One year after the financial meltdown: Ordinary people still treated as collateral damage

By Dr. Kelly Ernst One year ago, the collapse of Lehman Brothers and AIG sent shock waves through major financial markets and wreaked havoc in world economies. Millions of people were affected globally.

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In the search for solutions, the focus has been on the usual fiscal stimulants and study of macro-economic factors. Some economists see glimmers of recovery, while others suggest these positive signals may be short-lived and predict a second slump. In Alberta, many hope for another oil-and-gas-led boom as a solution to our current malaise. What has been largely ignored is the personal cost of the economic meltdown, the damage inflicted on individuals and their families and how ordinary people have experienced the worse recession since WWII. If we are to find ethical ways out of the current economic mess, we cannot go on ignoring the human suffering caused by it and the people who are enduring that suffering. Dashed Dreams, New Realities: Calgarians Talk Frankly about the Impact of the Economic Downturn,a report recently released by a group of Calgaryorganizations, zeroes in on the lived experiences of the economic downturn. The report focuses on the major themes which emerged from discussions involving a broad cross-section of Calgarians. These people had serious concerns and questions: why is EI so difficult to access when unemployment is increasing; why does the safety net designed for times of need seemed to offer few resources to those needing it the most or for the first time; why is it so difficult to navigate a patchwork of fragmented social services; why is there so much visible homelessness and such a lack of affordable housing; and how much worse will it get if budget cuts that lead to corresponding service cuts occur? Participants consulted for Dashed Dreams demanded solutions which would deal with these problems and lessen the risk that similar damage would be experienced in future economic cycles. Many participants “wondered why governments and the corporate sector weren't better prepared to help people during the inevitable downturns of such a cyclical economy.” People, ". . . wondered if governments and the corporate sector had forgotten the lessons of previous downturns and for that reason seemed unprepared to deal with this one.” Their feedback suggests a deep thirst for long-term policy solutions to “better prepare us for economic downturns.” They repeatedly called for a broad rethinking of public policy to better manage our economy. Most understood that simply praying for another boom is not enough. Unfortunately, compelling leadership in the development of policy that would help remedy the problems highlighted by Dashed Dreams is so far missing. The fresh thinking that is needed from government and industry to prevent a repeat of the suffering caused by the recent downturn is in critically short supply. One of the ways around this paralysis is to substantially involve the public in policy development. As Dashed Dreams shows, ordinary people – albeit sometimes overwhelmed by the tragedy that has befallen them, confused as to how to proceed, or incapable of understanding the bigger picture because of limited experience – often have an insightfulness that government reports or newspaper business pages lack. They see what's happening with greater clarity because it's happening to them. One person broke into tears when she described her parent, trained as an accountant, now sweeping floors to pay the rent. Another turned beat red in anger as he described his career in shambles, his house gone because EI did not start in time to meet his bank's deadline, and now he relied upon a shelter to house him. Another woman almost began shouting in frustration because nearly overnight she lost her business, resulting in significant family upset, and she was now negotiating with child welfare officials to keep her kids over a simple misunderstanding. These are real life examples of the impact of the downturn – and it can't be measured by any standard economic measure. Given the suffering caused by the financial meltdown and economic crisis, we have an ethical responsibility to try to ensure that the future is not like the past. Change is needed so that individuals and their communities survive Alberta's boom/bust economy in as humane a fashion as possible. Dashed Dreamsshows us that we should maximize the role that ordinary people play in the brainstorming, discussion and debate on policy alternatives aimed at achieving this goal. The question is: how do ordinary people go from being collateral damage in economic downturns to playing a central role in finding a way out of this mess? Kelly Ernst, Ph.D., is Senior Program Director at the Sheldon Chumir Foundation for Ethics in Leadership and spokesperson for the September 15 Dashed Dreams release co-sponsored with the Alberta Global Forum, Calgary Counselling Centre, The Calgary Foundation, Canada West Foundation. [url=http://www.chumirethicsfoundation.ca]http://www.chumirethicsfoundation.ca[/url]

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