I hope this doesn’t come over like a rant.
I’m glad that I live in a democracy that is making an honest effort to make society economically efficient and equitable. But I have to take issue with one of the things I really don’t like about our welfare system.
Those of you sitting to the left are presuming I will say that we don’t do enough for those in most need. Those of you sitting to the right may presume that I want to point out that much of the money is wasted, rorted and doesn’t do enough to encourage people to pick themselves up and become ‘productive members of society’.
My issue is neither exactly and both a little. Our welfare system is very impersonal. A cut of my income is given to the government and becomes part of a massive pool ready for government spending. Some of this money actually comes back to me in the form of family assistance, education and medical costs.
The problem with it being impersonal is that it’s easy to become cynical about what we give and how it’s used. We don’t get to choose how we give, how much and what for. This process is quite separate from us.
Another problem is that we don’t appreciate what we receive as much as we could. We wonder why some get more than us and how they use it.
The interaction between need and generosity has been sanitised.
I can’t honestly say that I know a better system to make sure that everyone can be taken care of. Our system is about eliminating risks. But just imagine if I got to hold on to 100% of my income, then being able to use that money to support my family, including medical and education costs, and even chipping in for the aged care in my extended family. What if I could keep it personal?
Practically impossible in a large modern democracy but more philosophically satisfying.
Thoughts? Comments?
I guess not everyone would use the extra money though to help their family! Some would still want to rely on other people's generosity/the government. When I was working at a charity, I would have pensioners who needed assistance in paying their electricity bills and in need of food hampers as the pension they receive was almost all going towards paying their rent!
ReplyDeleteI think there are two answers to the dilemma.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, the lack of transparency is true for the whole system of government, not just the welfare system. And the only solution of course is more democracy... or even some democracy. As things stand now, the only option is a vote once every few years for one of two parties, neither of which genuinely represent the interests of anyone I've ever met.
Regarding taxation, a simple progressive tax would be a start. In other words: tax the rich. We should all recieve our due, but seriously, how many share portfolios and harbourside mansions does a person need?