Poverty In Action

They say that the litmus test of any society is how it treats its weakest members. The release of a report by the National Council on Welfare on August 24, indicates that Canada is not doing a very good job of providing for its weakest members.

According to the report, welfare incomes have fallen steadily since 1994 while inflation and more importantly the cost of housing, has increased. So it's true: the poor are getting poorer. Yet huge surpluses are being recorded by the provinces who administer welfare payments in Canada.

Case in point: Alberta. We learned that the province is expecting a budget surplus of $4.3 billion by the end of the fiscal year. This is better than most countries. Yet the poor get a raw deal on everything, simply because they don't have enough of the one tool that will help them: money.

What is money?

It's a tool that allows the user to purchase commodities and services and to pay for the basic needs of life, such as housing.

If we can't take care of our poorest civilians, then why can we afford armaments to Afghanistan? Why is it easier to arm Customs agents along the border than to help the poor?

Priorities.

Whenever I listen to government leaders discuss their positions on the political issues of the day, I measure their comments based on their priorities. It's remarkable how little we hear the words "support for the poor", and how much we hear about "tax cuts". The elected leaders of our nation don't have much imagination it seems or at least their priorities are skewed differently. And if they come from a rich background or have never been "poor", they fail to include support for our impoverished citizens in their list of priorities.

So, how about a guaranteed annual income? It's an idea that's been discussed for over 40 years in this country, with little to show for it. After all, it's only money.

That's just my opinion. I could be wrong.