Proper organisation

I've just finished watching a television documentary about the exploitation of foreign children in the UK. They are brought to Britain and used to beg in London and other large towns. In addition, their families claim benefits fraudulently and send the money back home where they have large, well-appointed houses and big, modern cars.

I wasn't very impressed with the documentary itself as it seemed contrived in a lot of places but I accept that the situation exists. I've seen the beggars myself, with children obviously being directed and controlled by adults. I don't find it too much of a leap to believe that the same people indulge in benefit fraud as well.

These days I'm not often in a position of being begged for money, living in a small community, but on those occasions when I have been approached I've been torn. I'm quite sure there are some people who are genuine and I don't like to think I'd turn my back. On the other hand, I'm well aware there are con-artists around and I don't want to be conned. I wish I was a better judge of people to be sure I'd be making the right decision in giving or with-holding money.

Thing is, in the UK there's really no reason to have to beg, the social security system provides basic living conditions, to it's illegal. However, benefits are open to too many people who should not be entitled. Because of the open borders policy of the EU money bleeds out of this country, supporting people who have not should not really be benefiting. In order for a benefits system to be fair it needs to be uniform but each country has its own values and methods. For example, the levels of benefits received in the UK may cover only the basics here but is a more than comfortable income elsewhere. This makes it worthwhile coming here, claiming and sending money home - so money is bleeding out of this country.

I think the EU is a fair idea in principle but it has progressed far, too fast and in wrong directions. It's not going to work while we are all so different from each other, with different values and needs. Surely we can trade easily without having to disappear into one big melting pot, surely it's possible for us to say who we will and won't allow into out countries, surely it's possible for us to retain the differences that make us all so interesting? I think we need to retain our national borders, laws, economic independence. There are so many of us in Europe, with so many differences, that trying for a central administration is pie-in-the-sky - it's unwieldy.

Wouldn't it be easier to tackle the begging and benefit fraud problems with smaller boundaries? Bigger isn't always better.

Reading this post back to myself I can see it's a bit woolly, not at all well thought out but I'm having trouble articulating my concerns here. I just felt the need throw my thoughts into the online mix in the hope that it might be seen and taken into account...somewhere, somehow.

Proposed benefit payment for prisoners

Well now, according to the papers today there are suggestions that prisoners should receive benefits. Ahem, benefits are meant to ensure no-one is homeless and starving. Prisoners don't have expenses. They are provided with bed, board and health services. They also get entertainment, clothing and education - if they want it. What, exactly, do they need further income for?

It seems it's to do with the Human Rights Act. Here we go again! Surely, by breaking the law, they have forfeited all rights apart from the humanitarian rights to be fed, watered, housed and not physically or mentally abused in any way? Anything more than this should be considered a bonus, not a right, and only if the law-abiding population paying for their incarceration can afford more...and that's a big 'if' these days.

No, I say squash this proposal right away.

4 Taxation - do we need it and is it currently fair?

Money governs every aspect of society; taxation is the tool we use to raise money. Do we have to have taxation? Yes, of course we do. There are certain areas of our society that we have responsibility for as a group if we want to survive; transport, communication, education, defence and so on. Our way of getting these things done is by payment. Everyone pays something towards the pot to keep our infrastructure in place - taxation.

Understanding that we have to have taxes, now we have to work out a fair system of collection. I think our system has become complicated over time as society has evolved. There are numerous taxes, direct, indirect and hidden, and it seems to me that whatever way you look at it, some unfortunate section of society ends up paying more than the rest. If it’s not fair it will generate ill-feeling, resentment and eventually, social disorder.

My thought is that it’s only fair if it’s seen to be fair and it can only be seen to be fair if it’s simple.

• Is it currently fair? Not to my mind. Is it fair that someone living in one part of the country should receive benefits that someone elsewhere in the country isn’t, when they are paying taxes for the same services? Of course not!

• Can it currently be seen to be fair? Again, not to my mind. Some people are eligible for tax relief, others aren’t. Can we see who these people are, why they are eligible for relief and be sure we’re not paying more than our share? No!

• Is it simple? Guess what – not to my mind!

So, what do I think would be fair? Well, put at its very basic, purely from a fairness point of view and accepting that nothing in this life is completely fair for everyone I would say…

…we should pay on the basis that we are all inconvenienced to the same degree.

Paying a set amount is clearly not fair. £10 a week, for example, out of the pocket of a pensioner could be life threatening if it meant they couldn’t eat or keep warm. £10 a week out of the pocket of a millionaire simply wouldn’t be noticed.

But is paying according to a scale – a higher percentage the more you earn, or paying nothing if you’re earning at the bottom of the pay-scale - any fairer? High earners lose 40% of their income. Not as life threatening as £10 for the pensioner but what incentive is there to stay in the UK and keep contributing? What incentive to work harder if the more you earn the higher the rate of tax? On the other hand, what incentive to work at all if someone else will pay for you?

2 Where do we fit in?

Before going further I think it’s important to understand ‘society’ and our individual role in it. To my mind - bottom line - it’s a group of like-minded people living together, working towards survival.

Every single one of us, from Lands End to John O’Groats, from western Ireland to East Anglia, from the inner cities to the remotest farm belongs to this society, benefits from this society and therefore has responsibilities to this society. In order for a society to work the members of that society have to agree to co-operate according to agreed common rules and we have to accept that we all have to do our part. We seem to have lost this sense of cohesion and responsibility. We all need to change our attitude!

It’s no use saying, for example, “I don’t have children, why should I pay for education?” If society’s children don’t get educated they won’t be able to contribute their bit towards society when they grow up; there won’t be doctors and nurses to treat us, no bus drivers to take us to the hospitals, no farmers to grow the food we need to eat to keep us healthy…

…nor is it any use saying “I don’t drive/don’t use the roads on the other side of the country, why should I pay for their upkeep?” The city worker relies on the transport system to bring food from the country grown by the farmers. The farmer relies on the city workers to buy his produce to give him a living so he can in turn buy their goods and services…

…it’s certainly no use saying “I can’t work because there’re no jobs that interest me”. While a large enough society can afford to look after some members who are, through no fault of their own, either temporarily or permanently unable to contribute, even a large society will eventually fail if the proportion of non-contributors to contributors is too high.

Whoops, the battery's low, the next blog will have to wait for another time.