January 6, 2004
Kamloops Daily News



Premier Campbell has a New Year's resolution for B.C.'s 
poorest - - get off welfare and get a job.  It's more than a
suggestion.  In four months, thousands will be cut off
welfare.  The B.C. Liberals refuse to say exactly how many.

The resolution won't apply to Campbell, however.  Oh no, he
prefers welfare, defined as "well-being, happiness, health
and prosperity" by the Canadian Oxford dictionary.

The semantic difference between being on welfare and
possessing welfare may be slight but they are worlds apart.

While the welfare of the rich is improving, welfare for the
poor is under attack.  That wasn't always so.  Welfare was
once a good idea supported by nearly all governments. 
Especially in the past when 80 per cent were poor compared
to today's 20 percent.

Modern welfare began over one hundred years ago as a
response to disease and child poverty.  Welfare first
depended on the philanthropic inclinations the wealthy and
was generally treated as a local and private concern.  The
government run welfare state soon became the sign of a
civilized society.

Welfare was expanded after the first world war when soldiers
returned to jobs held by women.  Many of those women lost
their jobs to men, and lost husbands on the battlefield. The
"mother's allowance" was established to help those single
mothers.

The failure of capitalism during the great depression of the
1930s left all but the wealthy doubting about the supposed
restorative power of the marketplace.  It became abundantly
clear that philanthropic inclinations and a mother's
allowance was not going to be enough to pull most Canadians
out of poverty.

The post-war economic boom of the 1950s and 1960s was a
contrast to the dirty thirties.  Wages improved and the
number of middle-class Canadians increased.  But they never
forgot the depression and poverty was a persistent memory
passed down through generations.

That memory of poverty gave political impetus to our modern
welfare state with its three cornerstones - - Medicare, the
Canada Pension Plan, and the Canada Assistance Plan.

The post-war economic upsurge was followed by a downturn in
the 1970s. North American economies have never really
recovered since. This period is characterized by an aging
population, stagnant wages, growing unemployment, failure of
large corporations, cuts of transfer payments to the
provinces, and growing welfare ranks.

The growth of food banks are reminiscent of soup lines that
my parents saw in the 1930s.  Poverty has thrown Canadians
out on the streets.  The number of street people has also
grown by the closing of institutions like Kamloops'
Tranquille Sanatorium in which many mentally ill patients
were left to fend for themselves.  The generational memory
of the depression is fading.

"The modern conservative conception of the welfare state is
guided by principles of 19th century liberalism, ie, less
government equals more liberty (Canadian Encyclopedia)."

In this view, the reduction of inequality by the welfare
state is seen as the antithesis of pursuit of freedom and
material progress.

This is what the welfare state has come to.  Canada's poor
have been targeted, not only as a drain on taxes but as
lacking the work ethic of the deserving rich class.  The
failure of capitalism to provide a living for all is seldom
mentioned.

The poor make a convenient political target because they
don't have the resources to fight back.  Politicians remind
the middle class that their taxes going to support
able-bodied people on welfare.  B.C.'s working poor don't
need to be reminded that their that their standard of living
has been slipping.

In 1970, low-income Canadians had to work 50 hours a week
just to keep above the poverty line.  "In the 1980s, this
rose to 87 hours, in the 1990s, to 100 hours," says
University of Regina professor John Conway in his article
for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

The politics of class rivalry have worked well for the B.C.
Liberals.  By attacking the poor who are on welfare, Premier
Campbell can avoid questions about the excessive welfare of
the rich.

B.C.'s rich are doing just fine.  Our province has the
wealthiest citizens in Canada.  In 1999 the net wealth of
the richest 10 per cent was $1,278,534. 

Premier Campbell will promote welfare for the rich but not
for the poor.   Until the poor have a voice in government,
they will continue to be a convenient target.

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