Quote of the Day
November 11,2010 
A reader left the following comment on a Guardian article outlining Ian Duncan Smith's savage welfare reforms in the UK that consist of kicking people off for up to three years:
Right, that's the unemployed sorted with just a bit of venom.
Now for the tax evaders who cost the country £40 billion a year.
Oh, hang on, they're Tories aren't they? Best go easy on them then eh, or they might leave the country to join their money…………….
The sickening thing about 'welfare reform' is that it never seems to apply to the rich. The Tory government could have given the same type of treatment to the banks – ie. if you take government money, you don't give out bonuses and we regulate you from top to bottom, and if not, no money.
Instead, it was a blank check and a handshake.
The poor are now subject to harsh market discipline in order to balance the budget, bearing the brunt of the crimes of the rich and powerful. Apparently, this is 'compassionate conservatism'.
A reader left the following comment on a Guardian article outlining Ian Duncan Smith's savage welfare reforms in the UK that consist of kicking people off for up to three years:
Right, that's the unemployed sorted with just a bit of venom.
Now for the tax evaders who cost the country £40 billion a year.
Oh, hang on, they're Tories aren't they? Best go easy on them then eh, or they might leave the country to join their money…………….
The sickening thing about 'welfare reform' is that it never seems to apply to the rich. The Tory government could have given the same type of treatment to the banks – ie. if you take government money, you don't give out bonuses and we regulate you from top to bottom, and if not, no money.
Instead, it was a blank check and a handshake.
The poor are now subject to harsh market discipline in order to balance the budget, bearing the brunt of the crimes of the rich and powerful. Apparently, this is 'compassionate conservatism'.
It’s still a lot better to be unemployed in the UK than the US.
I don’t see much wrong with a temporary withdrawal of benefits for:
a) refusing to accept jobs offered; and
b) refusing to do community work if you’re long-termed unemployed
Pretty sensible to me.
Watching question time last night the labour representative, Caroline Flint, didn’t seem to disagree with the welfare reforms that Duncan Smith is proposing.
she said “welfare reform is necessary”, some of the reforms being made are Labour policies that the coalition is now continuing, the proposal of a universal credit “isn’t a bad idea”, “if possative opertunities are available (for work) and they don’t take them, sanctions should apply”
Her one critisism seems to be that at the moment there are not enough vacant jobs for the unemployed, surely people are not going to be penalised if there is no job available for them, or they are not able to work?