Just normal and nebulous concerns about not creating a dependency or entitlement culture.
The most affluent I have ever been was when I was signing on and working cash in hand at the same time. It took me a long time to realise it ain't right.
I like the idea of a Basic Income, but I've no idea whether it would be sustainable. And it could only work if immigration was tightly controlled.
What exactly is an entitlement or dependency culture, and who decides what the right sort of culture would be here? I mean I am honestly sick of a set group of higher ups and neoliberal bullshit telling me what the right sort of society is, even though this right society is totally failing its people.
Because you know it's those sort of fears that prevent things like basic income being taken seriously in the UK, even though it works out cheaper and more effective than the system we have, and has been shown not to create dependents.
The difference between working cash in hand plus claiming, is the fear that the claim will be taken, leaving you no better off. That is what most people want, to be better off.
My best friend is disabled...I honestly feel pain watching her attempt to walk around as she has 6 different chronic conditions. She may never be able to work. She also has 2 kids under 8, plus a 17 year old. She was claiming right up until she got married, and now she is no longer claiming. The thing is, her partner makes 1300 a month. Of which 750 goes straight to the rent, and some portion goes to the council tax. Then you factor in utility bills, which are staggering in the UK. (mine is 240 a month on gas and electric alone)
Think about what her, her husband, and her 3 kids are left with to eat, buy clothes for her rapidly growing kids, pay school fees (which keep increasing, and might be called voluntary but are far from it).
I mean she is never going to be able to work again. The body she had prior to an accident is gone, it's never coming back. That 1300 a month that her partner makes is based on a recent wage increase so there will be no increase anytime soon.
This sort of in work poverty is what drives people to fiddle and cheat the system (not that she is). She is not entitled to any in work benefits such a tax credits to supplement a very dismal wage packet.
If she had had a basic income that didn't vanish just because she became ill, or just because she got married, they could actually afford to do more than just survive. They could also increase their own opportunities, and those of their kids.
Instead we have a welfare system based on ticking some boxes, and currently it is quite a penal system.
Every decision is laced with fear/shame. Every attempt to better yourself is punishable with poverty.
There is a social myth floating out there that suggests that real hard work in super poverty stricken situations, affords you the same opportunity to succeed as those who have everything currently enjoy. It is however a myth. I watch people grafting and grafting, collapsing in upon themselves, with no improvement. If you have kids that is. Childless couples in the UK are the ones that currently can see improvements to their lives.
Also, the idea that immigration would need tighter controls if something like basic income was introduced is terribly tinged with a racist view that immigrants only want to come here for free money. I am not calling you a racist, just saying that this idea is racist. People in other countries also want opportunity. That is why many come here. They want out of poverty, they want work and education opportunities. They want jobs, money, food, a life etc. Sure some assholes don't. But even in tightly controlled immigration we will still end up with assholes.
You can't look at people wanting to come here and see free riding barbarians at the gate. Immigration suffers from other problems that need to be addressed, but money isn't one of them. Free money is just the hyped up media representation of what these immigrants want.
I mean seriously, the father of the famous baby that washed up on the beach, was crucified by some for apparently only endangering his family so that he could have free dental work. Like what the actual fuck.
My dad came here to get away from his father, and to work, to make money. Many things went wrong that eventually led to him being a full time claimant, and not working, but the things that need addressing, those societal level changes may well have kept him working as a chef, like he did when he first came here.
I just don't fear people becoming lazy because they have money. Even rich people want to make more money.
Some may call me a dreamer lol but I'm not the only one......
Topic: Unemployment Benefits in European countries