Money, Money

Dear Friends,

Since Bill 115 (I warned you, I couldn't let go) and “public” accusing teachers of being "greedy," I wanted to write about money. However, we all know “money” is taboo. It doesn’t matter whether you have it, don’t have it, want it, flaunt it, spend it or keep it under your mattress. As soon as you mention it, you turn into tacky company! In my experience, most people rather talk about their sex life than their finances. Since I have nothing to report on the physical activity front, I took the headline, “The Money Issue” on the cover of the New Yorker (October 8, 2012,) as a sign to go ahead and talk about money. One must always honour the alignment of signs and messages.

I’m soooo tired of people’s comments about teachers, across North America. “It’s all about money!” They all scream. Why shouldn’t it be? I ask them. What is it about, for you? How do you pay for your apples, clothes, rent or property taxes?  

Don’t politicians attract votes by promising a better life to their constituents? Don’t scientists count on people’s generosity for their researches? When was the last time anybody traded a live chicken for an eye exam? What’s wrong with money? Can politicians campaign, or pharmaceutical companies survive without it? Would everyone feel more charitable and decent if the lineup at the food bank and goodwill became longer? Does ultra-rich rather "donate," than pay higher taxes.  

Yes, it is about money - I declare! Since when wanting to maintain or improve one’s living conditions has become a sin?

I remember when I was a child my father reproached my mother for telling my brother to wash his hands because he had touched money. We all know money literally changing hands constantly, is a carrier of germs. When my mother protested, my father said when he was a boy, he was always told to wash his hands after handling money, because money was dirty. He grew up equating money with filth, thus never bonded with it. 

Our opponents must be related to my mother or paternal grandparents! They want us to believe that money is dirty. And we fall for it. As soon as someone accuses us of being "greedy," we start defending ourselves.  

Life might not be about money, but living is, especially in an expensive city like Toronto where the cost of living rises by the hour. 

When was the last time you cooked for your plumber, in exchange for his labour, or paid your hydro bill with a back rub? I wonder if a few years from now, my son could pay for his daughters' education with the mementoes I have gathered from all my years of teaching.     

Putting teachers to shame for wanting what everyone else wants, is a cheap ploy.

"Money doesn't buy happiness," is a fallacy perpetuated by the rich, to keep the rest of us away from it! Indeed, money buys items and services that contribute to one's health, comfort, wellbeing and inner peace. Heck, you can't even leave this world without money, never mind live in it! According to the funeral parlour that advertises on TV, you need at least a few thousand dollars to check out obscurely, in a modest wooden box! 

It is about the money - accepted and filed.  

What have you accepted and filed today?