Quagmire of welfare system

'Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly.' (Proverbs 13:16)
 '......The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.' (2 Thessalonians 3:10)

 

The trial of a British man, who was on welfare, killed six of his children, brought spotlight into the pitfalls of UK’s welfare system. It was reported that he and his two 'partners' claimed up to 54k Sterling Pound a year in benefits to support 11 children under his custody. It was said that the man had not held any full-time job since 1991 though he is physically fit.

 

One-third of British public spending goes to pensions, unemployment benefits, housing, and health. This is not surprising considering one can get help from so many fronts, with rent, council tax, health, education, jobseeker’s allowance and even legal costs. The welfare system has become a lifestyle choice instead of short-term relief for many .Technically it is possible for a household to claim even higher than the national average earnings.

 

The original intention of the welfare system (which was started after WWII) was to provide safety net for the poor and unemployed. Now people see such benefits as their entitlements or rights and it becomes politically difficult to amend them. We have been rightfully warned of the risk of a welfare state as it will develop the so-called entitlement mentality of being addicted to government welfare. For example, this country only spent 4.1% of GDP on healthcare as compared to 9.8% for UK in 2009. The policy of co-payment is a good one. The medishield scheme(medical insurance) enabled me to cover more than half of my critical illness treatment. If we offer free medical care, the tendency is for people to over consumed medical treatments. Invest in education, infrastructure and research are better ways for a country to stay competitive.