COMMENTARY: Guaranteeing a basic income is good health policy |
Share this Story : PNI Atlantic News Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr
COMMENTARY: Guaranteeing a basic income is good health policy
As a student art therapist working with clients at a community organization, I spend much of my time listening. I hear about people’s lives — their hopes, their worries, their creativity, and what it takes to get through each week. While every person’s story is different, one reality comes up again and again: financial insecurity is negatively impacting people’s mental health, their relationships and their ability to imagine a future. And whether we experience it directly or not, none of us are untouched by its effects.
Subscribe now to access this story and more:
Unlimited access to the website and app
Exclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcasts
Full access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on
Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists
Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists
Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.
Unlimited access to the website and app
Exclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcasts
Full access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on
Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists
Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists
Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.
Access additional stories every month
Share your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting community
Get email updates from your favourite authors
Sign In or Create an Account
We often talk about mental health as if it exists in a vacuum. We encourage therapy, self-care, and resilience — all of which matter deeply. But resilience is impossible to sustain when people are struggling to meet their basic needs and facing constant financial uncertainty. You cannot mindfully-meditate your way out of chronic financial fear any more than you can budget your way out of poverty. A society that expects people to simply try harder is not promoting well-being; it is normalizing quiet suffering.
There is a saying often used in public health: if we find a frog that is sick, we do not blame the frog — we examine the pond. We look at the environment and the conditions that made illness more likely. Yet we rarely apply the same logic to people, often asking why they’re not coping better instead of whether the conditions they face are compatible with........