Caring is a radical act
posted Nov. 22 - 4:58 pm by Laura C
Brenda Spotton Visano spoke of the ethos of the individual in our society and offered a solution and a way forward through challenging this ethos and embracing community and collective action. She argued that creating policies that acknowledge collective responsibility to all members of society and utilize communal solutions make the most sense. This is in line with Marjorie Griffin Cohen’s calls for government investment in social programs, which she argues is not only socially, but also fiscally prudent.
Both messages were striking in the context of Alberta. The drive to eliminate and avoid deficit in this province has been obsessive and the consequences have been devastating. The province has not recovered from the cuts of the ‘90s and now faces new cuts as the Stelmach government continues to see taxes and deficit as something to aggressively fight, even in the face of a recession. With Iris Evans describing public health care as "a bottomless pit" we are pouring money in to, demanding that we care for each other is a radical act.
I agree there is a need for more government investment in social programs, but wonder what this will and should look like. Right now in Alberta the non-profit sector has taken over much of the service delivery once offered by the province. Is this the right way to provide these services? We heard throughout the conference that governments have become neoliberal in the way they operate, and I wonder how this has affected their ability to deliver programs. If governments are following business models, should they be in the business of service delivery? This raises the question of what governments are for. Are they for providing services or funding? If communities know best what they need, does it make most sense to distribute funds to community organizations to deliver programs?
This has its own problems. Is the non-profit sector a way for governments to outsource their responsibility, similar to the outsourcing Ursula Huws talked about? If one looks at the compensation of workers, it would seem so. The jobs provided by the non-profit sector are not as good as the jobs in the public sector. They simply cannot offer similar wages, benefits, or pensions. But why is this the case? If the solution is to have community members solve these problems, why can’t we support them in doing so? There is also the question of whether the non-profit model is a democratic way of serving the community. Services are provided based on an organization’s ability to raise funds and the barriers involved means main small organizations cannot afford to fundraise. I work in the non-profit sector and while I truly believe in the amazing work being done, I know that so much more could be done if there was more support and more still could be done if the services were provided through the public sector.
I believe that the role of government is to provide services for the people. Governments should decentralize power by trusting the people they hire and allowing decisions be made at the local level. They should learn from the non-profit model, rather than the business model. In doing so, they would create more stable jobs and provide their citizens with more stable services and time and effort organizations currently spend fundraising could be spent delivering services, empowering communities, and improving people’s lives. This will only happen if we care enough to demand it.
