Originally posted on Beastrabban\'s Weblog:
IDS as Stalin, image created from Another Angry Voice
The government has announced yet more sanctions and conditions to drive the unemployed into workfare. I’ve blogged before, along with others, such as the Angry Yorkshireman over at Another Angry Voice, on the similarity between IDS’ Department of Work and Pensions and Stalin’s used of forced labour in the Soviet Union. One consequence of this was that in the 1930s Stalin discontinued unemployment benefit, because there was officially no unemployment. It won’t be too long now before the same argument is made by the government to justify the workfare policy. The work is there, and we’re helping you into a job. Therefore there is no need to provide unemployment benefit, which only lazy scroungers would take anyway. Instead, those forced into workfare would be given something like a ‘retraining’ or ‘Probationary Employee’ allowance. Although, come to think of it, they’ve already…
The government has announced yet more sanctions and conditions to drive the unemployed into workfare. I’ve blogged before, along with others, such as the Angry Yorkshireman over at Another Angry Voice, on the similarity between IDS’ Department of Work and Pensions and Stalin’s used of forced labour in the Soviet Union. One consequence of this was that in the 1930s Stalin discontinued unemployment benefit, because there was officially no unemployment. It won’t be too long now before the same argument is made by the government to justify the workfare policy. The work is there, and we’re helping you into a job. Therefore there is no need to provide unemployment benefit, which only lazy scroungers would take anyway. Instead, those forced into workfare would be given something like a ‘retraining’ or ‘Probationary Employee’ allowance. Although, come to think of it, they’ve already…
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