ABC Television Q&A Forum: Climate, Welfare and Religious Schools

Monday 15 October, 2018

Climate, Welfare and Religious Schools

Excerpt from Jeffrey Sachs:   He’s bizarre, let’s face it. I mean, let’s be honest about this – he’s absolutely the weirdest president we’ve ever had. And dangerous also. But he’s also representing more than that. He’s representing the corruption of the American political system. This is big oil, big gas, big coal putting a lot of money into the Republican Party so that they all sound like idiots. And this is corruption. And we have to fight it. Because why is this happening? It’s a few companies that think they run the world. But we’re the ones in the midst of hurricanes, we’re the ones that are seeing the floods, the droughts. Think of what’s happening in this country. Is this in the interests of Australia that you have the heatwaves, that you have the droughts, that you have the disasters? Of course not. And we’re facing it. We had mega hurricanes, three last year. Now we’ve had two huge storms, biggest storm in a century to hit the Florida Panhandle, and the senator can’t even tell one sentence of truth. That is a breakdown of the democratic process. And it’s really shocking, and it’s very dangerous.

Here is the program aired on 15 October 2018

https://iview.abc.net.au/show/qanda

Scroll down to latest episode click on first program.

 

A few comments on welfare with the key words – off welfare into work, entitlement, reduce welfare state, welfare burden, measure to move people off welfare into work.  How to reduce the entitlement mentality.

I can answer this empower people to believe in themselves, educate society to regard welfare as a an economic externalize inclusive of industrial and technological change.  I would agree with the negative consequences of not getting work which equates to rejection, social isolation, poverty and demoralisation.  What I have seen is victim blaming without any knowledge of how difficult it is to gain employment given HR criteria and ways to reenter the workforce via part-time etc.  The education system is creating barriers through HECS, paying upfront fees and high costs for TAFE courses.  There is no focus on actually helping people to work and contribute in ways they desire rather than forcing them into boxes that impact mental health.   When you look into corporate welfare you become outraged at how those on unemployment are in poverty below the poverty line with rents unaffordable.  I also would state having worked in 400 companies that most jobs are uninspiring, task oriented, sedentary (still) and bad for your body.  I had RSI for many years from typing, back problems from sitting long hours and stress from toxic cultures I’ve worked in.  Not one person cared about my career or provided me a pathway.  When I was a contractor there was no career path.   As a market analyst I was not in networks so it was very hard for me to gain work as a career progression.

It is stated the best form of welfare is a job.  I disagree with that as my purpose is to work for peace education, innovation, philosophical and inspirational speaking to inspire change.

Jeffrey Sachs speaks about the private monopoly system in the US 3 x times more expensive than UK.   UK life expectancy 81 78.7 and US pays 3 x more than the NHS . US system is the private. market.  He spoke of the World Happiness Report asking about the quality of lives.  The countries at the top Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany largest social welfare states, they are the most prosperous, highest quality of life, enjoy their lives, equality – people work very hard, labour force participation of women is the highest.  Why because the social welfare state makes childcare available, new children, support for mothers and people actually want to go to work.  He speaks of the social welfare system doesn’t make governments to go broke, it enables people to live in dignity and for those on low income to have a quality income so all have a dignity of work, vacation time, paid leave – he says this is decency.  I AGREE.

He speaks of the US and libertarian ideas, he says a large part of the population living in duress, this philosophy you are on your own.  Living in misery, dying earlier, children having no chance at education, people working round the clock, no time off, no paid leave.  I AGREE.

I found the speakers interesting, I would love them to lose their jobs and then experience the reality of living on welfare.  I’ve been off all income for a year and I have first hand experienced the prejudice and how I am perceived.  I do not have my hand out, I am not depending but a friend allows me to stay and provides food.  I am constantly working on books, senate inquiry reports and feel inspired to keep working to explain poverty, homelessness and the world I want  to see emerge.  I will be adding the World Happiness Index issues and Gross National Happiness as our real purpose.    I have lots I want to say but I find I am not heard.  This is why I write as I have to express my feeling in a world that is clearly on a track that will not serve it.  So I find the courage to illustrate important issues as we all have to take responsibility for our world, for me, it is not about work, it is about living on purpose.

I really love Professor Sachs.

I really liked the question in respect of the Invictus Games I also felt the same as the questioner.  I did some blogs on poverty, homelessness and the arms industry sponsoring the Invitus Games.  See my blog on the detail.

Mohandas Gandhi

“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”

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