ÿþ<htmlÿþ>ÿþ ÿþ<headÿþ>ÿþ<script type="text/javascript" src="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/js/bundle-playback.js?v=2N_sDSC0" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/js/wombat.js?v=txqj7nKC" charset="utf-8"></script>ÿþ ÿþ<script>window.RufflePlayer=window.RufflePlayer||{};window.RufflePlayer.config={"autoplay":"on","unmuteOverlay":"hidden","showSwfDownload":true};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="ÿþhttps://web-static.archive.org/_static/ÿþjs/ruffle/ruffle.js"></script> ÿþ<script type="text/javascript"> ÿþ __wm.init(ÿþ"https://web.archive.org/web"ÿþ); __wm.wombat(ÿþ"http://www.newsocialist.org/old_mag/magazine/01/article07.html"ÿþ,ÿþ"20100626200155"ÿþ,ÿþ"https://web.archive.org/"ÿþ,ÿþ"web"ÿþ,ÿþ"https://web-static.archive.org/_static/"ÿþ, "ÿþ1277582515ÿþ"); </script> ÿþ<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/css/banner-styles.css?v=1utQkbB3" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://web-static.archive.org/_static/css/iconochive.css?v=3PDvdIFv" />ÿþ ÿþ<!-- End Wayback Rewrite JS Include --> ÿþ ÿþ<titleÿþ>ÿþNew Socialist Magazine, Resist the War on the Poor - Articleÿþ</title>ÿþ ÿþ<metaÿþ ÿþname="description"ÿþ ÿþcontent="New Socialist Group socialism communism socialists communists "ÿþ>ÿþ ÿþ<metaÿþ ÿþname="keywords"ÿþ ÿþcontent="socialism, communism, socialists, communists, marx, marxists, marxism, Marx, Marxists, Marxism, Canada, politics, anarchism, Trotsky, trotskyism, NDP, radical, revolution, revolutionary, Lenin, leninism, leninist, Luxemburg, working class, 1917, syndicalism, radicalism, union, labour, anarchy"ÿþ>ÿþ ÿþ</head>ÿþ ÿþ<bodyÿþ ÿþtopmargin="20"ÿþ ÿþleftmargin="20"ÿþ ÿþmarginheight="20"ÿþ ÿþmarginwidth="20"ÿþ ÿþbgcolor="#FFFFFF"ÿþ>ÿþ ÿþ<fontÿþ ÿþface="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"ÿþ ÿþsize="5"ÿþ ÿþcolor="#000000"ÿþ>ÿþ ÿþ<centerÿþ>ÿþ ÿþ<bÿþ>ÿþResist the War on the Poor ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ</b>ÿþ</font>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ ÿþ<fontÿþ ÿþface="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"ÿþ ÿþsize="2"ÿþ ÿþcolor="#000000"ÿþ>ÿþ by Alan Searsÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ ÿþ<iÿþ>ÿþNew Socialist Magazine, January 1996ÿþ</i>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ ÿþ</center>ÿþ ÿþ<bÿþ>ÿþ... and the rich get richerÿþ</b>ÿþ ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ It seems some people aren't hurting as much as the rest of us. Take the heads of Canada's big six chartered banks. They've had a pretty good year, what with raking in profits to the tune of $5.18 billion. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ And their chief officers, having seen all of us pay a fortune in interest on loans and credit card balances, are enjoying nice pay packets. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ Richard Thomson, chairman of the Toronto-Dominion bank, is said to be taking home $3.1 million for 1995. Over at the Bank of Montreal, Matthew Barrett pulled in $2.5 million, just edging out John Cleghorn at the Royal Bank who walked off with $2.28 million. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ Then there are those sad sacks -- Peter Godsoe at the Bank of Nova Scotia and Al Flood at the Bank of Commerce -- who failed to crack the $2 million barrier. Mr. Godsoe picked up $1.97 million, poor Mr. Flood a paltry $1.9 million. Maybe next year boys. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ ÿþ<bÿþ>ÿþOn the healthcare front ... ÿþ</b>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ The Ontario Tories were quite explicit about much of their agenda when they ran for election in the spring of 1995. They lied, however, about health care. This was one area where they promised not to cut. Yet within six months of their election they have introduced user fees and substantial cutbacks. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ The November 29 mini-budget introduced cuts of 18 percent over the next three years in the hospital system. David Martin, the acting President of the Ontario Hospitals Association estimated that this would mean the closing of about 30 hospitals across the province. Further, they are centralizing the power to decide about hospital closures at the provincial level, taking it away from local bodies (District Health Councils). ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ User pay and privatization will then shape what is left of the health care system. This round saw user fees introduced into the Ontario Drugs Benefit Plan, which serves people on social assistance, senior citizens and people with particularly heavy medication requirements. Senior citizens who make over $16,000 a year will now be hit with a $100 annual deductible, a dispensing fee of up to $6.11 for each prescription and a user fee of $2 every time they charge a medication to the plan. The 380,000 seniors making less than $16,000 and 1.3 million people on social assistance will pay a user fee of $2 for each prescription filled. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ This user fee is only the beginning. Finance Minister Ernie Eves announced in his budget speech that "hospitals will be given more flexibility to generate revenues." Fees for other kinds of services are bound to follow. In October, the government cut the program which provided oxygen to people who needed it in order to live at home. People who need this service will now have to pay for it. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ Meanwhile, the Omnibus Bill introduced along with the mini-budget clears the way for the introduction of profit-making corporations into Ontario clinics. This is a step in the direction of privatization of elements of the medical system along American lines. The same legislation deregulates drug prices. This will allow large insurance companies to bargain for advantageous prices (as they do in the United States) while eliminating any price protection for individual customers. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ The government is also seeking extensive powers to police the medical system. The Omnibus bill will allow them to open confidential medical records to identify what they define as "waste" in treatments. It will also give them the power to determine which treatments can be used for specific conditions, so that people will have to make up the difference if their doctor chooses another (more expensive) course. The Tories are using their first months in office to prepare the ground for a substantial attack on health care services in Ontario ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ ÿþ<bÿþ>ÿþOn the UI front... ÿþ</b>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ The federal government ran ads the day Lloyd Axworthy announced the latest cuts to Unemployment Insurance (UI) proclaiming that it will now be known as Employment Insurance. If they are so anxious to wish away unemployment by removing the "un", they should at least be accurate and add it to the word "insurance." Employment Uninsurance quite nicely describes what is left of the program after this latest round of cuts ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ The Liberal government has taken big cuts out of UI in each of the past two budgets ($2.4 billion in 1994 and $700 million in 1995). Now they are planning to take out an additional $2 billion and restructure the plan to make it much harder to collect benefits. Already, the proportion of unemployed people eligible to collect UI has dropped from 85% in 1990 to less than 50% in 1995. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ The latest cuts will further increase the period of work required before collecting benefits, reduce the maximum weeks of coverage from 50 to 45, reduce the maximum benefits, claw back benefits paid to UI recipients with higher incomes and penalize "repeat users" by reducing benefits by one percent for every 20 weeks a person has been on UI over the years. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ The cut to "repeat users" is a particularly important part of this package. People in seasonal employment (such as fisheries or construction) often rely on UI to survive for the period when their job is gone. These seasonal patterns have been particularly important in the Atlantic region, where the fisheries play a prominent economic role. UI benefits in Newfoundland could drop by as much as 19 percent as a result of these cuts. Earle McCurdy, head of the Fisheries, Food and Allied Workers Union estimates that a Newfoundland fish plant worker currently collecting $220 a week in UI when on seasonal layoff could be reduced to $172 a week next year and $150 a week the year after. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ The current cuts are being presented as a way to wean addicts from their UI fix. In fact, it will simply drive people who rely on seasonal employment deeper into poverty, particularly in high unemployment situations. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ The current cuts are also designed to offer a tax break to corporations. UI is currently funded by premiums paid by workers (40 percent) and employers (60 percent). The employers' share takes the form of a payroll tax, meaning that a certain amount has to be paid into the UI fund (currently $4.20) for every $100 paid to employees. The current proposal would reduce that payroll tax to $4.13/$100. The corporations hate payroll taxes and are pressing hard for these reductions. Indeed, some business organizations (such as the Canadian Manufacturers Association) expressed concern that Axworthy's payroll tax cut is not deep enough. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ Fewer people will now qualify for UI benefits. Those who qualify will get less. Meanwhile, the corporations get a payroll tax cut. That is "Employment Uninsurance". ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ ÿþ<bÿþ>ÿþOn the welfare front... ÿþ</b>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ The Harris government moved very quickly to attack the welfare system in Ontario. Social assistance benefits have been cut by 21.6 percent for over 500,000 adults and 400,000 children. Single people without dependents are now living on about $520 a month. The poorest are being pushed much deeper into poverty. This has been compounded by the introduction of a welfare snitch line ÿþto create fear and generate suspicion of cheating. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ The Harris government has claimed that it will protect the benefits of people who are disabled. Meanwhile, they are working to redefine disability so as to push many people off these benefits. In early October, a leaked document revealed plans to eliminate the category of "permanently unemployable" and push 115,000 people onto reduced benefits. They have not yet proceeded with this plan, but a move to redefine disability is expected. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ The social assistance cuts have hit hard. There was a dramatic increase in the demand for services from shelters and hostels for homeless people in Toronto after the cuts hit in October. Hostel use was up 23 percent in October and continued to increase in November. Many seasonal shelters which open only during cold weather were operating at peak capacity as soon as they opened their doors. A 53 percent increase in the number of single parents with children seeking emergency shelter was reported in Toronto. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ People are getting evicted because they quite simply cannot pay their rent with the reduced benefits. The response of Dave Tsubouchi, Minister of Community services, has been to suggest that people shop more carefully (purchasing mythical 69 cent cans of tuna in bulk) and barter with shopkeepers to get deals. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ The claim that this is about getting people into jobs is laughable. The JobLink program to help people on social assistance find jobs was cut. Subsidized daycare spaces are being slashed. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ The transportation and clothing required to apply for jobs are simply beyond the means of people living on these reduced payments. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ And Ontario is not the only province attacking social welfare programs at the present time. The NDP government in BC recently cut cheques and imposed residency requirements so that people moving to the province cannot collect benefits. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ A background paper explained that these moves were to eliminate welfare dependency among those able to work. "Fifteen years ago, most people receiving welfare were considered unable to work. Today, more than 70 percent of people on welfare are able to work." Rather than welfare dependency, the increase in the number of people able to work turning to social assistance is the produce of chronically high unemployment and cuts to unemployment insurance which push people onto welfare. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ ÿþ<bÿþ>ÿþOn the education front ... ÿþ</b>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ The Tory commitment to user pay can be seen most boldly in the area of post-secondary education. University students will be hit with a 20 percent increase in tuition fees. Additional fees paid for services and facilities will also be jacked up (e.g. from $150 to $300 at McMaster). Universities will be allowed to charge international students as much as they want. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ The push towards user pay in post-secondary education did not begin with the election of the Harris government. The average tuition fees in Ontario have increased by 92 percent over the past 10 years, from $1,158 in 1984-85 to $2,228 in 1994-95. Last year saw an additional 10 percent increase and this year will add another 20 percent. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ The result of these fee increases will be to make universities less accessible. There are many people who cannot pay these fees and cannot accept the debt load that would be required to get through on student loans. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ Access to universities is being blocked for lower income students at a time when more and more jobs require a degree. Over 1/3 of the workers who have been hired to work at the Chrysler minivan plant in Windsor over the last few years had university degrees. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ To make things worse, students will be paying more and getting less. Even this huge increase in tuition fees won't make up for the 15 percent cut in government funding to universities. The result will be more overcrowding, less choice and lower quality education. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ Many of these "innovations" cast students in the role of empty vessels, to be filled with wisdom through whatever mechanical means are available. Challenges in the classroom, written assignments and real contact with others (students or teachers) will be far more difficult under these conditions. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ University employees will be hit with layoffs and salary cuts. Support staff and clerical workers will likely suffer the most. Yet these are the very people (departmental secretaries, etc.) who students most often turn to to obtain information. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ The funding cuts will lay the ground for a massive corporatization of the universities. The University of Toronto just got the drug company Apotex to contribute $4 million to a cell research program. ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ The new business building at the University of Windsor has corporate plaques on classrooms and common areas. The University of British Columbia has made a deal providing Coca-Cola with exclusive rights to sell on campus. But will anyone be able to afford the soft drinks? ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ<brÿþ>ÿþ ÿþ<formÿþ>ÿþ<inputÿþ ÿþtype="button"ÿþ ÿþvalue="Close"ÿþ ÿþonclick="top.close()"ÿþ>ÿþ</form>ÿþ ÿþ</body>ÿþ ÿþ</html>ÿþ<!-- FILE ARCHIVED ON ÿþ20:01:55 Jun 26, 2010ÿþ AND RETRIEVED FROM THE INTERNET ARCHIVE ON ÿþ09:21:36 Mar 05, 2026ÿþ. JAVASCRIPT APPENDED BY WAYBACK MACHINE, COPYRIGHT INTERNET ARCHIVE. ALL OTHER CONTENT MAY ALSO BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT (17 U.S.C. 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