Questions Of The Day (Politics)

[Mick Harper]

I suppose I had better spell out the underlying problem of welfare.

1. Welfare systems are for dealing with 'the poor'
2. There is always an influential minority who regard all payments to the poor to be a good thing (on grounds of equity)
3. Whenever a welfare system is changed, there will be winners and losers
4. By definition the losers will be poor
5. Therefore all changes to welfare systems will be opposed by the influential minority unless (4) is addressed
6. Therefore all changes to welfare systems end up rewarding the winners but not commensurately punishing the losers
7. Therefore all changes to welfare systems tend to increase the welfare bill until either
8. The state goes bust or
9. The influential minority are taken out and shot
10. All citizens are members of the influential minority in certain circumstances.

[Mick Harper]

I'll have another go.

1. You offer a disability benefit because (a) they deserve it and (b) you can afford it.
2. Lots of people who don't deserve it start getting it so you can no longer afford it.
3. To get rid of the undeserving you have to come up with a new test that weeds them out.
4. This test will weed out some deserving cases as well.
5. Everyone goes ape shit because of this.
6. Proposals are watered down until they don't exclude anyone.
7. Country goes bust.

[Wile E. Coyote]

Wiley's view is that he really doesn't mind paying if it actually improves the independence and the quality of live of the recipient, what seems bizarre to me is that we are giving these benefits not to just folks that have serious disabilities who along with carers do a great job, but to folks who have very serious addictions that have created serious helath problems, these folks then for understandable reasons then proceed to spend these benefits on getting more addicted and more unwell, reslting in even more health and social care spending.

Not Good.

[Wile E. Coyote]

Wiley's other idea is to deny all housing costs, housing benefits to people in inner and outer London, who can't show a local connection to London proving that they have lived there for 5 years.

This might seem tough but why should the average tax payer pay for someone just because they want to live in the most expensive afluent capital within Europe, but cannot afford London housing costs.

Bonkers.

.

[Mick Harper]

What about the real freeloaders? The people born and bred in seedy South London but demand to be housed in the choicer parts of Kensington & Chelsea courtesy of housing benefit. Sitting pretty for life, they are.

What we need is the old Soviet system of 'internal passports'.

[Mick Harper]

Received Today

[Wile E. Coyote]

Dear K & C

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime"

[Pete Jones]

Give a fish a man and you feed a pretty big fish

[Wile E. Coyote]

"Yes, it was useful, I used it to pay £50.00 off my arrears. I now currently owe K and C £7640, and the lady at the Housing Office now says she will delay issuing a notice to quit to me. She was very grateful about your £50.00 and asks if you might consider paying off the rest as this will stop my eviction.

BTW. Could you arrange to liaise with the Office direct as I have got better things to be doing and I really don't need to be involved, as you are actually paying yourself.......

Still. Glad I could do my bit for K & C for once.

Yours respectfully