Homeless

Let’s extend the Season into the New Year

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I sat listening as the reality of the “Season” was explained to a newbie. “There will be all kinds of meals, food and useful items given to the hungry, homeless and poor for the next few weeks, but the end of the month marks the beginning of the empty winter months of January and February when there is nothing”. The newbie, like so many others, had never thought about how bleak January and February are, particularly in contrast to the plenty of the “Season”.

I call the phenomena the Christmas Switch, switched on for the few weeks leading up to Christmas and switched off on “Naked Greed Day” (aka Boxing Day). It happens every year like clockwork.

So what do I want? World peace, an end to homelessness and poverty, affordable housing, win 6-49 …

On a more practical note I do have a want for those who feel called to do something during this season. Remember that hunger, homelessness and poverty exist year round, especially those dark months of the post “Season” blues. Get together with friends, colleagues or members of your congregation and begin planning and preparations to share the spirit of the “Season” outside the season in January or February when it is badly needed.

A food drive for the Food Bank, to restock their shelves and remind people that hunger is still there in January and February, that hunger is a year round reality for far to many of our fellow citizens. An out of season turkey dinner for the hungry and homeless. Warm clothing, blankets, mitts, gloves, goodie packs are still badly needed in January and February.

It is even more needed, more appreciated in those bleak months. Consider the fact that the homeless have to carry their possessions with them. How much could you carry around with you – all the time. Piles and piles of goods given during the short “Season” just go to waste, left behind abandoned, to heavy to carry.

I know that doing something in January or February is not as easy as in December. I also know that William Arthur Ward was correct in telling people “… to focus your energies on answers — not excuses”.

MCC East, with a little ingenuity, opened the loading bay doors to serve soup and sandwiches to the hungry and homeless on a freezing cold Saturday evening. The people from the Hillside Church braved treacherous streets and made it through the snow to serve their monthly lunch on this first Sunday of December, hot chili, pasta and coffee.

Thoughtfulness, ingenuity and effort. With those ingredients we can make this January and February less bleak and spread some of the spirit of the Season into the gloomy days of January and February. Just a thought seed for those who find themselves wondering “what can I do to make a difference this Season/year?”

Next year we will start to work on March through November.

Consider, Homeless

Government/Big Business Conspiracy?

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I want to be a little careful here because I was speaking with some classmates the other day, in a mental health context, about people who see government conspiracies everywhere and about at what point they become delusional. Still …

In a later conversation, on the webcast the Fred Factor, I touched on the point that the current welfare system tends to beat you up, beat you down and abuse you.

The system strips you of your dignity, self-confidence and self-esteem. It hammers you into a little box, makes you dependent on the system and places multiple barriers to you getting off of welfare.

Having beaten you down it inundates you with all these messages about how much better your life would be with a minimum wage job. Despite the fact that in Abbotsford the minimum wage is not a living wage. That is to say – you cannot live and pay your bills working a 40 hour work week at or within a few dollars of minimum wage. Do the math and you will find that you need to earn $13.00+ an hour to afford housing and food in Abbotsford.

Consider the screams, moaning and carrying on that business does at the mere suggestion of raising the minimum wage even $0.50. $13.00+ is apoplexy range.

Many businesses, many big businesses, are built on low (slave) wage rates set by the current minimum wage rate as well as their ability to use and abuse employees by labelling them “part time”. Business needs a supply of people willing to accept this abuse and wages that do not pay the bills or enable employees to make ends meet – in order to make their huge profits.

Where is business to find such a desperate labour pool of compliant worker bees?

Enter big government with their “Income Assistance” system who also, conveniently, just happen to set the minimum wage rate.

They have a system, the welfare system, which takes people in need and transforms them. It strips them of dignity, of their confidence, abuses them, habituates them to jumping through hoops, renders them totally dependent on the system and then bombards them with advertising that extols the virtues/advantages of even a minimum wage job to escape the clutches of the fiends at Income Assistance.

Voilá! You have the labour pool so needed to run business and fuel the continuing transfer of wealth from those people who actually do the work and build the wealth to the wealthy business/ruling classes.

One would almost think that the Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance was a branch of business, not of the “people” government. Or one could see a conspiracy among the ruling politicians (and their bureaucrats) and the wealthy/business rulers (and their bureaucrats) to provide the needed cannon fodder fir business to thrive, earn undeserved, excessive profits and continue the transfer of wealth to the wealthy and ruling classes.

But that would be delusional – or would it? Keep in mind that you are only paranoid if they aren’t out to get you – and there is no conspiracy. But you might want to be careful – Mental Health is under the control of the politicians and their bureaucrats.

Just a little something to ponder.

Municipal

Plan A one year latter:

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Mr. Beck’s return to OZ.

In the Abbotsford News of November 22/07 revisiting of Plan A one year later, City Councillor Beck is at least consistent on one matter: he obviously still inhabits the utopian dream world originally conjured up for Plan A.

What else but living in a dream world would explain Mr. Beck claiming “The worst case in Abbotsford is that the building will be self-sufficient.” Facing over $3 million per year in interest payments, hundreds of thousands of dollars for maintenance and operating costs, Mr. Beck’s “worse case” is $0? It would seem that any prudent businessman or citizen with common sense would rationally see and be concerned about taxpayers easily being out of pocket a figure with up to six zeros behind it.

Living in a world of pipe dreams would also explain how Mr. Beck “highlighted Elton John, Billie Joel …” when speaking of other entertainment possibilities for the facility. I do not feel it appropriate to comment on a hockey tenant that at this time continues to be an insubstantial figment of the council’s imagination.

In reference to capital projects in Langley and Chilliwack, it should be noted that in cities other than Abbotsford, capital projects are part of a capital planning process and there is opportunity and time for the public to express concerns and get answers. Abbotsford is the city where major capital projects are hastily thrown together into one big lump and rushed through with out due diligence, care or public consultation.

Council and its members had a right to express a position on Plan A and to promote their position. It did not have a right to abuse the power and position of the city and council to deny access and expression of their point of view to those who opposed Plan A. It did not have a right to recklessly spend city a large amount of funds to win the referendum. Most of all it did not have a right to lie to the citizens of Abbotsford about the amount being spent to promote Plan A.

It is a matter of public record that Mr. Beck and council insisted that they only were spending $40,000 on promoting Plan A. It was only through the filing of a Freedom of Information request that the actual spending of $140,000, 250% more than claimed and attested to by Mr. Beck and fellow councillors, was revealed to the public as the actual costs.

The old scare tactic of Mr. Beck’s “an extra $6.5 million to build the facility” is, given the way the economy is going, looking less and less likely a realistic scenario and that in reality there will savings and bargains available to prudent project developers and builders as the peak building boom passes and construction companies search for work.

The real point is that in light of the increased cost we know of, approximately $23 million revealed so far, $6.5 million looks like a real steal of a deal. Because, despite Mr. Beck’s glib assurances otherwise, we have no solid or real idea of what the final bill for this botched mess will be.

One can only hope that the final cost of Plan A does not include paying the costs of boondoggles such as the trip for Mr. Beck and the approximately 50 businessmen going to the Everett Events Center. Whether those costs are paid directly by the City or an attempt is made to hide the costs in Global Spectrum by ignoring the fact the City is already paying Global Spectrum.

If those going to Everett are not paying their way, then we taxpayers are and those costs are part of the cost of Plan A. At least in the real world; in the utopian dream world conjured up by council for Plan A …??