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The mission of the St Vincent de Paul Society states: “We seek to co-operate in building a more just and com passionate Australian community,” says Dr John Falzon.
“There are some who would have us believe
that free market forces achieve this by the natural trickling down of wealth,” he says, “by further enriching the rich, the rest of society ends up sharing in the wealth.
The president of the Homebush
conference of the St Vincent Paul Society, Peter Burt, had said in a letter (CW 17/6) commenting on the society’s Two Australias report: “Only wealth creation can provide genuine prosperity …”
Dr Falzon,
research and advocacy officer on Vinnies’ national council, challenged Mr Burt’s statement.
“Despite all promises to the contrary, the trickle-down effect has not come good,” he said. “It did not deliver at
the dawn of capital accumulation in the 18th century. Neither did it deliver in the 19th or 20th centuries. Why would anyone suggest it would deliver in the 21st century?
“As the St Vincent de Paul Society
Two Australias report points out, the net wealth (over $830 billion in the past decade) generated by globalisation has not trickled down to low income families. It has not even trickled down to middle income
families. Why? Because The free market does not concern itself with the distribution of wealth. Hence the US, the largest and wealthiest economy in the world, has the highest level of poverty among developed
countries (Two Australias).
“The market does not exist to serve the needs of those it exploits or excludes,” he said. “It exists as a structure for the generation of profit. It rewards those who have capital.
“Governments can do what the market cannot do: redress the inequity to create some measure of economic justice.”
Dr Falzon said Mr Burt was suggesting that Vinnies spokespersons should “think again”.
He said the report provided practical recommendations to governments on how the wealth gap might be addressed. The Society could not remain silent while this gap is widened or sustained.
“To trust in
the magic of the market, ie to do nothing, would be unconscionable,” Dr Falzon said.
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