Creating a world of enough

Sign GBLI petition here

Like so many people, I live with my feet in two worlds. My main involvements right now are coordinating lunches for homeless folks with no disposable income, and being an usher at the Francis Winspear Centre for Music, which caters to people who have enough disposable income to attend concerts. 

Driving downtown for my shift last night, I saw patrons of the arts in glittering clothing, and Brian, who came to our last service at ICPM wearing filthy socks in place of shoes on (we did manage to find him a pair of second-hand boots).

All of the above tells me that our world is far from what God wants for us, and what true justice dictates. Every human being deserves a world of enough, but too many people fall through the cracks because of illness, misfortune, trauma, and other situations that leave them destitute.

But it doesn't have to be that way. People have been talking about concepts like Universal Basic Income or Guaranteed Living Wage for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. The problem is that they've been argued concepts instead of realities. Theorists never manage to get us to put our monies where they need to be! 

The idea is that if everyone has enough to cover their basic needs, all people benefit because no one has to pay for those who fall through the cracks out of neglect -- since there is very little neglect. Simply put, most people living below the poverty line will prefer to look after themselves and contribute to a functioning society if they can, rather than live on its lower rungs in an over-regulated welfare situation where they can never get ahead.

I've been looking for a good video presentation on the benefits of Guaranteed Basic Liveable Income (or GBLI, as it seems to be called in Canada) and haven't found much. Most of the presentations suggest that it's too risky or the projected results of a trial run are too uncertain to merit even an attempt. I'm wondering if those videos are made by rich folks who want to keep poor people poor instead of sharing their wealth.

The thing is, our present income assistance programs have so many tricky disqualifications built into them that some of my own family members will never get ahead. Instead of being a hand up, current social assistance programs hold people back through challenging limitations on how the money is allocated and used, while a GBLI means that people are free to make their own choices, no one is disqualified for having enough, and healthcare and education are available to everyone on a more equitable basis.

The only problem I can see with the idea of a Guaranteed Basic Liveable Income is that it hasn't been given a fair try in North America. That's why this post is about creating a world of enough, making sure that no one has to struggle for their basic needs. No one should ever have to choose between rent and groceries, or medicine and electricity!

If you agree, and you live in Canada, click here for the link to a petition you can sign to encourage the Canadian Government to get to work on implementing a GBLI for all. And if you live elsewhere, I hope you can look into the possibilities for your own part of the world.

Everyone deserves enough, wouldn't you say?