A Better System
Imagine going to the store and finding that the most environmentally
friendly products were the least expensive; that products which cause problems
include in their prices the cost of correcting those problems. You could
help secure the future by shopping for bargains.
This is what will come to pass if Joe Jordan, Member of Parliament for
Leeds-Grenville in Eastern Ontario, has his way. Mr. Jordan is working on
a Private Member's Bill that would require the full cost of products to
be included in their price. "It is not in society's interest to charge
only for the direct costs of putting goods on the market." he says,
"If the production and disposal of goods creates problems it is unjust
to expect taxpayers to pay for correction and it is immoral to leave the
problems for future generations."
The proposed legislation is called the "7th Generation Bill"
after a native tradition of considering the interests of the next seven
generations whenever decisions are made. In addition to instituting full
cost accounting, it will outline a more comprehensive way of measuring our
progress as a society. The present measure, Gross Domestic Product (GDP),
simply adds up all the money used over a given period of time. It makes
no difference if the money is used to provide food and education or to treat
pollution related illness and build prisons for people who become desperate
for lack of opportunity. GDP assumes that any use of money increases our
well-being. It tells us we've never had it so good - yet a sizable part
of the GDP figure comes from expenses that we would be better off not to
have and it fails to mention that significant portions of the money counted
are sent directly out of the country to parent companies elsewhere.
To improve on the GDP measure, the "7th Generation Bill" would
require accounting that makes deductions for reduced soil fertility and
loss of forests in a fair balance with the credits gained from producing
food, lumber and paper. Medical expenses for avoidable illnesses and costs
associated with family breakdown would be subtracted from the measure rather
than added and work done voluntarily for families and communities would
be recognized for increasing our well-being. In this way we would get a
more accurate picture of how society is doing and programs and policies
could be developed accordingly.
Mr. Jordan is making a bold move. To be successful, we need your comments
and support.
Contact Mr. Jordan's office and ask for a copy of the discussion paper
"Measuring Well-Being" by post:
Joe Jordan, MP
Rm. 422, Confederation Building
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1A 0A6
No postage required in Canada.
By Fax: (613) 498-2242 , or by Email: jordaj@parl.gc.ca
This article was written by Mike Nickerson
http://www.SustainWellBeing.net/7GB/article.shtml
Questions and comments are welcome.
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Last Update: May 11, 2002
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