Along with many other people, I probably have BDHD, Belief Deficit Hypersceptical Disorder. Not officially diagnosed yet, but I still have hopes.
While I wait for my huge benefits claim to go through, Ross Clark has a very sobering CAPX piece on what he calls the welfare monster and Andrew Burnham's obvious decision to feed it rather than cut it or even faff around trying to contain it in a hard-nosed northern manner.
The whole piece is well worth reading while we wait for Nemesis to show up to spoil the fun. Can't be long now.
Burnham has chosen to feed the welfare monster
If you are not prepared to shave a penny off benefits, not only are you going to fail to fund defence properly, you have little hope ever of balancing the public books
Burnham seems to have come to the same conclusion: it is not politically possible for him to cut the welfare bill, or even to contain it. This voracious monster will be allowed to grow uncontrollably so long as Labour remain in office. Self-diagnosed ADHD sufferers will continue to drive their Motability cars, the mildly anxious and depressed will continue to be able to sign themselves off as unfit for work for the foreseeable future. And all because Labour MPs see it as their saintly duty to resist any welfare cuts.
Burnham has chosen to feed the welfare monster
- Andy Burnham seems to have concluded he can’t cut or even contain the benefits bill
- Welfare spending will rise by more than the entire defence budget
- The price of a welfare state is eternal vigilance of the cost
If you are not prepared to shave a penny off benefits, not only are you going to fail to fund defence properly, you have little hope ever of balancing the public books
Burnham seems to have come to the same conclusion: it is not politically possible for him to cut the welfare bill, or even to contain it. This voracious monster will be allowed to grow uncontrollably so long as Labour remain in office. Self-diagnosed ADHD sufferers will continue to drive their Motability cars, the mildly anxious and depressed will continue to be able to sign themselves off as unfit for work for the foreseeable future. And all because Labour MPs see it as their saintly duty to resist any welfare cuts.
3 comments:
Utopia can't be far away now.
The beautiful place where the government takes all of your money and dishes it out as it sees fit.
All they have to do now is convince the moneylenders to continue to lend.
Perhaps welfare spending is the modern equivalent of Danegeld. Payments, which grow and grow, to put off the day of reckoning.
Mike - and they don't seem to care that this is the political direction they have mapped out for decades.
DJ - that's a good analogy because it's what they are doing. The day of reckoning feels uncomfortably close now though.
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