The Urgent Need to Fight Poverty: A Call for Action from the Labor Party

I am writing this for my own account, as a member of the Labor Party!

When you feel that the future is hopeless.

When you no longer see any advice on the bills and the debt that grows week by week.

When you don’t know, poor advice on how to give your children what they need. Not sure that all meals will be on the table at once.

The stigma that comes with being poor in the world’s richest country. Where others debate bonuses and managers’ salaries which belong to a completely different value.

What does poverty lead to? We know it well!

Are Tomasgard. (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB)

Ill health, crime, lower productivity and adverse long-term effects.

It is still the people and their quality of life that is important.

Poverty destroys faith and hope – and deprives people of freedom.

The government has put something into the fight against poverty, much more than we would have got with a right-wing government. The right always prioritizes the billionaires, right?

More resources are needed for the fight against poverty. The situation demands it!

I therefore hope that SV, AP and SP use all their energy in the budget negotiations to strengthen the fight against the increasing poverty when we live in poverty.

[ «Solveig»: – Dårlig økonomi går ut over psyken ]

In a country with NOK 15,000 billion on the books and a national budget of NOK 1,880,000 million, how right or sensible is it not to fight poverty more fundamentally!

Simply increasing the use of the room for action in the action rule by 0.1% would have a major impact in the fight against poverty. Probably no effect on inflation!

The long-term impact of increased poverty will in any case cost both society – and those who are in a desperate situation, much more!

A society with great poverty and increasing differences is also a society where trust erodes.

When we presented the Total Preparedness Commission’s report in June, we pointed to trust between people and authorities as a fundamental factor for good preparedness! A society where people have no hope for the future is a society that is more vulnerable to destabilization attempts of various kinds.

[ Ny studie: Rike pasienter får bedre psykisk helsehjelp ]

I don’t think we are at the point where poverty constitutes a security threat in Norway yet, but we must be vigilant. History all the way back to the storming of the Bastille prison – during the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century, is full of examples of the unrest and demands for upheavals poverty combined with unfair distribution can bring.

It is not possible to capture all the costs and risks that follow increased poverty in the economic models. Therefore, the politicians must use both their heads and their hearts!

I hope the red-green party prioritizes those who have it most difficult when they now have to agree on next year’s national budget. It’s about taking care of each other.

As Jon Fosse writes about in the poem “Kvarandre”: We who belong to the left in politics must give and those with the least reason to smile back!

The post was first posted on Are Tomasgard’s Facebook page, and is reproduced with permission. Tomasgard is LO secretary, but speaks here as a member of the Labor Party.

[ – Vi trenger en krisepakke mot fattigdom ]

[ Jeg blir forbanna på at dette kan skje på sosialdemokratenes vakt ]

Keep yourself updated. Get a daily newsletter from Dagsavisen

2023-10-08 20:39:22


#Fight #poverty