Basic Christian Morals

I was scrolling mindlessly yesterday morning, on Christmas Day, and came across some outrage around unhoused people being put up in a hotel at taxpayer's expense. The naysayers clearly have never seen Dicken's A Christmas Carol or even Bill Murray's Scrooged. Remember when that line, "Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses??" came back to bite him in the ass?

Matthew 25:35-40

First of all, what the heck are taxes for but to ensure the basic needs of all?? If we decide that each person has to manage on their own without help from anyone, then we're back to law of the jungle, and we don't need much in the way of government or leadership at all or any social organization. If we're back to might makes right, with "might" referring to the power of wealth, then we're no longer in a civilization. For thousands of years we've known that a healthy, well-functioning society requires a way to care for the less fortunate. From the most base analysis, if we don't help others, they'll be more inclined to steal from us. This stance might claim to want social organization for education and hospitals, but it seems like they just want to ensure they have it for their own families, not for everyone in general. The things that they can afford to pay for somehow don't count as basic needs to provide for all. 

Curious.

Basic Income - It's Possible

We almost had it. When CERB was introduced to help people at the start of the pandemic, some people who hadn't been to a dentist in decades finally got their teeth cleaned! People bought themselves boots without holes in them! People really needed money - straight up cash - and many spent it wisely. 

I commented about a year ago,

"The biggest concern with Canada's experiment with giving people money to keep them going is that some people made more than they did from their actual income. That's not a problem with UBI, but a problem with the shocking number of working poor we have in our wealthy country. Some analysts calculate a net cost of about $43-48 billion to eradicate poverty in Canada (Scotti, Hemmadi, Lum), which could be paid for with a 3% increase in sales tax OR crack down on money hidden abroad, OR add another tax bracket of 65% on income over $300,000, OR just add an 8% increase on income tax on income over $20 million /year. One study found that providing money for the poor in a cash lump sum dramatically increased the chance people would move into stable housing and dramatically decreased spending on substances."

FYI: There's a discussion about basic income happening in KW on October 27 at 1:00, and you can join virtually here. I'll be giving a book report to my class at the time, so I hope they record it!

If It Can't Possibly be Both, then Either Give us Masks OR Accommodations

If masks are a choice, then shouldn't being protected from a virus also be a choice?? The freedom to go maskless is butting up against the freedom from getting infected, in the worst way.

AVOIDING INFECTION IN UNIVERSITIES

Earlier this year, I raised some concerns with Covid as we removed mask mandates in my Master's program, randomly, in February. The response was very clear: If you can't make it to class due to health concerns (including trying to avoid catching a debilitating disease), you will have to withdraw from the program. There's no allowance for just listening to lectures after the fact or watching them live online. Although some professors set up their class for that possibility, the expectation is that every student is actually attending in person regardless any potential disability or condition that could cost them their lives for attending.  

And I really don't understand why. 

I love participating, but that can be done very easily with a live feed. Alternatively, a message board can be set up for additional post-class conversation. I did that over ten years ago when Facebook Groups first came out. There's never enough time to take every raised hand in class, so I created a place students could continue to discuss and debate. It also enabled quieter kids to participate. And it was super easy to do!

Is demanding in-person attendance just to ensure we're using the real estate that they've paid for? Because, at this point in our technological advances, I can't think of a single pedagogical reason that university courses must be received in a physical room. They say it's to do with CRPO guidelines, but there's a near-identical program at Yorkville that is entirely online. Unfortunately it's four times the price!! That wasn't the biggest stopper for me, though; it's that they'll only transfer over three of the seven courses I've taken so far, so I'd be pretty much starting over.

When I mention my concerns to friends now, they still insist I should be getting some kind of accommodations (so cute!), despite that not being a reality in any institution as far as I'm aware. If you can't physically come in to learn, then it sucks to be you! I can't wait to take the required course on Intersectionality (if I'm still in the program) and see them explain why those lessons on breaking down barriers don't mean we should be trying to actually dismantle disability barriers here, though.

One prof at York says, 

"Every university classroom that hasn't been updated for hybrid learning is a testament to this anti-social 'you do you' mindset." 

Absolutely.

On Student Absences

I've been thinking about the concern with kids not going to school for reasons beyond the rampant illnesses caused by letting a highly-infectious virus run wild. 

The Fortune article suggests that schools are less welcoming now. "Everyone seemed less tolerant, more angry." They mention a host of reasons for absences including poverty, housing instability, transportation issues, and school staff shortages that mean a rotation of supply teachers. But they don't mention that Long Covid that has led many to be chronically disabled: From this article, a 13-year-old explained, "I don't remember a day without pain." H/t Laura Miers, who points out: 

"We're disabling everyone. It will NEVER improve with no mitigation. Kids and adults are at the same risk for Long Covid."

Meanwhile, the Fortune article blames online learning:

"The effects of online learning linger: School relationships have frayed, and after months at home, many parents and students don't see the point of regular attendance."

We're Back to Rhetoric of Welfare Cheaters

An old one, but the agenda still fits!

According to Queen's Park reporter Jack Hauen, on Monday Premier Ford said:

"What drives me crazy, is people on Ontario Works--probably 3-400,000--that are healthy. . . . It really bothers me that we have healthy people sitting at home collecting your hard-earned dollars. . . . We need to encourage them to contribute back to the province and find gainful employment. I'll support anyone that's having a tough time. I have no problem with that. But eventually you have to go out there and start working and contributing back." 

This is the old, but not yet worn out, trick of pitting people against one another. Don't hate the wealthy premier pretending to be looking out for you while sitting on $22 billion and often absent from parliament; the real enemy is all those fakers on the dole!! 

Don't fall for it - especially now with Long Covid creating more disabilities, more people who struggle just to get to the bathroom and back to bed. The last thing they need is someone hounding them to get back to work! We need more supports than ever before. We need a guaranteed basic income!

This is @lifeofa_fashiongirl after she got Long Covid. The only job she can do right now is, maybe, being a Conservative premier!

@lifeofa_fashiongirl Long Covid Awareness Day #longcovid #longcovidawareness #longcovidrecovery #chronicillnessawareness #chronicillnesswarrior #bittersweetsymphony #nhsuk #fyp #fyphealth ♬ Bittersweet Symphony

ETA: This eye-opening article on the blowback caused by Ford's comment. There are only 393,886 people using Ontario Works, so Ford essentially thinks all of them should be working. A former caseworker describes the incredibly invasive program that monitors every aspect of people's lives once on OW. Lots are single mother fleeing an abusive relationship. OW provides just $733/month; "Nobody has a good life on Ontario Works. Period."