Courtesy of Ambush Predator comes notice of this story in the Oxford Mail on how Oxfordshire Health Bosses have issued advice on how to tell your children about 'the birds and the bees'. It would appear that where the union of government, together with it's agencies, and people are concerned the government is unaware of 'coitus interruptus' - or to put it simply, when to back-out or withdraw.
One of the commenters intimates that the fact free housing and benefits are awarded to those who produce children without the financial means to support those children may well have something to do with unwanted pregnancies and increases in birthrates (As an aside, the fact that those who are able to finance their children still receive child maintenance is ridiculous - but that is another story). That our welfare state bill is as large as it is - and surely cannot be sustained - is not in doubt, but our political elite appear to have not the slightest idea what action is needed to rectify the problem.
In my latest in the series on 'Constitution' I link to 2 articles, here and here which explain how the problem has been tackled in Switzerland. From the second:
"So what happens if you are, say, a young mother in Switzerland with a little baby but no husband or similar on the scene and nowhere to live? There is no countrywide answer to this question because it is not dealt with on a national basis. It is not even dealt with by one of the 26 cantons. It is dealt with by your local commune. There are 2,900 of these and their population can be anything from 30 to 10,000 or more. Officials from this ultra-small local government will come and investigate your individual circumstances. The father will be expected to pay. The mother’s family, if it is in a position to, will be expected to house and pay for her. As a last resort, the young mother will be given assistance by the commune. But the people who pay the local commune taxes will be paying part of the cost. You can imagine that they will not be thrilled at paying for a birth or separation that need never have taken place. Putting yourself in the position of the mother — and perhaps the father — you can imagine that you will be embarrassed as you pass people in the street who are paying for your baby. Instead of feeling you have impersonal legal rights, as in Britain, you are taking money from people you might meet at your local café. No wonder unmarried parenting is less common." (Emphasis mine)That society in Switzerland appears to be fairer may have something to do with the fact that their politicians are ordinary people doing their 'governmenting' on a part-time basis and consequently are not, as in Britain, a group of self-serving parasites sucking the life-blood out of the country.
3 comments:
I think the Swiss policy is one that should be adopted here. Recognising that it will take maybe 20 years for the situation to be normalised, with lots of unpleasantness until it is. Which of the 3 main political parties do you think would implement it? None, and even if say the tories did, labour would repeal it once they are next elected.
Housing Benefit has replaced MIRAS as a housing subsidy.....Unemployment Pay is a minor part of the Benefits Budget but NIC is levied on the Employed who get a raw deal when they lose their job as owner occupiers
jic: None of the three will implement it, but if by some miracle it did happen the people have the fall-back of a referendum on any proposed law they didn't want and could prevent it.
TT: True.
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