ST 1001 Leadership and Strategies for Social Change
Spiritual and Theological Beliefs: Visioning
Jess Hunt
January 2021
Something that I feel passionately about is a standard wage. I feel like the 1% who control the overwhelming majority of the world’s wealth has a fear that if people are given money freely without “working” for it they will be lazy and not accomplish anything. It makes me wonder if that fear is based on some self reflection. For what work does the 1% do in comparison to the work average fold put in to barely make ends meet? Why aren’t safe shelter, adequate nutrition, and basic healthcare a human right? I envision this standard wage coming in many forms. I see the three primary wage provisions being housing, nutrition, and healthcare.
In my idealized world there would be a provision of housing for everyone. This provision would not require anyone to prove they had a certain income. It would not require anyone to provide references for their character or housing history. This provision would be provided in a monetary form every month. There would be an equal payment for each adult and child. This provision would assume that utilities, such as power, water, sewer, trash, recycling, and internet are provided free of charge. There would be the option to have the payment transferred to a housing facility provided the housing facility remained in good standing with the community. The persons living in the community would be the ones to determine this. Rental properties could not exceed the provisional amount determined by assuming one occupant per bedroom. The potential for someone to become a slumlord would not be possible within this system. The power would be returned to the people. Lending companies could not use this provision as a way to limit or give greater access to housing. The average cost of housing within communities must remain within this provisional limit. The goal here is to eliminate class distinction based on neighborhoods or communities. There wouldn’t be the wealthy neighborhoods and the poor neighborhoods.
In my idealized world there would be a provision for food and water for everyone. This provision would not require anyone to prove that they have employment or are actively seeking employment. It would not require anyone to continually apply for benefits. Every home would have access to clean water either through a water pipe system or through delivery of water jugs. This provision would not limit the places or ways a person could purchase their food. This would cover membership to farm coops, online food purchases including meal kits, be transferable as payment to farmers markets or local farmers and butchers. The amount would be equal for adults and children. In my ideal world there would not be an up charge for purchasing food within certain dietary limitations. For example, gluten free food items would not be twice the cost. Dietary limitations are not a luxury. In this world all food would be organic and all farming would be sustainable and locally provided. Food would be provided in season and not massively farmed in a way that increases carbon emissions.
In my idealized world there would be a provision for healthcare. This provision would be provided for free, by members of the community, for the community, and there would not be centers for healthcare that provided greater levels of care than others. Some may provide specialized care, such as endocrinology or rheumatology, but access to this care or diagnosis would not be based on income and location. Community centers would be spaced adequately to provide basic care to even the most rural locations. This basic care would include dental, vision, and mental healthcare. If the center did not have a specialist onsite one could easily be accessed at the local center via telegraph. If an in person visit was required the care provider would come to the center. Prescription medications and any other costs associated with healing and well being would be free. The employees and healthcare providers working at the center would ideally live within the community they provided for. If the community is undesirable for them to live in then work must be done to improve quality of life within the community.
This form of standard wage is designed in a way to heal some of the disparities that have gone unchecked in our society. The goal is to create strong and interdependent community webs. To return to a more communal, symbiotic way of living and dismantle the power of individualism within white supremacy culture (colonized empire thinking.) This puts people as a whole in the center and requires companies and profit to do the work to meet the demand.