This message is in MIME format. The first part should be readable text, while the remaining parts are likely unreadable without MIME-aware tools. Send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] for more info. --------------228965D33E68 At the recent Denver Summit of Eight, one of the main preoccupations of the self-described "major industrialized nations" was the - demographics in their countries, in particular the increase in the number of senior citizens. They announced that they would examine the question with a view to ending the "myth of seniors dependency," that is withdrawing responsibility for them. Canada stands amongst those countries with governments which are abdicating their responsibility to guarantee social security for the people, including senior citizens. In this regard, the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) has announced it will wage a campaign against the Chre=82tien Liberal' cuts to pensions and benefits for senior citizens. The Liberals are proposing replacing the existing old-age security program, which as it stands does not even provide seniors with enough to subsist on, with a Senior's Benefit which would include tax credits and a "guaranteed income" which would result in a lowering of payments to them. The proposed changes would come into effect in 2001. In a 26-page study and pamphlet called The Black and Blue Book, in mockery of the Chretien Liberal's Red Book of promises, CARP points out that under the proposals, contributions to the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) will be increased while benefits will be decreased. CARP President Lillian Morgenthau warned that the consequences will be devastating, noting that 46 percent of seniors are already living in poverty. Senior citizens, like all other members of society, depend upon it for their livelihood. Through the different age groups which people fall into, the rights which belong to them depend on the condition of their collectivity. Senior citizens are entitled to the highest standard of living that a society can provide, commensurate with its development. The fact that this society poses its responsibility for seniors as a "burden" reveals the deep crisis of the economic system at its base. The demands of the financial oligarchy on the resources of the people bar them from being used to fulfill the obligations of the society towards even those who have worked all their lives for it. =09=09=09CPC(M-L) Shawgi Tell Graduate School of Education University at Buffalo [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------228965D33E68--
