Debt seems to be a topic-du-jour around here lately. Not only personal debt, mortgages and student loans, but also national debts ceilings and 'bailouts.' We watched "Inside Job" again, which you really need to see. It does a great job explaining how Wall Street bankers made a system 'too big to fail,' pushed it off a cliff, and then collected a huge payout from taxpayers. But I digress.
On the topic of debt, this afternoon on facebook, my friend Dru shared an interview with British activist David Graber entitled "Debt, Slavery and Our Idea of Freedom." In the article, Graeber talks about how we now use the same langugage to talk about debt and morality - for example, that we have a moral duty to be financially responsible and pay our bills, and if we don't, it's because we're 'bad' people. Now, I'm not calling you bad but if you've ever had a phone call from a collection agency, you know what I'm talking about.
Graeber also talks about how very wealthy people often write off each other's debts, and very poor people often give each other 'loans' that are actually gifts, but when the transaction is between a rich person and a poor person, then it becomes a question of 'moral obligations' for the repayment to be made. He also points out that "Sanskrit, Hebrew and Aramaic all use the same words for ‘debt’ as for ‘sin,’" which was interesting, but maybe not too surprising.
Knowing you are highly in debt - or "highly in sin" as Graeber might say, is mentally exhausting. It has a tremendous impact on your day-to-day life and stress levels. Many people are struggling to juggle bills and make ends meet, and when another person posted a link about how school breakfast/nutrition programs are not fixing the problems with child hunger and food insecurity in Canada, I was very disheartened.
The author says that movements towards local and organic have overwhelmed the discussion of policy changes needed to eliminate food insecurity in Canada - that we should also be focused on "housing, employment, childcare, and the protection of staples." She echoes what I have read elsewhere - that gainful employment is increasingly hard to find. Apparently many people who are food insecure are not welfare recipients, they are working poor. In her words:
There are some very important issues emerging now with our working poor, such as the precariousness of employment, the notion of employment protection and eligibility for employment insurance. This means the vast majority of those who are food insecure in Canada are those whose income is almost exclusively from earnings and salary, and not from income support.
It concerns me that we have a system that pays corrupt and morally bankrupt bankers, but working people cannot earn enough to keep an warm apartment and food in the fridge. These are not people laying around watching reality television all day, they are people serving coffee at drive-through windows and caring for the elderly. I couldn't help but think of those famous words from the King James version of the Lord's Prayer.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
As much as I love to trash facebook sometimes, the links people post really do make me think. Frank McKenna famously stated that in his opinion "the best social program is a job" but you've really gotta reconsider when that won't pay the rent and put food on the table. Methinks this song is due for a revival.
2 comments:
The working poor indeed. As a family of 5 living off one income I can identify with those struggles. Over the years I have tought myself to change a perspective. From a modern keep up type of mentality to one where hand me downs, hard boiled eggs in lunch bags, and "no we are not waisting $ on yogi bear park again this year" has become a humble reality. I have found ways to stock the freezer and root cellar with perserves instead of looking for sales in the supermarket, I have substituted lunch bag novelites with holesome home made sweets and carrot sticks. I have learned to be content sewing cloth diapers as supposed to buy into the huggie fad. Seems tho that even with all the domestic talent in the world, there still is no give. Power bills , visa payments, mortgages, insurances are pressin in on the walls of our home. Next to go is commercialized tv, internet, cell phones: the "luxury" bills. Even though a life with out cosmetics and fad ware won't bring me tears, it's a new reality for many...many who wouldn't even know how to pick wild berries growing in their back yard. Or even recognize that they are edible unless in the market and over priced. I'm lucky that I grew up in a culture where I was taught about farming and self sustainability to some degree...I am still learning a lot! , but there are so many who are dependent on the system of things that they assume there is no other way, and have no support. Community gardens are needed...programs to teach women to perserve, cook, and forrage...and stop spending money on clothes and expensive perfumes...but, that's a huge change for MANY people to make.
I know what you mean Julie, I grew up this way too, being the last to pay school fees, not doing family vacations, not buying new clothes until it was absolutely necessary.
In the CBC article the lady pointed out that as young as 6 years old, kids know the difference between 'rich kids' and 'poor kids.'
But just because we were lower on the income bracket did not mean we missed out on the good stuff in life - real food, picked or grown fresh (as you are doing so well for your boys), swimming outside in a non-chlorine environment, family time, riding bikes, and entertaining ourselves via music and our imaginations.
I find it really sad that our society tells people not to be lazy and go to work, but that the 'minimum wage' is not enough to raise a family on. The fact that we have child poverty and hunger in a country like Canada, where people are so wasteful, is a disgrace.
I agree with you about the community gardens but I also think there could be better policies related to affordable housing (ie. housing where the winter power bill doesn't keep you from eating) and the price of staple foods, such as milk, eggs, flour etc.
We seem to have come to a point where it's normal to talk about overconsumption but we don't want to admit that there are still people who are constantly on the edge of not eating.
This is not the society I want to live in, and I'm glad the people who are starting the learning farm are trying to address these problems in a practical way.
Thanks for your comment and keep doing your best. You are going to have some tough, healthy and independent boys and you should be proud of your capacity to lead by example!
Post a Comment