1 00:00:01,250 --> 00:00:04,910 [piano music...] 2 00:00:06,125 --> 00:00:08,290 A lot of people think poverty is a problem 3 00:00:08,290 --> 00:00:11,458 for other people in other neighbourhoods. 4 00:00:11,458 --> 00:00:13,723 But even if you, or no one you know 5 00:00:13,723 --> 00:00:16,058 is ever affected by poverty, 6 00:00:16,058 --> 00:00:18,808 not doing anything about poverty 7 00:00:18,808 --> 00:00:20,716 is costing us all. 8 00:00:20,716 --> 00:00:22,500 It's costing money. 9 00:00:22,500 --> 00:00:26,224 More and more money, every single year. 10 00:00:26,224 --> 00:00:29,266 British Columbia has the highest poverty rate in Canada. 11 00:00:29,266 --> 00:00:33,031 Not addressing this comes with a price. 12 00:00:33,031 --> 00:00:34,906 And this is what it looks like 13 00:00:34,906 --> 00:00:36,783 when we do the math: 14 00:00:36,783 --> 00:00:41,419 For starters, it costs us one point two billion dollars per year 15 00:00:41,419 --> 00:00:45,119 to pay for the healthcare costs related to poverty. 16 00:00:45,119 --> 00:00:50,125 That's because poverty is literally bad for your physical and mental health. 17 00:00:50,125 --> 00:00:52,013 You're more likely to live in 18 00:00:52,013 --> 00:00:54,102 poor quality or unsafe housing, 19 00:00:54,102 --> 00:00:55,574 or none at all. 20 00:00:55,574 --> 00:00:57,771 You're more likely to go hungry, 21 00:00:57,771 --> 00:01:00,172 have a job that exposes you to hazards, 22 00:01:00,172 --> 00:01:03,582 or end up with preventable health conditions. 23 00:01:03,582 --> 00:01:05,355 We've heard a lot lately 24 00:01:05,355 --> 00:01:08,360 about how we need to get "tough on crime", 25 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,563 but some crime could be prevented by reducing poverty, 26 00:01:11,563 --> 00:01:12,678 which is linked to 27 00:01:12,678 --> 00:01:17,787 crimes of desperation, low literacy rates, and living in unsafe situations. 28 00:01:17,787 --> 00:01:20,286 The poverty related costs of crime in BC 29 00:01:20,286 --> 00:01:25,661 add up to $745million per year. 30 00:01:25,661 --> 00:01:29,908 Then, there's the income that the poor might have earned from working, 31 00:01:29,908 --> 00:01:33,120 if they had access to better supports and training. 32 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:35,677 Or the income that the working poor could have earned 33 00:01:35,677 --> 00:01:39,636 if their jobs paid better wages. 34 00:01:39,636 --> 00:01:41,802 This is also a loss to our economy 35 00:01:41,802 --> 00:01:45,140 to the collective wealth of our society. 36 00:01:45,140 --> 00:01:50,763 And it adds up to as much as 7 point 3 billion dollars per year. 37 00:01:50,763 --> 00:01:52,988 So that's what it's costing us 38 00:01:52,988 --> 00:01:54,359 to stick with the status quo 39 00:01:54,359 --> 00:01:58,859 of keeping one in nine British Columbians in poverty. 40 00:01:58,859 --> 00:02:00,984 All together, it works out to between 41 00:02:00,984 --> 00:02:05,300 8 and 9 billion dollars every year. 42 00:02:06,131 --> 00:02:07,756 This is a terrible deal. 43 00:02:07,756 --> 00:02:09,292 And the worst part of this 44 00:02:09,292 --> 00:02:10,583 is that it would cost us 45 00:02:10,583 --> 00:02:13,468 between 3 and 4 billion dollars per year 46 00:02:13,468 --> 00:02:17,369 to put an effective, poverty reduction plan in place. 47 00:02:17,369 --> 00:02:21,891 That's less than half of what poverty is costing us now. 48 00:02:21,891 --> 00:02:23,099 You don't have to be an economist 49 00:02:23,099 --> 00:02:27,168 to see that it costs more to keep people in poverty 50 00:02:27,168 --> 00:02:30,070 than it does to fix the problem. 51 00:02:30,070 --> 00:02:32,583 It's just simple math. 52 00:02:33,183 --> 00:02:34,831 Not for other people 53 00:02:34,831 --> 00:02:36,224 in other neighbourhoods, 54 00:02:36,224 --> 00:02:39,514 but for all of us.