[matilda] Re: SWAN posters

[Mr Jase Malgod]

atw writes:
> It's not really a wholesale change in society its just a bit of
> tinkering around with various laws and rules. Things were different
> and considerably better 20 years ago. 
> 
> The attack on benefits was instigated under Thatcher and has been
> going on ever since with the unending reign of extreme right wing
> governments.

Appreciated there has been a worsening of the situation regards benefits and 
0742 was right to highlight that. To really address the situation we should 
at least push for a scandinavian model where (ideally) those on benefits are 
viewed as having a break from work to do other stuff, where those working 
are in jobs which are well paid from the streetsweepers to the doctors. To 
just raise benefits would not really change the situation as that still 
leaves people in the position where they have a choice between near poverty 
and employment which provides them with no money or apparent social worth 
(the real social worth of a job not being measured by how 'trained' you are 
for it but that has got lost somewhere along the way). 

What is dangerous is the perception that the drift from those on JSA or 
whatever onto IB accouts for everyone on IB. This perception is stated by 
those on all sides of politics, from all areas, it is a prejudice like any 
other, and therefore really gets me bleating. Again, people who are dying, 
who are in dire straights, who are the most oppressed within whatever class 
rely on support such as IB. There are many wider battles to be fought but it 
would be nice to at least win this skirmish. 

Anyways, nuff warfare, more welfare. Tata, 

Jason