The only answer to the problem of rising welfare costs is the creation of total employment t week thi* --Là .&Oo ,.. p pup ted on thie ob- servations of Durham Region's commissioner of social services, Doug Johns who belleves that there will always be a certain percentage of our population living on the welfare rolls. After over 35 years of experience in the social services field, Johns believes that there will always be 1.5 per cent of our people on public assistance. What that means in Durham Region ls that there will always be more than 5,000 people on welfare. These 5,000 people will cost the taxpayer $10 million this year alone. Next year, both of these figures wilt climb with our growth. While we are talking about a relatively small segment of our population, the figures are none- the-less staggering. As the years go by, this will create an even larger social problem. Instead of being a means to A tip for the Tories: think small By Tony Carlson The flood of analysis in the wake of the election has been almost as overwhelming as the ballyhooed "Tory Tide" that ripped through the Liberals. But there are some intri- guing elements of the election which may have become ob- scured in the wash of WrFds that has cascaded over us since September 4. First, voters deserve a pat on the -back for taking their civic duties.so seriously. More than 76 per cent of those eligi- ble cast their ballots across the nation. That's encouraging for two reasons: it's 7 per cent better than the 1980 campaign and it's markedly higher than the record in the United States where, habitually, almost half of the registered voters stay home on polling day. Our turnout reflects the de- gree to which average Cana- dians care about the affairs of their country. It is a trend to be applauded. This is especially true now because, as a result of the landslide, the opposition in Parliarnent may be , buried under mountains of work, its voice muffled by a greatly re- duced research staff. Nor will it be any picnic for those in power. Great majori- ties breed greater expecta- tions. And the cold reality is, no economic miracle will corne from a single change of government. That's why John Bulloch, President of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, is cautious when as- sessing the new balance of power. "There should be some strengthening in investment and consumer spending be- cause of the confidence that comes from a government with development as a major priority and whose style is to develop a national consensus," Bulloch says. "But there will be no magic cure for unem- ployment, especially among youth, until we start to ex- pand the economy." The way to do that, he says, is for the Conservatives to foster policies which encour- age small business, because studies show that two-thirds of young people get their first jobs in small firms. Bulloch's urging the Tories to put their priorities in three areas: • Simplifying tax laws to free up the time and money of owner-managers. • Overhauling Revenue Can- ada so that the taxpayer is not guilty until proven innocent. • And, most important, using incentives to encourage people to put their savings into riskier small enterprises. Those tax breaks would re- direct cash from savings vehi- cles such as government bonds and RRSPs to expanding or new firms. That means jobs, and not at the taxpayers' expense. Such moves would open up the capital fuel lines to small business which is, after all, the engine of the economy. CFI Feature Serwce dhep people in their occassional times of har- dship, welfare will become a fixture inour society. Jahns gives only one solution: total em- ployment. As he said in our story last week, we musthfind a job for every person on welfare, a job that he or she is capable of doing and keeping over the long term. This presents a new challenge not only to our local levels of government but to the new regime of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the soon to be chosen new Premier of Ontario. This challenge wil aiso have to be met by the private sector and the labor movement. Johns noted that one reason for these alarming local figures is the Canada Assistance Program. Under federal law, no one in this country can star- ve to death. Every Canadian must have an income tao prvide the necessities of life - food, clothing and sheiter. The Region af Durham is compelled to support people through the welfare system and can only take away this right in cases of abuse. it seems as though the compassion and Judeo- Christian ethic that we have bulît this country on comes at a great price. While we agree, completely and without hesitation, that this price must be paid, the time has came for leadership not anly from gover- nment but fram business and labaras well. ln the last century, social services were provided by churches and by a man's neighbours. In those days,.it seems people cared more directly for their neighbour. In this age of industrialization and urbanization, the community as a whole has taken on this role. What we need to find is a way to take the com- munity spirit of the last century and combine it with the needs of a modern society. Having over 5,000 on welfare in Durham Region every year for decades to corne is going to create a strain on the local taxpayer. And, Johns is correct, the only answer that anyone can come'up with is jobs. We have to create more jobs. Job creations, in addition to reducing the welfare rolls will have other benefits. More people working means more people with more money to spend and invest. This in turn, means more goods and services are purchased which means more profit for business which in turn produces more jobs. While we would agree that this cycle is sim- plistic, we do not believe it to be far from the truth. After all, we cannot expect a man to buy a house or a car if all that he Is receiving is welfare. If he is working he is probably earning more money which will enable him to purchase these things. The only -nswer to our we'fare and national economic sorrows is job creation. Everything else must take a back seat. For unless our neighbours and ourselves are living useful, productive lives we will doom ourselves to a future of poverty not for ourselves alone but for our children as well. etl PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1984, WHITBY FREE PRESS w h itby Published every Wednesday by M.B.M. Publishing MICHAEL KNELL and Photography Inc. 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