Following on from the fact sheets that Brendan listed here, and from the reports we have all read and heard about in the media for the last 20 years, it is clear that Ireland is a very unequal society before social transfer (taxes and welfare) but a very equal society after social transfer.
I would like to discuss the reason why this is deemed acceptable and why, in my opinion, it is both socially and economically damaging.
Firstly let me say that I want to see the most equal society possible and that this should be the policy of the government.
The problem I have is that we are using taxation and welfare to mask a serious and divisive underlying social issue; a large proportion of the population of this country is not properly equipped to function in mainstream society. If anyone hasn't done so I suggest that they spend a few hours in a district court in a socially deprived area (Tallaght is my local one). You will see, in no uncertain terms, the ruled and the rulers. The people in charge dress differently, talk differently and act differently. The Gardai bridge the gap but there is something distinctly medieval about the whole thing.
Instead of ensuring that that cohort of society have the skills, education and outlook to engage fully in the society the rest of us create and maintain we keep them relatively compliant and comfortable by throwing them scraps in the form of welfare. We do this knowing that we need more than material things to be happy and feel fulfilled. Anyone who has eve lost their job knows the impact it has on their self esteem, their sense of self worth, and yet we think that giving someone a house they don't own and an income they didn't earn is somehow the solution.
Self worth and self respect demand more than that. We live in a country where treating the symptoms of a problem is always enough. There is a reason that we refer to socially deprived areas and not economically deprived areas as poverty is a symptom of a social problem. It is not a root cause.
Knowing this the Charity industry in general, and the homelessness industry in particular, still spends all its time looking for more money, more handouts, more "resources", more of the same things that kill self esteem and self respect. Of course we need to treat symptoms so that the patient doesn't die but we also need to treat root causes so that we break the cycle of inter-generational dependency.
Suicide rates among people on welfare are three times higher than among people who work. Male suicide rates are five times higher than female rates. I don't think it takes a PhD in psychology to see the link here. Where are the voices in the charity sector talking about this? Where are the empty vessels in People before Profit, or whatever they call themselves now? It strikes me that most who claim to be interested in this issue are really pushing a socialist agenda which is more about attacking wealth than alleviating poverty.
Rather that just taking from those who can provide for themselves and giving to those who cannot why not move the main focus onto ensuring that more people can actually provide for themselves?
The vacuum of long term inter-generational unemployment, under-employment and welfare dependence is more likely to be filled with addiction, crime, domestic abuse and general anti-social behaviour than areas where more people work.
We are failing a sizable cohort of our citizens.
What should we do about it?
I would like to discuss the reason why this is deemed acceptable and why, in my opinion, it is both socially and economically damaging.
Firstly let me say that I want to see the most equal society possible and that this should be the policy of the government.
The problem I have is that we are using taxation and welfare to mask a serious and divisive underlying social issue; a large proportion of the population of this country is not properly equipped to function in mainstream society. If anyone hasn't done so I suggest that they spend a few hours in a district court in a socially deprived area (Tallaght is my local one). You will see, in no uncertain terms, the ruled and the rulers. The people in charge dress differently, talk differently and act differently. The Gardai bridge the gap but there is something distinctly medieval about the whole thing.
Instead of ensuring that that cohort of society have the skills, education and outlook to engage fully in the society the rest of us create and maintain we keep them relatively compliant and comfortable by throwing them scraps in the form of welfare. We do this knowing that we need more than material things to be happy and feel fulfilled. Anyone who has eve lost their job knows the impact it has on their self esteem, their sense of self worth, and yet we think that giving someone a house they don't own and an income they didn't earn is somehow the solution.
Self worth and self respect demand more than that. We live in a country where treating the symptoms of a problem is always enough. There is a reason that we refer to socially deprived areas and not economically deprived areas as poverty is a symptom of a social problem. It is not a root cause.
Knowing this the Charity industry in general, and the homelessness industry in particular, still spends all its time looking for more money, more handouts, more "resources", more of the same things that kill self esteem and self respect. Of course we need to treat symptoms so that the patient doesn't die but we also need to treat root causes so that we break the cycle of inter-generational dependency.
Suicide rates among people on welfare are three times higher than among people who work. Male suicide rates are five times higher than female rates. I don't think it takes a PhD in psychology to see the link here. Where are the voices in the charity sector talking about this? Where are the empty vessels in People before Profit, or whatever they call themselves now? It strikes me that most who claim to be interested in this issue are really pushing a socialist agenda which is more about attacking wealth than alleviating poverty.
Rather that just taking from those who can provide for themselves and giving to those who cannot why not move the main focus onto ensuring that more people can actually provide for themselves?
The vacuum of long term inter-generational unemployment, under-employment and welfare dependence is more likely to be filled with addiction, crime, domestic abuse and general anti-social behaviour than areas where more people work.
We are failing a sizable cohort of our citizens.
What should we do about it?