As I was enjoying a Sunday morning hot tub with Bonnie today, I realized that what I was referring to yesterday was simply, abundance. We live in a society, in a place where there is great abundance of all the things people need: food, drink, shelter, clothing and so on. Yet we still have an obvious and disproportionate way of sharing this abundance. While my family enjoys lots of nutritious food every day, our house stays warm in the winter and we have such lavish benefits that include a swimming pool in summer, a hot tub year-round, membership in an exceptional athletic club (Variety Village) and can afford to subsidize the grand-kids in Cubs and Sparks. So we have a lot and I haven't even mentioned several colour TV sets, CD players and multiple computers. Yet we don't consider ourselves rich.

It appears clear to me that my family lives in a lifestyle of abundance -- did I mention that we have two cars? So how come there are so many families, especially those with young children living in poverty in our country? Is it because those of us who have don't want to share what we have? Or is it because we don't think that those who don't have don't deserve to have?

Perhaps it's because we don't know how to share effectively. We tend to assume that our political leaders will solve this societal problem but so far, they haven't been very successful. there is an entrenched corporate mindset that leads the thinking on this issue and, unfortunately, corporations feel responsible only to their own shareholders and not to the community at large. Yes, I know some organizations have very generous charitable programs but many are focused only on special interest areas that have captured the attention of the senior executive groups.

Frankly, what we need is to get more money in the hands of the poor so that they can spend it. When they have money to spend they become consumers and our economy thrives on consumption. So why aren't we paying people who do necessary grunt work livable wages. Why aren't we providing livable support funding for those unable to work at regular jobs. When private or public money flows into the lowest income recipients in our society we will all benefit because that money flows back into the economy at large.

Only when individuals are earning significant wages in permanent jobs will they have an opportunity to put something by for the future. By giving people the incentive to live well they will naturally aspire to improve themselves and to build better living regimes for themselves. Thus we must raise the minimum wage to $12 or more an hour and provide support levels beyond $12,000 a year for those chronically unemployed or unable to be employed. The payback to our economy and to the well-being of our society will be enormous.