The COVID-19 Pandemic struck the world hard and quickly. Once those who rule us realized this pandemic threatened lives and livelihoods, they got serious and fought back, shutting down, having us stay home, and learning how to protect their populations with the use of vaccines and regulations. Massive investments were made by many nations in this fight. Stimulus packages, safeguards and needed equipment were all there to stave off financial disaster while we the unwashed hunkered down to slow the infection spread.
What about the global condition known as poverty? Poverty is said to exist when people lack the means to satisfy their basic needs. Poverty has existed historically like forever, striking down many economically, socially and politically. Poverty is a killer as well. More than 45,000 people in America die each year because they have no access to healthcare, or because the healthcare they receive is substandard due to their inability to pay. There are large portions of entire continents that are impoverished, as too many communities in The America’s as well.
Why does poverty exist in this age? There are many reasons, but ultimately poverty exists because it benefits those that are not impoverished. Like scrooge would say, “if not for poverty, where could we find people to work for lower wages? How can we be competitive and make profits unless there are employee’s willing to simply work for whatever benefit we will pay them”. Miners in Canada make an average wage of $45-60.00 an hour. In South Africa that wage is @$6.90 hour. Those who are unskilled make far less, with sporadic hours offered.
What if you live in a community where employment is non existent? Some would say go find a job elsewhere. But if you are poor, with no bank account or credit at hand, have no vehicle, or gas to fill the tank, how and why would you even try to find a job elsewhere. You are stuck in poverty row. The cycle of poverty has absorbed that person, their family, friends and community into a cyclone of destruction, oppression and fear.
At the present moment many firms are desperate for employee’s, as there is a deficiency of available personnel throughout North America. So a firm who once paid $12.00 hourly is willing to pay $15-18.00 and hour in order to fill their labor needs. Why would such firms not pay their employee’s a living wage to begin with? If they find their situation feasible now, why not a year ago? Could have been feasible 5 years ago. How about offering health insurance, education benefits and a 40-hour work week too? Business does what business needs, not what society believes they should do. To a business, making profit, and getting labor to do what’s needed at a lower wage makes business sense. Not every business has the foresight of a Henry Ford, who paid his employee’s well so they could also become the firms customers and show their community what its like to own a Ford vehicle. Pay your employee’s well, and they will work diligently in return?
Poverty is a weapon that keeps giving Capitalism its powerful hold upon most of the world. As poverty grows internationally business offers the poor an answer to their condition, Jobs and hope for a better future. If business and industry, whether Western or Communist Chinese wanted to truly contribute to a healthy economy and thriving communities, they would value the people they call employee’s by paying them a wage that not only allows them to survive but enables them to thrive. Do Businesses think beyond their profit points and what the shareholders return will be?
When we all should be having a transformative discussion surrounding living wages and valuing workers, we face business associations and their political mouth pieces attacks upon people who choose to stay at home instead of working for poverty wages. Our society marches towards greater social and economic extremes with no real commonality to bring us together. What is the value of a life? Imagine what could be accomplished if all citizens have a chance, just a chance to walk and talk in equality before their piers? Did our governmental systems respond as they did not for the peoples benefit, but for the economic system we embraced long ago?
Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario
