What a load of Crap!
"The best protective factor against poverty as an adult is a good education," said Deb Matthews, Minister of Children and Youth Services, on a visit to Port Hope, on Tuesday, Jan. 27, which was Family Literacy Day.
This a quote from the Provincial person dedicated (by virtue of her position) to eliminate poverty. What a load of crap. Illiteracy is one of the factors of remaining in poverty but to say that it is the best protective factor is an abdication of provincial responsibility. I can see it now - blame the victim because they didn't like school or are handicapped in some learning way, for being poor and the Government can say "Ooops we don't have to help it's your fault -stupid!" In this case if we believe that 40% of adults are functioning illiterates, how come we don't have 40% unemployment?
How many times do the funders have to be told: THE CAUSE OF POVERTY IS NOT ENOUGH MONEY TO SPEND AND NOT ENOUGH GOOD PAYING JOBS .
Even if we agree that illiteracy will keep people from poverty, notwithstanding the number of unemployed graduates, how do we deal with the unemployed and disadvantaged in Northumberland today, not 15 years from now when illiteracy is eradicated?
Quite frankly the people who supported this puff piece in Northumberland should be ashamed that the province hijacked the process and sloughed off its responsibility.
This a quote from the Provincial person dedicated (by virtue of her position) to eliminate poverty. What a load of crap. Illiteracy is one of the factors of remaining in poverty but to say that it is the best protective factor is an abdication of provincial responsibility. I can see it now - blame the victim because they didn't like school or are handicapped in some learning way, for being poor and the Government can say "Ooops we don't have to help it's your fault -stupid!" In this case if we believe that 40% of adults are functioning illiterates, how come we don't have 40% unemployment?
How many times do the funders have to be told: THE CAUSE OF POVERTY IS NOT ENOUGH MONEY TO SPEND AND NOT ENOUGH GOOD PAYING JOBS .
Even if we agree that illiteracy will keep people from poverty, notwithstanding the number of unemployed graduates, how do we deal with the unemployed and disadvantaged in Northumberland today, not 15 years from now when illiteracy is eradicated?
Quite frankly the people who supported this puff piece in Northumberland should be ashamed that the province hijacked the process and sloughed off its responsibility.
2 comments:
"What we need to talk about, what someone needs to talk about, particularly now, is our ever-deepening-ignorance (of politics, offoreign languages, of history, of science, of current affairs, of pretty much everything) and not just out of ignorance but our complacency in the face of it, our growing fondness for it. A generation ago the proof of our foolishness, held up to our faces, might have elicited some redeeming twinge of shame -no longer. Today, across vast swaths of the republic, it amuses and comforts us.We're deeply loyal to it. Ignorance gives us a sense of community; it confers citizenship; our representatives either share it or bow down to it or risk our wrath."
Mark Slouka in February's Harper's. He's writing about the United States, of course. But are things any different here?
The essay is called 'Quibble'. I think it's worth the time to read.
I agree completely with both Mr. Burd and the first poster.
While our local poverty reduction committee has good intentions, most of its members don't have the critical thinking skills needed to figure it out. Being service providers, they believe the solution to poverty is to just find the right service and start providing it. They can't believe it's as simple as providing an adequate income. While some poor people need some services, most of them will find their own solutions if we would just give them enough funds to feed and house themselves decently.
It'a not rocket science, it's just common sense.
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