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Even I, as a left winger, don't believe that Bush is doing it just to be
callous. My feeling is that these are to last two posts of money where
government can be chopped in a big way.
Bill
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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