ASP Principle 5—Economic Security

This is the fifth in a series of member perspectives on the American Solidarity Party Principles:

The state and subsidiary organizations must act to remedy economic injustice by creating conditions for widespread ownership of property and production. Personal, cooperative, and social ownership are all valid in a just society. Workers’ rights and a family wage must be ensured, and those who cannot work should receive income adequate for full participation in society.

I am a single woman, retired from Government Service and at the age where I would be described as elderly if I made the newspaper. I live on a fixed income of pension and social security.  

I share all this with you because I think I am representative of a large portion of our society and this description should include that I am a member of the middle class. I am not. I am working poor - still, even though I am not working. If I want to do something as simple as take a local dog obedience class, I need to barter for their services. I watch every penny when I go to the grocery store. Anything extra I have in my life right now can be discarded in a heartbeat if something goes awry. I have medical insurance through my pension and Medicare but if I did not have that - something I sacrificed for thirty years to have - I would not be able to afford the small amount of medication I must take.  

The Fifth Principle of our party encourages ways in which someone like me, even now, could contribute to society AND have a reasonable income.  Cooperative and social ownership should not be buzzwords - these should be viable alternatives to be included alongside personal ownership. Our government should have laws and regulations in place that help groups of people to achieve economic security rather than simply have people ‘on the dole’.

I barter with small business owners so I can get a haircut and my nails done.  Known as an ‘underground economy’ no small business owner can exist with only people like me as a customer. Yet both parties will tell you that they believe small business owners are necessary for a healthy economy.  The question then becomes how can we give these entrepreneurs access to the support they need so they can be assets to the community?

I believe much of the regulation of small businesses should be returned to the communities they serve. The federal government should back off and allow the principle of subsidiarity kick in. What works the best for the City of Oakdale, California may not work at ALL in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and yet both can create an atmosphere that allows small business to flourish, thus adding to the neighborhood and allowing all there to thrive.

Let’s get people into office that will return the ability to make a living to the voters.  Let’s allow people like me to experience economic security so that our “Golden Years” are untarnished by fear that we will not have enough to feed ourselves or a place to live.