Well I would rather die an outlaw than live as a slave.
The point is economically when there is less value living within the law and a lower likelihood of
survival whilst living on the outside carries less risk, then people will live without the law, that
is simple economics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oeVT_73rJY
Unfortunately the early demise of Prince Far I and sundry other "Jamaican Heroes", shows where such
economics lead, and it is coming our way soon. (Well I had to give the URL some academic credence
didn't I?)
Enjoy it while you can.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: The Disability-Research Discussion List
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mitzi Waltz
> Sent: 23 July 2008 12:53
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: benefits shakeup
>
> I can't help but shake my head at the UK government's
> insistence on believing that the "Wisconsin experiment"
> actually resulted in great outcomes--other than the obvious
> one of saving the state loads of money and to some extent
> proving a compliant workforce for fast food restaurants,
> nursing homes and other low-level employers, who have
> actually been its greatest beneficiaries.
> Here are just a few of its unintended consequences:
> * Low-level jobs in local and state government that had been
> within the reach of working class people (i.e., garbage
> collection, file clerking, laundry room work) now being done
> by workfare recipients for pennies on the dollar. Result:
> people who had been working at a stable job out of work,
> people who had been on benefits still on benefits but working
> to get them.
> * People being pushed from benefits into a workplace that
> doesn't actually offer stable full-time employment, and
> therefore working two or three part-time jobs to get by.
> Result: Income insecurity, children being left home alone or
> in cars while parents work as they can't pay for day care on
> unreliable wages, people on and off benefits, in and out of
> housing, worsening mental and physical health.
> * harsh sanctions applied to people with disabilities/parents
> caring for disabled children to "motivate" them--in the US,
> several states remove benefits for children when the parent
> misses an appointment, leaving the entire family destitute.
> Result: child endangerment, health endangerment, increased
> hunger and homelessness, people turning to prostitution or
> theft to survive.
> And there are many more. It's not like these things aren't
> known--since the "Wisconsin experiment" has been rolled out
> across the US over the past several years there have been
> multiple studies done showing abuses and unintended
> consequences. It's important to note as well that Wisconsin
> was originally dealing with a rather different population
> than the UK (or most US states): AFDC (now TANF) recipients
> were primarily single parents, not "jobseekers" in the UK
> sense, or people receiving benefit because of their
> disability (many TANF recipients have disabilities or care
> for disabled children, of course--and this is the population
> that every study has shown the "reforms" cause worsening
> outcomes for!).
> For a flavour of what you may expect, please see:
> http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2003/familysupports.htm
>
> BTW, my family has had recent experience of the US benefits "system,"
> such as it is, and it has been truly painful. My daughter was
> on TANF for two years (her lifetime limit!) and the mandatory
> classes were intrusive in the extreme. Recipients were
> required to discuss past experiences of substance abuse,
> physical and sexual abuse, etc in a public forum with
> strangers--very intimidating and unpleasant under any
> circumstances--then hear their accounts "judged" in public a
> la Trisha by uneducated, nasty caseworkers. And that was just
> the introductory sessions. You were shamed for being
> unmarried, for having had sex, for being poor. There was a
> nasty racial tinge to a lot of it. If you attended one-to-one
> counselling sessions, what you said "in confidence"
> was shared with the people who decided whether you got
> benefits. They had no understanding at all of mental ill
> health, or of what community support was required for single
> mothers to work. Recipients were told that they had to take
> any job on offer, regardless of whether it offered health
> insurance or could be reached via public transport,
> regardless of whether child care was available during the
> hours given. Many of the jobs on offer were shift work or
> things like night janitor, night nurse aide or security
> guard. My daughter managed to dodge this (she's a smart
> cookie, and my own experience as a "welfare mother" back in
> the Reagan years still came in handy in helping her work the
> system) but she knows for certain that of those in her group
> who were forced to take night jobs, their children were being
> left at home alone or with "boyfriends"--and I don't need to
> spell out the dangers of either option--unless the lass was
> lucky enough to have a mother or grandmother handy.
>
> Why is it that the UK government still seems to think that
> "it comes from America" is a point in anything's favour,
> whether it's welfare reform or privatising IT systems? Arrrgh...
>
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