When ever I hear Conservative ministers here in the UK moaning on about benefit Scroungers and the cost of our social welfare structures a sudden rush of images usually comes to my mind, I begin to think of companies like Videophone who wangled their way out of paying £6bn tax, I also think of the Banking sector that wrecked the economy through greedy cynical gambling and dishing high interest loans out like they are sweets and the fact that they are still trading in this destructive manner with little in the way of legislation to stop them. To Conservative Neoliberal thinkers they see Benefit scroungers as young unemployed working class youth, single Mums who are caught in the benefit trap and can’t afford to work or study, and asylum seekers and refugees who cannot legally work until they offered citizenship. Of course we know that these groups are actually the victims of Capitalism as opposed to them being scroungers.
Neoliberal Cowards Kick the Most vulnerable when they are down
Since the Condem alliance were elected into power without a clear majority in 2010, they have set out on the most ruthless and destructive attack on poor and vulnerable people since Margaret Thatcher’s time in office. The number of children living in absolute poverty (i.e. beneath 60% of median earnings) will grow by 600,000 in 2012 according to the IFS as median earnings actually fall by 7%. Meanwhile directors in the FTSE 100 companies saw their salaries grow by 49% last year.
People who are terminally with cancer are being forced to take employability tests and subsequently forced back into the jobs market where they are expected to work whilst they are dying. Cuts to Council Jobs has now passed the 150, 000 mark with a lot more on the way this year, the effect of this is the loss of vital services to the poor and vulnerable, and once again as an attack on all of those who are unable to defend themselves. The cuts directly affect the lives of disabled people, the elderley, people with mental health issues and those suffering with substance misuse. Towards the end of 2011,Youth unemployment rose to 1.027 million, the highest since records began in 1992.
Socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor
Socialism for the Rich and capitalism for the poor is a fairly self explanatory statement, under Neoliberalism businesses and companies are afforded protection and corporate benefits, whilst the rest of us are subjected to the slavery and low pay of Capitalism, in effect the rich and those who own and run big businesses are immune from the destructive qualities of capitalism, whilst we pay for all of its flaws and inadequacies. Under socialism it is the poor and vulnerable that are protected, under capitalism is the people who least need economic help who are afforded it the most.
The argument that the Benefit bill for the UK is too big pales into insignificance when we discover that it is the flaws of capitalism that creates big social benefit bills, and not as right wing thinkers suggest that people are lazy and parasitic, in actuality it is the companies who benefit from the practice of socialism for the rich who are the finger should squarely be pointed at
Who are the real economic parasites and Benefit Scroungers?
At the beginning of this piece I mentioned that the Global telecommunications company Vodaphone were responsible deliberately shirking their responsibility to pay their tax bill to the tune of £6bn, they are not alone, the Banking sector has cost us all £1.162 trillion pounds, some of which has been lost in the sale of Northern Rock which was sold at a loss to tax payers of around £400 million pounds, it is also very likely that RBS Bank will be sold as a huge loss to tax payers. It would take me all day to provide a list of individuals and companies who are not paying their way; a list would indeed be very long as there are so many.
For a permanent culture of the future
If we are to live in a fair and just world where people are put before profit, and sound ecology is put before the mindlessness of economic growth, we really need to work very differently to achieve this, the three main Political parties here in the UK, and the Democrats and Republicans of the US are supporters of the free Market and the practice of socialism for the Rich, Neoliberalism has effectively taken over all parties, regardless of whatever ideology and practices they claim to represent. A new Politics beyond the destructive model of Capitalism needs to be developed for the future. Capitalism, and the authoritarian socialism of the former Soviet Union are not options worth considering as we move towards a possible permanent culture of the future. we need to develop a people and planet centred politics, I can only really see social ecology as a possible model that we can move towards as a politics of the future.
Steve