The Neo-Conservative View of Poverty and Social Assistance Programs

It’s not a big shock when most people hear that third-world countries have an ample amount of citizens below the poverty line, such as Zimbabwe, Haiti, and Nigeria. But many people don’t know the growing economic crisis that is poverty in first world countries. According to a 2008 study, in Canada alone, almost 10% of the entire country’s population is below the poverty line, which is about 3.45 million people (CIA World Factbooks, 2012). So many people struggle to keep a roof over their heads that they go hungry and can only afford one or the other. However, the conservative government believes that the social welfare system is not necessary as it would create a dependency on the government while interfering with the free market (Straka, 2012).

Recently, big cuts to social welfare programs have caused conflicts with individuals who rely on welfare assistance to help pay their bills, such as the severely disabled, people below the poverty line, and people living with a chronic illness. A recent cut to the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) has caused an outcry amongst citizens relying on it, as of January 1^st, 2013, they will not have access to emergency funding to pay for commodities such as rent or utilities (Mihell, 2012). As we are ruled by a majority Conservative government, their goal is to ensure that benefits towards citizens are minimal, while cutting government services to move to private services (Straka, 2012).

We live in a country where there’s more than enough money to go around to help people in poverty, yet we don’t. Why is this? Is it because people who make millions and are extremely successful deserve it, and people who are skin and bones on the street do because they are not smart enough or resourceful enough? Every person has a right to live. If the government is cutting back on funding for these individuals, and we’re too busy with our lavish, expensive cars, phones, iPods and gadgets, then who will help them? We need a strong voice that can be heard throughout the crowd stating that budget cuts for people living in poverty is unacceptable while billionaires are getting tax breaks and bailouts on their companies. That strong voice is the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP).

More cuts have also recently been added to the social assistance programs including the elimination of the Community Start-Up and Maintenance benefit (CSUMB), which is also in relation to ODSP and Ontario Works (OW). It is a $1500 benefit for people with one or more children, and $799 in all other circumstances (Bonnar, 2012). OCAP is the voice in society which is dictating the rights and wrongs of the government and standing up for the people stricken with poverty. By holding a walk in Toronto, they helped raise the awareness of how vital the benefit is for these individuals, and created an application form to apply for CSUMB (Bonnar, 2012). Although their work is noble, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) created a new program called The Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative (CHPI), which is a $246 million initiative that replaces five provincial homelessness funding programs while spreading it out on a wider basis to a wider number of people. This is equal to 50% of the current expenditure under CSUMB (Bonnar, 2012).

For people to not have access to basic necessities such as food, clean water, and some form of shelter in a “first world” country is absolutely ludicrous. In Canada, we have a right to free speech, a right to gather and protest peacefully, but not a right to live without worrying where the next meal is going to come from? Politics play an enormous role in seeing what gets funded and what gets cut because money is the main source of influence. A Hamilton woman stated. “”I’m willing to freeze my salary…because I don’t want to see people without access to these basic programs,” she said. “I have discretionary benefits and so do middle class people. That’s what this is about”” (Craggs, 2012). In my opinion, more people need to have this attitude, especially the wealthy as they control the economy and have politicians wrapped around their little fingers. For me, it’s just unfathomable to comprehend that humans aren’t willing to help out other humans for the benefit of man. Life isn’t a race, and it’s not a competition. Yet wealthy people see it as this, and their view of the world is obscured by their lust for money. If more of the prosperous individuals in society were like Bill Gates, who is asking to get taxed more (BBC, 2012) and donated over $28 billion to save lives in third world countries (Yarow, 2012) the world would be way better off than it is now. 

 By: Spencer Edgar

References:


BBC. (2012). Bill Gates: I don't pay enough tax [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16714480

Bonnar, J. (2012). Anti-poverty activists demand Ontario government save Community Start-Up Benefit. Retrieved from http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/johnbon/2012/10/anti-poverty-activists-demand-ontario-government-save-community-start

Craggs, S. (2012). Hamilton councillors defer low income benefits decision. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/hamilton/news/story/2012/11/01/hamilton-discretionary-benefits.html

Mihell, B. (2012). Program that supports Ontario Works and ODSP clients, faces big cut. Retrieved from http://www.saultthisweek.com/2012/10/17/program-that-supports-ontario-works-and-odsp-clients-faces-big-cut

"Population below poverty line by country", CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011. Retrieved from http://www.NationMaster.com/graph/eco_pop_bel_pov_lin-economy-population-below-poverty-line

Straka, S. (2012). Social Welfare Theory [PowerPoint Slides]. Retrieved from http://www.courses.algomau.ca

Yarow, J. (2012). Bill Gates Has Given Away $28 Billion Since 2007, Saving 6 Million Lives. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-infographic-2012-1