Social Welfare an oxymoron for the state part I

by Seán Ryan Thu Jan 26, 2006 18:33

Using the force and valids vs. invalids
Part III of a look at Social Welfare
Part III.

Anyway, enough of the fantasies back to reality. You’ve got no job, no money, no future. Anyone without a future is not in the present, you become a ghost you drift in and out of the periphery of the rest of society, and you are nothing and nothing is for you. You must learn to dream backwards, to dream of what was and what might have been. You drift. Then one day in what you thought would be a living hell forever a lifeline is thrown to you.

You get a letter from the dole office telling you that they have arranged an interview for you.

You get all cleaned up and go for the interview and you find out that the dole office has sent you to a factory where you will be sticking labels on the sides of boxes. You explain that you are a qualified airline pilot who up until a few weeks back worked for Aer Lingus. They say that’s ok because they’ll give you lots of training and that you will be part of a supervised team. So you say ok, thinking that anything is better than being a burden on the state. Half an hour later being a burden on the state isn’t looking so bad any more. You make excuses and leave.

You have much to learn young Jedi. You wont do that again in a hurry.

Next interrogation you get cut off for eight weeks for leaving a job. And you thought that you had been in hell. Yes not only does the state treat you like a devious bastard you must actually become a devious bastard to survive in the system.

It’s ironic isn’t it? That the state would turn you into the very person that they were so afraid of, to the point of paranoia, that would get through their traps and into their lovely social welfare system.

Then again there must be incentive to work.

However one would think that the work should contain the incentives. But alas no, you work or else.

What about pensioners? They get this shit too, they may get a few bob more than the boil, but so what it’s still a pittance. It doesn’t matter either whether they worked their guts out all their lives or not. The government is very non-discriminatory here, they all get to give the presents, they all get to take a ride on the waiting lists, and they all get to fade away.

This brings me to another of the reasons that society has changed focus form married families to single parent families. Tonight we party for tomorrow we die. Yes whether you work or not your future is bleak unless you are of Gods chosen people.

This is the promise of the future to the youths of today. This is how a caring society works. You see the government sticks labels on things too.

What of the sick and the disabled?

This is where the government comes into its own. Having graduated from experimenting on socially, mentally and physically handicapped people with drugs and perverts, they have now tried a new approach they want to see if they ignore these people for long enough will they ever just “fuck off?”

Basically they get the same shit as the rest with one or two small supposed perks thrown in. But at least for those who are not part of this group of the system, society is set up somewhat to accommodate them. For the members of this group society is all but closed. No access, fuck off. And I don’t just mean physical access but social access too. Yah if you’re not a valid you don’t count.

It’s just like the bible said it would be; the meek have inherited the earth. It is of course not quite what they expected, but then again it never is with the bible is it? And as long as the system refuses to remove its booted foot from their heads, in the dirt they shall remain.

Sláinte,
Seán Ryan

by Seán Ryan Thu Jan 26, 2006 18:38

From citizen to dirtbag
Part II of the tale
Part II.

What of a person’s character, in fact a persons good character?

Surely one of the lowest traits of character is deceit. When one shall first apply or reapply for social welfare it will be implied many times that he or she is a liar. Like do you own property, do you have a bank account, give us your bank records, do you rent or own your own home, why did you leave your job, ok why did you get let go from your job, when was the last time you looked for a job, have you got letters of rejection to prove it? And on and on it goes. To call it an interview is stupid, it is an interrogation.

Anyway having proven you are salt of the earth and would never lie, they agree to pay you, but first, because they really need you to, you must tell them a lie, before they hand the cash over that is and you must further lie at least once a month for the duration of your association with them, and if you lived in the countryside up until recently you had to hand your signed lie to an officer of the gardaí.

I speak of course of the statutory declaration on the back of one’s once a month signing docket. This says that he who shall be paid understands the social welfare act, its amendments and those pending amendment (not the exact words but their meaning). I’ve never met anyone within the social welfare system itself who understands this act et al, and thus who could never verify if I understood it.

Is it the Gardaí who should verify this?

I mean they barely recognise civil liberties when the cameras are watching, that is, without having to get it into their heads that there is also a social welfare act.

I must admit I don’t have a clue as to what it is all about having read it. I‘ve got the gist of it but it is very self referencing and leads you all over the act without being able to read it as a whole, in fact I doubt anyone in government has a clue about it either. Yet you have become a liar for the state. Yes that’s one small step for a man but a giant leap from mankind. To lie to the state is a criminal act, this is also contained on the statutory declaration.

Welcome to the underworld.

Usually, when questioned about their feelings about people on social welfare, most of those who toil express a negative opinion, hinting at, if not outrightly saying, that they are a boil on the arse of humanity. I would say this is possible. But I would also say this, that many of these boils have families and because of this, the families must also live like boils, their only crime being born to or married to, a suspected waste of space.

I would also say that I would only consider a tiny proportion of Irish citizens to be boils on the arse of humanity, and that the vast majority of them, sit in the Dail.

In reality most of the money for social welfare goes on red tape, red tape operators, and as presents for big business. The red tape and its operators are pretty much self-explanatory, but let me elaborate on the presents.

Money comes from the government and goes to you, end of story right? What if you are a boil? I mean there have been enough hints given to you. What if they actually got it right with you? What if you have children? Why you might spend all the money bringing your poor saint of a wife to the pictures. Surely if the government thinks of you in this way it should make sure your family is taken care of? Well ah.. no. You see the kids need to learn a very important lesson too, just in case they might have inclinations of following in your footsteps.

Ok so you are not a boil and will wait for the Christmas bonus, for the trip to the pictures. You would never squander the meagre pittance you get, it’s all for the family. So it’s off to Dunnes to do the shopping. Dunnes is a big business. If Dunnes is putting somewhere between 50% to 100% of a mark up on their goods (at least), then somewhere between a quarter and a half of what you spend is a present to Dunnes, from our government at the expense of you, your family and the working gentleman and his two kids and wife.

Now answer me this. Why is it that the red tape operators aren’t out buying food and other groceries, at wholesale prices and selling them to you for the price they cost to produce, during the interrogation instead of being parasites feeding off those that they accuse of being parasites? I mean they already got the business contacts what with other red tape operators dealing with imports and exports, and agriculture and many others. Shit why not sell the stuff at a tiny profit and start a real price war with Dunnes. This would be such a fun way to tackle inflation. By the way did you get a bus to do the shopping? Thanks, another present. In fact every time you spend the government makes a generous gift on all our behalves. Why is it that money can only be invested after it has been given to big business?

Welcome to the new wonderful world where you give all you get back, and still feel that everyone thinks you are a louse.

If the government is bound by law to help you with your needs, why is it throwing money at you, like a lord tossing coins contemptuously at a beggar? Why is it not actually addressing your needs? I mean fair enough, give you some money to do with as you will but everything else should be supplied by the state at an overall savings from not buying so many presents for those who do all but warrant them. Then maybe they might get you a present with the savings and say that “shit happens, sure we know you’re not the dirtbag.”

by prionsais de rossa Thu Jan 26, 2006 20:45

I became the doley minister of dreams, nad thought to offer selected long termed unemployed their entitlements on an annual basis as a point based FáS tied in initiative to create an entrepeneurial class.

They made me president of Labour for that.

by Mago Fri Jan 27, 2006 13:10

http://www.geocities.com/habitualresidencecondition/RacismOfIrishGoverment.htm