The following are statements from the UK government's 21st Century Welfare paper on welfare reform;
Work and personal responsibility must be at the heart of the new benefits system.
The benefits system has evolved with good intentions but with flawed results.
The welfare state is now a vast, sprawling bureaucracy that can act to entrench, rather than solve, the problems of poverty and social exclusion.
Sounds promising. But don't get excited.
The bulk of the paper is about doing exactly what the authors accuse earlier governments of doing. Tinkering. Changing delivery systems, abatement rates, incentives and the interface between the benefit and tax systems.
I was asked at the weekend conference if I put any store by what the Brits are doing and I had to say, no. I will start believing they are serious when they start using the words;
temporary
life-time limits
mandatory work participation
(I searched the word 'temporary' and the only time it appeared outside of public comments was as a description of work)
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I will start believing they are serious when they start using the words
bludger
workhouse
euthanasia.
As a scheme to terminate welfare, the UK scheme is an abject failure. How hard can it be to just stop paying bludgers?
As a scheme to reduce the budget deficit by firing lots of low-end "workers" on the state payroll (teachers, nurses, "carers", social workers etc)
and then replace them with bludgers fulfilling a "work obligation" it frankly shows a lot of promise.
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