Wow!!!
Stella, I don't recall meeting you, but welcome anyway, and thank you so much for that astonishing link!
See
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4227991.stm for information about the UK government's proposal to abolish incapacity benefit.
This will cause a lot of suffering to people on the autism spectrum, if they are forced by fear of having their benefit stopped, to look for non-existent jobs.
I do voluntary work 6 days a week, but I am still supposed to be "actively seeking work" in order to claim Job Seekers Allowance.
Woodpeace, what the Department of Work and Pensions
says it is proposing to do is reduce the number of people claiiming incapacity benefit by one million over a period of about
20 years starting in 2008.
Which is another way of saying that nothing at all will happen before the next general election, and not much afterwards.
I think we should see this latest attack on benefit as being more of a matter of showing a tough fiscal policy (in case we thought they were "bleeding heart liberals") than any actual intention to act.
This sort of political posturing may have some effect on foreign investment in the UK, the value of UK stock in the "global marketplace" and so on, without the actual need to make unpopular cuts. All much more important to Blair and his followers than the welfare of people with ASD I'm afraid.
Stella.
Stella, when they said that they would reduce the numbers of people on DLA disability they did act, and quickly.
They looked at all adult cases that werent terminal and many people were taken off it.
They then went through all the kids cases. This took some years altogether, but nevertheless they did it, and they will do the same again.
oh Amy, I've never suspected the government of hidden compassion.
It's clear, though, that if one million people - more than one per day since the time of Jesus - were suddenly put on the street, the sure fate of those without money - the country would become unstable.
Benefits are set at the lowest level required to make socio-political instability - riots and so on, with all their risks - unattractive to the majority of welfare recipients.
So far as I can see from government statements, they intend more to obstruct further claimants than disenfranchise those already claiming.
After all, the time scale they are using to measure "success" is so long that significant numbers will die off, reducing the number of claimants by "natural wastage."
But only time will tell, and your pessimism is probably well founded!
Stella
