Is this how
we will greet a New Year, to the raucous sound of racism, inequality and
poverty, and the mindless applause which spurs them on?
Or can we
set aside the politics of division, of class and money, and instead give our
ovations to real, inspired change born of our innermost need to see all people,
all living things, in mutual benefit of the resources we share.
Will we pull
back from the trash culture of negative excess – excessive inequality,
excessive pollution, excessive debt and excessive hate – and turn towards more
joyful pursuits like sharing, giving, growing, advancing.
Turning a
blind eye to the suffering of others will not bring us the world we wish to
see. Poverty is not a crime, but inequality on the scale we see today is.
In the 7th
richest country in the world, the grinding pain of the trap of poverty should
by now be completely abolished. Yet it continues, entrenched in our society,
and gets worse.
Most people
on welfare are in work. One third of all UK families are relying on welfare
to make up more than half their income, and more than 90 per cent of new housing benefit claims over the
past two years have been made by employed people. This is unsustainable and
wrong. Unsustainable because claims of this growing magnitude are both costly
and a negative drain on the taxpayer. Wrong because in the 7th
richest country in the world, poverty should be impossible.
Welfare and
benefits keep families in the poverty trap. They do so by shelling out just
enough to keep people going, whilst removing any sense of self worth and
forcing people into the first low paid job which comes to hand. The price of
housing is rising too steeply for most pockets, and rental payments have
followed suit. Add that to a freeze on wages and rising living costs and you
can see that this is heading to a pretty grim picture of rising welfare claims
and desperate poverty. 13 million people already live below the poverty line.
The rise in the number of foodbanks – currently around 400 – illustrates just
how bad the problem is. A person should not be expected to choose between food
and fuel.
There is an
obvious and enlightened solution, and that is the Citizens Income. This is a
universal payment to every man and woman as an individual right, and would be
enough to cover all basic food, clothing and housing needs. It wouldn’t be
fancy, but it would be simple to administer because there would be no means
testing – everyone would get it. Those earning more than enough would be taxed
accordingly, thus smoothing the playing field.
The current
social security system is demeaning and ignores the real roots of poverty. A
Citizens Income would transform social security from a compensatory system into
an emancipatory system, one that trusts people to make their own decisions, and
does not stigmatize them for their circumstances.
Just imagine
what the country would look like if we could all take time to look for the
right job, learn and train whilst our core needs were being looked after,
choose to stay home and look after the children.
The welfare
state as we know it has outgrown its purpose. Poverty is a mean old master, and
the welfare system, as we know it, sets a trap from which it is very hard to
escape. A Citizens Income would ensure self-respect and participation. Many
studies have shown that this type of income doesn’t make people lazy. On the
contrary it stimulates us to do more, do better. It provides purpose and
dignity, closes the income gap and increases choice.
How can we
not afford to educate our children, to feed them well and house them properly;
how can we not afford to give them choices and give reign to their talents for
the common good.
2014 could
be the year when the first steps to envisage a Citizens Income are planted
firmly in the ground. It could be the year for preparing a fertile foundation
from which could grow a sustainable and classless society in which all could
flourish. We can afford a Citizens Income, and we can’t afford to miss the
opportunity.
