common good

The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

President Barack Hussein Obama,
Inauguration Address,
January 20, 2009

To this point, public discussions of the economic meltdown have focused largely on how to fix a broken financial system and stimulate a business environment sliding into recession. However, there is another consequence of the meltdown that may strike closer to home as it will hit basic social services, recreational activities, and arts and cultural programs, all of which are delivered in large part by 161,000 charitable and non-profit organizations across the country. ...Government grants are precarious at best, and demand for the services of charities is likely to grow when economic times get tough. Although not all charities and non-profits serve vulnerable populations such as low-income Canadians, the newly unemployed, new immigrants and seniors on fixed incomes, those who do serve such populations will soon be asked to do more with less. ...[we] all face a common challenge in finding a way to sustain charitable giving as the economy goes pear-shaped. ...One way to keep the taps open is to provide greater tax support for charitable giving and thereby to complement private charity with public charity. ...A second strategy is to use some of the stimulus package to increase direct government support for charities -- particularly for those delivering social services to highly vulnerable Canadians. ...A third strategy is to direct some of the inevitable increase in infrastructure funding to the charitable sector, thereby strengthening the capacity of organizations.

Dr. Roger Gibbins: Canada West Foundation,
Non-profit sector facing tough year,
January 22, 2009

A consensus has formed in major international bodies like IMF, UN, G20 and OECD that a coordinated stimulus of 2% of GDP is needed. ...We recommend the federal government inject $33 billion, or 2.1% of GDP, into the Canadian economy in 2009-10. And we recommend a great deal of that stimulus go to protect Canadians hurt by a sagging economy. ...While much of the infrastructure spending focuses on physical infrastructure, we cannot forget about social infrastructure like higher education, child care and social housing which are also good stimulus investments.

David Macdonald & Armine Yalnizyan: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives,
An economic stimulus plan for Canada’s economy and its people,
January 13, 2009

warning: some #$%*s in this video

There's a bailout coming but it's not for me
It's for all those creeps watching tickers on TV
There's a bailout coming but it's not for me
...
There's a bailout coming but it's not for you
It's for all those creeps hiding what they do
There's a bailout coming but it's not for you
Bailout coming but it's not for you