighbors. In 1821 Mexico won its independence from Spain, and in 1829 abolished slavery. In 1830 Mexico banned further Anglo-American immigration to Texas as well as the importation of slaves.

 
Texas wins independence
In 1837 the "Texians" fought and won independence and became the Lone Star Republic of Texas. Citizenship was granted to all men living in Texas on the day of independence, EXCEPT for Africans, the descendants of Africans, and Indians. In 1845 the new Lone Star Republic became part of the United States as the term "manifest destiny" became the rallying cry for an expansionist sentiment that was sweeping the country.

The U.S.-Mexico War of 1845-48 and the Gadsden Purchase in 1854 resulted in the United States gaining a third of its present landmass — all of the southwestern part of the United States. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848-50) ended the U.S.-Mexico War and resulted in a massive transfer of land from Mexican Americans to Anglo-Americans.

Into this context came the German immigrants. They had not been part of that history. But these new immigrants, some of whom were my ancestors, arrived just in time to benefit from the government laws and treaties. Some of them were given land grants to settle in Meyersville. This was part of the very land that had in essence been twice stolen, first from American Indian tribes and then from Mexican landowners.

My family became farmers, ranchers, grocers, teachers, postmasters in the community — and they were all landowners. They were poor; they struggled. But they were landowners, and that one fact has made all the difference in our economic situation today. You see, in the 1950s oil was discovered on some of our family's land. As landowners, my parents owned the mineral rights and soon began to receive modest royalty payments for that oil and gas. And assisted by German frugality, my parents found they could afford that new Ford more easily and send their two daughters to college without taking out loans.

Continuing effect of government actions
And later when my husband and I wanted to buy a house, the only way we could do so was with a loan from my parents — not the bank. So, in reality, because the continuing effect of those governmental actions of 150 years ago, our family became homeowners, which until just recently, opened the door to other financial opportunity.

But, what about your family? What is the history of the public policies that were enacted 150 years ago that affect how you are living today? If your family is from Minnesota, or anywhere in the upper Midwest, who lived on the land that your family may have become owners of — or on the land where the cities and towns were settled? What were the public policies and the government treaties that either helped or hurt your ancestors?

Now the question for us today is, "What do we do with this historical context?" Feel guilty? Feel angry? Well, if we want to we can, but that is not the point of my history lesson. The point I want to make is two-fold:
 
First is that it is important to understand the long-lasting power of public policy on the lives of individuals and families. And the second point is that those who have benefited from these public policies, often at the expense of other groups, may now have an opportunity to correct, to change, to rectify some of the disparities that have been the obvious result of policies that benefited the Anglo-Americans and hurt other communities.

So, here we are today — with decisions and public policies hanging in the balance, being debated and voted on. They will have repercussions for today and tomorrow and for generations to come.

How to reduce poverty in Minnesota by 27%
When the bipartisan Legislative Commission to End Poverty in Minnesota by 2020 was working on its recommendations, the commission regularly sent policy ideas to the Urban Institute in Washington for running a simulation. This simulation showed what the effects of these policies might be. As they did that, the Urban Institute ran separate policies and then ran a simulation that combined five of those policies. They found that, together, five public policies held the potential for reducing poverty in Minnesota by 27 percent. Those five policies were:

• Increasing the minimum wage

• Guaranteed Child Care Assistance (for families below 300 percent FPG)

• 85% Food Support Participation (from 56 percent to 85 percent)

• Expanded Education (for adults up to 49 years)

• Expanded Earned Income Tax Credit (to include childless workers and working spouses)

Here are five policies that hold the potential to reduce poverty in Minnesota by 27 percent. These are policies that we can cheer for, advocate for, build upon, and affirm. They are policies that give opportunity and access to low-income families, and can help close the gap of wealth disparity, and create a more just society where all have the opportunity to thrive.
 
We did not make the public policies of the past, many of which gave favor to some and pain to others. But we now have the possibility to affect the public policies of today and tomorrow, the policies that will affect people's lives for generations to come. Why would we want to do that? Because we seek to live in a society where social and economic justice prevail — for all of God's precious people.

Nancy Maeker is the director of A Minnesota Without Poverty, a statewide movement to end poverty in Minnesota by 2020, and a partner in the Half in Ten Campaign.