The Liberal PEI government has just announced that it will not proceed with basic income guarantee.
The arrogance. The dismissal of being poor being a serious issue has me flabbergasted. Not so much by the decision itself but by the absolute lack of feeling for what this is doing to Islanders who began to believe there was a glimmer of hope, that at last the P.E.I. and federal governments were going to step up with a bold initiative.
They were at last sincere in truly addressing poverty.
Many Islanders put aside our cynicism when once again the P.E.I. government announced it was going to “reduce poverty.” We did note that there was that word “reduce.”
Surely a red flag.
After all previous P.E.I. governments had put poverty on its “to do” list resulting in many meetings with community groups and with people themselves trying to make ends meet as the old saying goes.
Oh, how government officials like to hear the stories from the poor. Oh, how the media too wanted to interview “real poor people.” And, oh, how hopeful those poor people were and wanted, yes, wanted to believe the government was at last actually going to do something worthwhile.
Once again, the current government told Islanders that it was going to address the poverty issue. It wanted to, yet again, consult with Islanders. What could they do to help us feed and house ourselves and at the very least help us keep our chins above the poverty line?
Once again many of us offered up basic income guarantee as a real effort to do the right thing.
Once again, the government has sallied forth with a series of, yes, more public consultations fast tracked to have a plan in place by this fall. Yes! They would slay the dragon with ---- what?
Tinkering some more with the same old mean spirited social assistance program, a charity model that other countries have abandoned for some form of basic income guarantee. Abandoned because social assistance/welfare does not work.
“Verily the poor shall always be with us”, says the P.E.I. and federal governments, “and we like it this way.”
Edith Perry
Millview
