Caring for Those Who Care

[marmar]

from OnTheCommons.org:



Caring for Those Who Care
Parents, teachers, nurses, volunteers, day care providers, social workers are the backbone of our social commons

By Jay Walljasper


You are likely one of the unsung heroes of modern life—part of a massive commons-based mobilization of people who keep our society and economy running.

I am talking about parents raising kids, friends and family helping out parents, people caring for their aged relatives and neighbors; volunteers doing what needs to be done in the community, and anyone looking out for the common good.
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“In our economic system, to go uncounted is to be undervalued,” notes University of Massachusetts economics professor Nancy Folbre. “We have inherited an accounting system that measures the productivity of work by its rate of market pay. This accounting system ignores the value of unpaid work and understates the value of paid work that is partly motivated by affection or obligation.”

Putting a monetary value on all this caregiving work is impossible, she says, but even orthodox economists know that without it things would fall apart almost immediately. ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://onthecommons.org/caring-those-who-care