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You Said It Comment Someone kindly sent me an editorial from a national publication which I think is worth passing along. It‘s about proverty and what‘s to be done about it. "An underlying theme in much of the discussion of poverty is that society, particularly in its organization of the economy, is the real villain. In other words, all of us who are trying to make a living are jointly responsible for the plight of the poor. _ â€" “'Almootnll-o{uaumeupfmmpova? and almost none of our forbears considâ€" ered it anybody‘s responsibility but their own to move up. The pioneer was poor, so were nearly all the immigrants that came to this country. Sometimes a more fortunate person helped a less fortunate one‘ sometimes not. For a long time we were a poor nation, undeveloped, as they into general prosperity was neither a Uh, oh. Beth‘s getting cabin fever, and it‘s only midâ€"October. We haven‘t eyen (y sheay t on innghie f anrag ts of moving on her mind. I know this, because it comes about once, sometimes twice a year. Usually lfletlfl:hncunedthokitchaneountz; space for being too small, or gives one her three guys a look of death as they track mud in the house coming through the sliding kitchen doors. Invariably, however, these urges are prompted by Beth‘s not only agreeing, but suggesting, we go open housing on a Sunday afternoon. You‘l see, she stronglyf believes you should never go shopping for anything â€" houses, groceries, panty hose â€" unless you are fully intending to buy. And so, As long as his wife agrees. For a man‘s house is his castle. "Sure. I think he‘s worked very hard for his country and Europe. He‘s done a lot internationally." We all benefit from making it on our own As long as there‘s a place‘for my Laâ€" Zâ€"Boy Sir Richard Campbell Sir Edward Coke Isobel Field Waterloo collective guilt complex, nor‘ governâ€" ment. It was a lot oP hard work and a great deal of freedom to move and act ::ld think.thFreedom to move abol:t’,d not y over the land, but also as far as ability could carry; fi'u&:lom to tinker, to invent, or refine the innovaâ€" tions of others. ts "Yale‘s famed political scientist, Wilâ€" liam Graham Summer, could see the heart of the process 85 years ago when he wrote: ‘Let anyone learn what hardâ€" ships were involved, even for i‘wealgy person a century ago, in crossing the Atlantic; let them compare that hardâ€" Sunday afternoon open housing, checkâ€" ing out designs, and layouts, and color schemes should the time ever come when we do move, Beth will 50 or 51 weeks of the year nix the idea. "Nope, why bother going somewhere and get all excited about it and fall in love with it if you have no intention of buying it? I‘d just end up coming back here and getting all depressed." To be fair, Beth adores .our modest abode, but also has a War and Peaceâ€"ian length list of things she would like to see/not see in our next digs. And if last Sunday is any indication, we may be di?ng before you know it. "I wouldn‘t mind going to.see a couple of those open houses Sunday on Blahâ€" whileâ€"I could/ = ‘ m l‘ _ w ! q ’l C ;‘ L? f ” * : 4 ‘2â€"«<¢ i "I can‘t come up with any,. other candidate who would be better than that. I‘m happy to see coâ€"operâ€" ation between the United States and Russia." Geoffrey Fellows Do you feel Gorbachev deserved to win the Nobel Peace Prize? Doug Dentinger Waterloo ‘"Whatever the government does, it should have no truck with a false creed which denies any individual responsibilâ€" ity on the part of the poor, and shifts the blah St.," she said over brunch Sunday morning. "Say what?" "Open houses. Wouldn‘t mind taking in a few around the kids‘ naps. What kind of price could we afford, anyway?" Gulp. x ie "Well, uh, fimnn, I suppose about $*%#& would be our upper limit." "OK, then let‘s check some out at that price. No sense going to the biggees, if we can‘t afford tg:m." That‘s my Beth. Dreamer/realist/stratâ€" egist, all rolled into one. And so, off we went, accompanied by a pair of dazed youngsters rousted from their afternoon naps. I always find it amusing the way you are treated at open houses. In a hot real estate market, open houses were essenâ€" tially the overâ€"priced or underwhelming joints that no one could unload, considerâ€" ing good buys received offers right off the computer. Now, however, many new home builders are stuck with excellent properties on their hands, and are being forced into incentives to lure nibbles at open houses. ship even with a steerage today consid: ering the time and money cost. This improvement in transportation by which the poor and weak can be carried from the crowded centres of population to the new land is worth more to them than all the schemes of all the social reformers. "In more recent history, the point hardly needs labouring. For just one example, the work of a Henry Ford, with all the ramifications in industrial proâ€" cesses and relations, did more to bring abundance to the majority than any amount of doles of voteâ€"getting proâ€" ‘The point is that a free economy and society expands the opportunities for all its members, but leaves it largely to them to decide what to do about it. Yes, because he was instrumenâ€" tal in bringing down the Iron Curtain and bridging the gap between the East and the West." Richard Menninga Waterloo WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1990 â€" PAGE 7 and Rick kept trying to imagine his Laâ€"Zâ€"Boy in different locales, Beth quite simply fell in love with one of the homes And we all know what that means. Translated, the next two or three weeks will be pretty interesting around our darling if modest abode. You know, the one with no mudroom, too little counter space, too small dining room, no garage, not enough... dreamer, what are they doing here wasting my time, and so on. Fortunately, the majority we dropped in on were cordial types, eager to please and show a young (well, halfyoung) couple and their kids the features of their home. And as you might expect, as Jordan scrambled from room to room. You would think, therefore, that the snobappealwouldbeathmgofthepm for open house hosts, but we still found, despite being wellâ€"dressed and driving up in a sleek 1990 automobile, that, well, in certain areas of the city, reps will give you a condescending greeting, and then eyes rolling, disappear from sight. You know, not a buyer, maybe a buyer, no hope of being a buyer, just a This change in thinking applies to inheritance as well. Traditionally, it was almo’ a matter of honour to leave as large"an inheritance as possible. Now parents are spending as much as they can afford on giving their children the best education and preparation for life, and after that they are on their own. blame onto the shoulders of those who have made their way up from poverty This is not only an affront to the hardworking majority; it is also a philos ophy of restriction and retreat." We can see this happening now in family life. More and more parents are asking, why should our children expect to start married life at the same economâ€" ic level that they left home? (Geoff Fellows operates the Human Resource Development Institute, P.O. Box 642, Cambridge, NIR 5W1, providâ€" ing effectiveness training for business and industry.) ‘‘Yes. Bush sent him congratula tions and so did Thatcher. If those people support it, it‘s good. I was surprised to hear it It is fair because he did a lot." Joe Skrapits Kitchener