There is much being written and discussed about poverty these days. Not surprisingly when the economy tanks the poor suffer even more than the rest of us. While corporations are sitting on record levels of assets, food banks struggle to keep up with an ever increasing demand. Governments seem to have abandoned their role in promoting a greater social good, leaving it to the free market economy to create jobs to look after people. But having a job, even a full-time job is no guarantee of living free from poverty.
The free market, without proper oversight, has resulted in a polarized society: the haves and the have-nots. How did we allow this to happen? Why do we sit idly by and allow it to continue? Do we see the poor as different from the rest of us?
Conservative Senator Hugh Segal is encouraging us to look at poverty in a different light. Maybe poverty is not the outcome of poor health, criminal activity and low educational attainment. There is mounting evidence that poverty is the cause of these social ills and it is costing us dearly.
If we continue to do business as usual our social safety nets will become increasingly unaffordable. Our health care system, courts and jails, and special education programs will not be able to keep up.
Senator Segal urges our governments to consider a basic income floor below which no Canadian would be allowed to fall. A basic income program could be administered very efficiently through the income tax system, similar to the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) for seniors.
You can read more about Senator Segal’s thoughts on a guaranteed annual income on his website.
Or check out TVO’s The Agenda Episode Nov. 15, 2012 Politics and Poverty Reduction.
Teresa McKeeman, President
CFUW Guelph
Thursday 15 November 2012
Wednesday 14 November 2012
Getting Social
I'd like to tell you a little story. Apologies for all the “I”s.
Canadian Cancer Society is a big machine, and has lots of tools in place for communicating with participants and donors. I have been Chair of Communications for the Canadian Cancer Society's Guelph Relay for Life (Guelph Lake Conservation Area, Guelph Ontario June 7, 2013 - 7 pm to 7 am) for the last couple of years.
On a local level, I do my part by publicizing Relay related events in print media using paid ads and free notices in community calendars. I write short announcements and I design print ads. I also use Facebook to promote activities among our subscribers in the hope that they will "share" them, thereby broadening our reach.
Last year I started posting images of print ads on Facebook. One of our highly committed committee members did his bit and "shared" the images, so they now appear on his Facebook timeline. Recently, he attended a Relay For Life Summit in Toronto and met a delegate from Kawartha. They friended each other on Facebook. She saw the PR images I had posted, and asked about them. He emailed me, ccd her, and the end result was that I modified a copy of my original ad, changing the date and contact information, tweaked it to make it better and sent it off to her. It took minutes.
Being the curious person that I am, I Googled her. I discovered she is a cancer survivor, an incredible professional photographer and we have a second mutual acquaintance. We have developed a relationship that I hope will continue as we help one another in our respective Relay roles. This relationship will be sustained via Facebook. I will enjoy seeing her wonderful photography. She may be less impressed with my advocacy shares but will appreciate the work that I do to promote Relay.
The world is small. Sometimes we start with fewer than six degrees of separation and end up with none.
Be brave. It's good to share.
Cheryl Ambrose
Chair, Communications
CFUW Guelph
Canadian Cancer Society is a big machine, and has lots of tools in place for communicating with participants and donors. I have been Chair of Communications for the Canadian Cancer Society's Guelph Relay for Life (Guelph Lake Conservation Area, Guelph Ontario June 7, 2013 - 7 pm to 7 am) for the last couple of years.
On a local level, I do my part by publicizing Relay related events in print media using paid ads and free notices in community calendars. I write short announcements and I design print ads. I also use Facebook to promote activities among our subscribers in the hope that they will "share" them, thereby broadening our reach.
Last year I started posting images of print ads on Facebook. One of our highly committed committee members did his bit and "shared" the images, so they now appear on his Facebook timeline. Recently, he attended a Relay For Life Summit in Toronto and met a delegate from Kawartha. They friended each other on Facebook. She saw the PR images I had posted, and asked about them. He emailed me, ccd her, and the end result was that I modified a copy of my original ad, changing the date and contact information, tweaked it to make it better and sent it off to her. It took minutes.
Being the curious person that I am, I Googled her. I discovered she is a cancer survivor, an incredible professional photographer and we have a second mutual acquaintance. We have developed a relationship that I hope will continue as we help one another in our respective Relay roles. This relationship will be sustained via Facebook. I will enjoy seeing her wonderful photography. She may be less impressed with my advocacy shares but will appreciate the work that I do to promote Relay.
The world is small. Sometimes we start with fewer than six degrees of separation and end up with none.
Be brave. It's good to share.
Cheryl Ambrose
Chair, Communications
CFUW Guelph
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