Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Modern day welfare

My eleven year-old is bent over his guitar working on Joe Walsh's riff from "Life in the Fast Lane". He does this constantly but quietly while the TV is on. A Working for Families ad comes on. Family scene plays out. "If your family is struggling there might be extra money available." Son looks up, and says, in passing, "Don't look like their struggling. She's got an ipod."

He's got a point.

At its birth, government controlled income redistribution was about getting money to the aged with no family to rely; to the most destitute with no prospects of working; and to soldiers maimed by war.

Haven't we come a long way.

1 comment:

Libertyscott said...

Middle class welfare helps secure their votes- as tax cuts mean that SOME of those would get less than they do now, if you get rid of the welfare. It is as cynical as that. Labour already has a core of the welfare beneficiary vote, this increased it.