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There's an article in the current issue of Harper's in which Thomas Frank
suggests that the most significant victims of Bush's tax cuts will be Social
Security and Medicare on which millions lower income Americans depend.
Frank suggests that this is deliberate strategy. Robin Hood in
reverse? You take from the poor and give to the rich.
Ed Weick
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, June 02, 2003 2:43 AM
Subject: RE: [Futurework] Exit ramp for
Europe
Arthur,
Yes, I'd like to support Harry.
Free marketeers like Harry and me are too easily characterised as against
welfare. We aren't. We are against public services that have become huge
industries.
Something like half of all the money that's taxed and
destined for social welfare, health services and state education doesn't
actually get there to the ultimate recipients. In social welfare about 60%
doesn't get to the deserving, in our health service there are now more staff
than patients, in state education only 50% of the money gets to the teachers
and schools. Also, for purposes of political bribery, an increasing proportion
of social welfare payments, taxed from the middle class is now being returned
to the middle class. No wonder that after six years of a Labour Government in
England, the poverty gap is growing.
In England, after more than 50
years of state education and health, morale has never been lower. The
government is trying every trick in the book to make them more efficient -- so
far to no avail. As far as social services are concerned, the declining birth
rate, the older population and the pay-as-you-go insurance system means that
the welfare state will be mathematically impossible within the next 15 years
unless the middle class are going to be taxed at some utterly impossible
rate.
Keith Hudson
At 13:13 31/05/2003 -0400, you
wrote:
<<<<
People have been exchanging with each other
since the beginning of time. They have also been taking care of the
unfortunate since the beginning.
These are quite natural things for humans
to do
So, how can there be a "free market idealogue"?
It's rather like
suggesting that someone who advocates deep breathing of air is an "oxygen
ideologue".
However, there is such a thing as a "welfare state ideologue".
For the welfare state is a contrivance of people who surely can be described
as "welfare state ideologues".
There is no merit in a welfare state. It is
a gesture of defeat. The people produce. Much of the production is stolen from
them. The thieves are taxed on their loot. The proceeds of taxation are in
part given back to people, and the welfare ideologues take credit.
For
what? While they play with the meritless welfare state, they have forgotten
why welfare is needed. And as they are ideologues, they will never turn from
doing the wrong thing in preference to the right
thing.
Harry
>>>>
----------------------------------------
Arthur
wrote:
<<<<
What I meant to say is that free market
idealogues suddenly see merit in a
welfare state: Looking down that barrel
helps them to think more "clearly."
Survival is suddenly about trade offs
and the trade offs look reasonable.
Enlightened
self-interest.
arthur
>>>>
Keith Hudson, 6 Upper
Camden Place, Bath, England
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