Via The Star, a great Canadian politician and health expert argues: Fight poverty to improve economic and social health. Excerpt:
The loud bang of the global economic crisis has drowned out the quieter sounds of many other pressing and related concerns.
As governments search for solutions to shore up our economic health in the short term, they must resist the temptation to put all other issues on the back-burner. The choices are very difficult and painful. I know, I've been there. But we need to think long-term, not just short-term.
Let's consider poverty. It is one fundamental example of how social and economic policy must go hand in hand generally, but especially in these difficult times. Yet, since the global economy started tumbling, three critical reports linking poverty and our overall well-being have been released to scant attention by media and too many governments.
The first, Growing Unequal? by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported that Canada's growing inequality and entrenched poverty rates are now higher than any other OECD country, except Germany. The OECD noted, in particular, that Canada spends less than most countries on cash transfers such as unemployment and family benefits.
The second report, Toronto Public Heath's The Unequal City, found a clear link between poverty and poor health. Among its sweeping findings, it reported that the top 20 per cent of male earners live 4.5 years longer than the bottom 20 per cent; females live 2.0 years longer.
The results are consistent with findings in other jurisdictions. In fact, early last week, a landmark report by the Saskatoon Health Region found a yawning health gap between the poor and the rich in that city.
More recently, a team of economists, bankers and food bank directors released a study about the cost of poverty showing that poverty taxes both the health of those in its grasp and the wallets of all of us in society. The study found that Canadians could save $7.6 billion per year in health-care expenditures by elevating the health status of the bottom 20 per cent to that of the next-to-bottom 20 per cent on the income ladder.
Together, these reports point to one inescapable conclusion: If we want to improve the overall health of Canadians and reduce health costs, then one of the most effective and efficient places to start is by reducing poverty. An investment in a deliberate long-term commitment to poverty-reduction is key.
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