London is Burning

The Non Profit Quarterly offers these observations about the UK riots...

"It is hard to watch the news of civil unrest enveloping poorer and minority neighborhoods in London, Birmingham, Bristol, and elsewhere in the U.K.  What do the riots in U.K. cities tell us about conditions there — and is it a preview of what might occur in this country, given all the talk from U.S. lawmakers of future austerity measures and special deficit reduction 'super committees'?

"A Reuters analysis suggested that the unrest in the U.K. might be linked to a combination of massive spending cuts and 'a widening gap between rich and poor.'  One high-level executive consultant, Pepe Egger, said that the riots were 'the result of decades of growing divisions and marginalization, but austerity will almost certainly make it worse.  Yes, the police can restore control with massive force, but that is not sustainable either in the long term.  You have to accept that this may happen again.'  Offering a perspective from the street, a young person from London's Hackney neighborhood criticized bankers and politicians who got wealthier and more self-indulgent while the poor suffered program cuts: 'Everyone's heard about the police taking bribes, the members of Parliament stealing thousands with their expenses.  They set the example,' he said.  'It's time to loot.'

"...Trying to boil down the causes of complex social phenomena to single data points, such as cuts in youth programs or increases in an already wide wealth gap, is pretty fruitless.  But it’s important to recognize how the weakening of critical social safety net programs and the widening wealth gap contribute to and exacerbate the conditions that fuel unrest.

"Even more crucial may be the recognition that the Big Society’s weak response to the U.K. riots suggests that if human service providers continue to absorb the body blows of serial program cuts from federal, state, and municipal authorities, we risk a repeat of the experience in London.  With crippled government and charitable funding streams and an increasing reliance on volunteers to take the place of well-paid and well-trained staff, nonprofits here in the U.S. might find themselves, like their British counterparts, watching a police response when ultimately a different kind of short-term and long-run solution is needed."

Blood Borne Pathogen Training

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