The Poor Are Going to Pay
Posted by Maman Poulet on 10 Dec 2009 at 02:25 am | Tagged as: Disability, Equality, Irish Politics
The vote on the Social Welfare cuts in #budget10 is taking place tomorrow so that TD’s don’t have to get it in the neck when they go home at the weekend.
I assume whatever happens with the vote that we might see a new version of this video and that the campaign won’t die down. Unlike older people, people with disabilities and their carers, children and the unemployed are not as mobile to protest or vote for that matter.
Nice vid, but it is not cutting enough, it needs to spell out EXACTLY what cuts mean, via concrete examples (and accurate ones – no Jennifer’s ear stories!) to hone the impact of the cuts. You have to EDUCATE people who’ve never been on welfare.
Lennie’s budget is high on spin (about recovery – what now?) and a naked attack on the poor. In fact, as in my case (losing public service job and joining welfare), I’ve been hit multiple times, with income and pension levies (which I don’t seem to get back), contract non-renewal, welfare reduction of 4% and a prescription charge per item. Since this time last year, I’m down about €340 per month to basic welfare rates. Minister Hanafin tried to tell listeners on the radio just now that there is some ‘benefit’ from past increases that will help people now… well perhaps in your own little universe where you live with Harney!
My point is unless those on welfare can get their
message across in clear and concrete ways like the pensioners did, there will be more cuts in 2011 when the economy does NOT pick up as expected by Lennie. The FF game is to just get us back to debt/lending and banking… his analysis does not go far enough in terms of the current crisis. If his analysis was followed through, it would admit that the model of doing things is completely broken (but even he won’t say that!)
“the unemployed are not as mobile to protest or vote for that matter.”
Why? Getting to Dublin might be an issue but what’s to stop the unemployed holding mass demos all over the country?
As for voting, that’s a matter of choice.
I think its important not to take our justifiable anger and frustration out on older people who may have escaped the worst of the cuts THIS time around, instead maybe we should learn something about how they conducted their campaign and how they mobilised. Free travel passes notwithstanding, doesnt mean that older people are more mobile, it just means that they were angry enough to overcome the obstacles. And maybe that says something too about that generation who have been part of major protests and civil disruptions over the decades and arent afraid to do it again. Undoubtedly, there is a need now for social solidarity and intergenerational support, after all many of the young unemployed are their grandchildren, and its their adult children’s families who will be most affected and whom they will be helping to subsidise. So older people may not have had the financial cuts of others but be under no illusion, what they have been left with is going to have to be spread around their families like never before.
I don’t think anyone is angry that the elderly were not targeted in cuts – and yes – alliances are necessary to campaign for a new way of doing government and dumping this model of governing. The phrase “this time” is crucial, however, as – if as I believe – the economy will be in the doldrums for 3-5 years – there will be a need for another round of cuts in 2011, 2012 and so on, under the Clowenite mode of running the country.
A new Republic is needed, I say.
Sean- you obviously weren’t listening to Pat Kenny phone in to Brian lenihan or reading some of the twitters on the live blogs from younger people yesterday after the announcement about jobseekers allowances being cut. I just worry that righteous anger gets detoured away from where it should be focused.
[...] scheme is like what the hell? Who wanted that? The cut in social welfare is hard to defend and as Suzy points out wont be as protested against as the Pension cuts last time. “Unlike older people, people with [...]
I don’t see anyone drawing divisions between the groups except for the government. What I noticed was the spin today from Lenihan and Hanafin saying the older population were less protected from the depression than other groups and they had data to prove it – depends on the questions and data they were collecting I’d say. I don’t believe a word of it.
Older people are far less likely to be paying rent or a mortgage or housing costs in the first place, and have a much higher protection in terms of medical costs than the working poor since the medical card deal last year – it’s a very generous means test they have in comparison to others who have second incomes aka occupational pensions or investments. I know many disabled people who lost their medical card when they got some hours work or were docked rent allowance or DA. In short I think the poverty traps for older people are far less but I don’t begrudge them keeping their payments unlike the rest of us.
I agree with Suzy – they are far more likely to vote and have a much stronger and united message.
Disabled people don’t have autonomous groups or PR companies running round organising for them and spinning, that’s the realm of all the able bodieds ruining oops I mean running our lives. The disabled people I know are just worn out living.
It seems the Older and Bolder Campaign formed last year really worked – how was it funded?
The Older & Bolder Campaign is funded by Atlantic Philanthropies- but it was the individual older people’s organisations who did most of the lobbying on pensions. The Irish Senior Citizens parliament has had an extensive lobby of TDs and senators through its membership across the country- with older people going directly to their reps clinics and making the case.
There is nothing to stop disabled people forming their own autonomous groups, I see and hear a lot about the NDA who are a bloody disgrace- but the challenge to and critique of their position needs to be made public. The appearance of a “united” stance among older people’s orgs is just that- one major age sector org has already pulled out of the Older & Bolder network and others may follow. But when it came to taking a stand and pushing an agenda – they went about it in different ways but the mesasage was the same. There is no doubt that the public and political response to older people is based on a “sympathy” for them precisely because they are stereotyped and seen as vulnerable- something wihich older people used to their advantage and turned on its head last October and since. It should also be remembered that another group escaped the cuts- the arts. Again a formidable campaign- with lessons for the learning.