RTE frontline program continues its scapegoating of those on welfare

national | miscellaneous | opinion/analysis

Tuesday September 27, 2011 04:54

by Serf

Tonights frontline scapegoats social welfare recipients yet again while banksters walk free and continue their lavish lifestyles. The author
reports on this and makes a modest proposal which might help to alleviate the strain paying these social welfare leeches is imposing on efforts to reimberse worthy bank gamblers

Watch at your peril!

A Modest proposal: Thoughts Inspired by watching RTE's frontline programme

I admit it, I'm a masochist. I give away an hour of my life that I can never get back to watch this propaganda tour de force most monday evenings. I keep hoping it might get better but it never does. This latest episode of "The Frontline" was particularly odious.
Lots of statements went without proper peer review on what amounted to RTE's latest softening up program for social welfare cuts

For example, The basis used to estimate what a welfare recipient was getting included a figure of 12000 rent allowance when in reality in central Galway for example the max they will pay out for rent allowance is 80 euro a week for which you can just about rent a complete shithole at current rents! Thats 4160 euro per annum (which is approx 1/3 of their quoted figure). Furthermore, they leave it totally up to the renter to negotiate and if your room costs more than this, they will give you absolutely nothing at all. In essence if you don't want to be homeless they are forcing you to lie to them about the cost of your housing and in turn they can quote patently false statistics about rental rates. Also you inevitably have to pay the difference out of your already paltry social welfare assistance payment. And if they find you are lying, then if they want they can prosecute you or suspend your welfare payments putting you in a very vulnerable position. but nothing new there.

The net result is that the poor (essentially the dept of social welfare) continue to pay more of their income directly to private landlords without this being admitted in any discussions of welfare and in practice the person receiving rent allowance gets effectively less of a social welfare payment.

Another topic dealt with was the new work experience scheme.
I'm sure lots of low paying fatcats around the country apart from that paragon of virtue, supermacs boss, and that hotel owner who both appeared on the show were rubbing their hands at the prospects of all that free labour being pushed into their low grade crappy mcjobs for "valuable work experience" flipping burgers, cleaning toilets and washing dishes. The assumption being that they MIGHT keep the person on after their period of slave labour ends. (yeah right!) But whats to stop them just getting some more free slaves instead?

Nobody really ever clarified that much of the money social welfare pay out each year goes directly to private companies
(e.g. eircom) or landlords in the form of tax breaks or private landlord rent supplements.

Of course no social welfare staff were laid off during the tiger years despite only 4% unemployment
And nobody pointed out that when there WAS work the unemployment rate WAS only 4% or less. People prefer to work. No. We are all trying to defraud the system. Thats the assumption.

Regarding fraud, nearly 50% of claims investigated for fraud are reinstated which tells you more about innocent people (50%) being harassed and their payments being delayed for nothing under false accusation, than it tells you about the high level of fraud that's supposed to exist in the system.

And of course no talk about saving money on the huge rent allowance bill by housing people using NAMA properties.

The reality is Joan burton and her anti welfare FG ideological buddies want to create a nice pool of cheap labour giving people little choice but to be slaves to greedy low paying fatcats while their taxes go towards paying off rich foreign banksters and any surplus earnings go towards paying greedy landlords. I mean we wouldn't want to waste taxes paying welfare to the poor and housing them.

Pushing people into low grade exploitative jobs is done by making the welfare system as humiliating as possible, making it as inconvenient as possible through delays and bureaucracy, and reducing benefits as much as possible.

Real savings could actually be made by removing much of this humiliating bureaucratic complication from the system and paying a simple flat rate to everyone automatically into a bank account. But thats not going to happen as such a streamlined simple commonsense approach would reduce significantly the power and well paid jobs for the boys.

The obvious fact is, cutting people's social welfare doesn't magically create jobs. In fact it depresses the local economy even further if anything because social welfare recipients spend almost all their income in the local economy.

No, Joan, all It does is just make poor people with little voice even more destitute, while you give all the money to the german gamblers.

Labour my ass. Joan burton, Pat kenny and RTE frontline, voices of the new right.

Some people may deride and berate my negative statements without offering better alternatives.

So, in the spirit of helping Joan find some of that 1.2 billion she is hoping to cut off the social welfare bill, here's my updated "modest proposal" to help save the taxpayer money. Here it is:

Bring out a new suicide allowance whereby you can apply for an allowance to kill yourself if you are currently on the live register. After all, Its pretty clear they don't want to give you anything to feed yourself or house yourself. There are no jobs. So why not be honest about things here! Suicide allowance.

Any short term outlay will clearly be eclipsed by the longer term savings as the deceased is no longer leeching off the state. Ever again.

Maybe Joan can work with the department of enterprise and open euthanasia centres along the lines of the NCT centres where people can redeem their suicide allowances directly and have access to suitable rooms and equipment for a humane death. That way these valuable jobs don't go abroad to Switzerland for example!

Lucrative centres could eventually be privatised with a suitable cut for the political party of the day and many could be given directorships or shares in what are likely to be very lucrative and expanding businesses.

This idea is likely to catch on in other european countries too such as Greece, Spain and Portugal. If we get in ahead of the curve and offer an attractive bulk rate, then it could lead to a significant service export market.

The chemicals and equipment needed could be manufactured here too leading to some solid high quality jobs in those sectors.

Do give me your opinions on this idea Mr Kenny and RTE. I think this suggestion should go down well with one of your handpicked audiences and might form the basis for one of your episodes of "The Frontline" in keeping with your regular scapegoating...er...highlighting of social welfare fraud and possible solutions. It was only a matter of time before your researchers came up with this one yourselves anyway so no charge ok?. Hell, I might even go along that night myself . If I can afford the bus that is.

*TBH these days I think I prefer the FKN news to any RTE fare!! At least it's funny! ;-)
http://fknnewz.com/

*Oh, by the way, RTE, I do believe you have miscategorised this frontline programme making it harder for prospective internet viewers to locate. It should be under "fiction" not "factual"!

You can view "The Frontline" 26/09/2011 HERE. (Do bring a sickbag!!)