Remember all those folks that were downsized in the 80’s, when businesses were getting leaner and meaner, in order, we were told, to stay competitive? They learned the hard way that there are far more holes than there is net, and instead of a soft landing many fell with a crash that still resonates. We’re back to hard times now, along with most countries out there, and this time we need to ensure we don’t let people hit rock bottom, that we fix what’s broken and we deploy whatever we can to help.
Advice like be really diligent at work, so that when job cuts come, yours will be safe is foolish. It lets us pretend that those who do lose their jobs did so because they weren’t as productive or efficient. It lets us blame the victim.
And don’t look at your investments too closely, we’re told, just hang in there and magically what’s lost will re-generate in the next round of economic well-being. Or at least you can hope. And oh, by the way, spend, spend, spend, because that’s the only way out of this recession, but how many people, fearful of their job stability, of being able to make mortgage payments, car payments, university fees for their children, are going to take their cash and burn it out on big ticket items like new refrigerators?
People will horde their cash the way people in times of war horde food.
In Ontario, newly minted as a have-not province, we have an incredible opportunity to take this terrible moment and make of it something positive, something lasting, something far more productive than closing our eyes and crossing our fingers that we will be alright, Jack. It requires setting aside some old prejudices and assumptions, it requires an understanding that helping your neighbour helps yourself, but if we can manage that, we can accomplish a great deal.
Recognizing self-interest is as good a motivation, and possibly more lasting, than charitable impulses. And it is in the self-interest of each and every one of us to bring into being a genuine, doable Poverty Reduction Strategy that includes liveable incomes for those on social assistance, good job creation and job re-training, decent affordable housing, and child care, and food security.
There has been a very effective movement, of which I am proud to be a part, called 25 in 5, which calls for a 25% reduction of poverty within 5 years. We’ve engaged with the provincial government and with people in towns and cities right across Ontario, to say, the irradiation of poverty in our lifetime is possible.
That’s something, isn’t it? The notion that poverty is fixable, that what’s required is more concentration on pathways out of poverty and less punishment and flagellation of the poor. Shaming those in economic distress only means shaming you or your neighbours if circumstances beyond your control force you into mean times. Shame substantially adds to the burden of poverty, and its not something you’d wish for you and yours to endure.
In the past few months, 25 in 5 has put on a huge push on the province to fully adopt the strategy it outlines, which includes calling for a strong incentive package that puts money in the pockets of those sure to spend it, on groceries, on diapers, on those day-to-day urgencies that otherwise would go unmet. Local economies would benefit, as this initial outlay primes the pump. Repairs to social housing, the building of new affordable housing would also stimulate the economy, and help those who can work do so.
We still have a long way to go, but we are slowly making progress. Witness the passage of the recent poverty reduction legislation as well as new money in the recent budget for affordable housing, child benefits and enforcement of worker‘s rights.
You can click on 25in5.ca to read more about the Network for Poverty Reduction. And you can sign up and sign on to help bring this into fruition. It beats watching the market tank, or watching for signs of disfavour on your bosses face.
Pat Capponi is one of Canada’s most provocative social activists, a facilitator with Voices From the Street and and best-selling author of Upstairs In the Crazy House and Dispatches from the Poverty Line.
