Shard

Spot on.

withabix

No it's not drivel, because drug rehabilitation could be provided instead.

If they undergo rehabilitation, then they can have benefits and potentially get a job.

Most of the stuff they take is recreational anyway, so no treatment for cocaine or cannabis use would be necessary. They just wouldn't get any benefits unless they stay clean.


Why should the British taxpayer pay for the recreational drug use of wastes of space?

Shard

So what happens if they can't deal with rehabilitation or relapse? Expect them to scavenge for food? Drug rehab is already provided to many addicts in ine way or another. Stripping away benefits would only make their life harder, and reduce the chance of rehabilitation, which would end up costing society more through crime or hospitalisation.

Why should the taxpayer pay? Well, first, we're talking about a fellow human being; second, in some way society has failed the person to begin with so there is an element of responsibility; third, people need to live while they take time to sort out their problems. My question to you is why do we need to be so nasty to those that are less fortunate than ourselves? Is there some kind of satisfaction gained in imposing punishments for not living up to societies standards?

BeenTrainingDogs

Who are you, I, the government or anyone to decide how somebody lives their life? That's a decision for them and them alone.

mdizzle

You may well be right - as we saw last night things can change dramatically over the course of a few years. My knowledge of Canadian politics is very limited and I don't know a great deal about the situation in Quebec which makes it difficult to analyse your comparison.

However, it would be interesting to know what the demographics were in terms of age who voted for BQ? In Scotland, Labour performed best with older voters, presumably in many cases due to some sense of blind loyalty to the party or sheer habit. The SNP's core support is among younger voters. I don't know if this is the case for BQ, but I imagine the opposite is true.

You also have to take into account that for the SNP 's support to be reduced the Labour party will need to alter its approach. It will need to move to the left (as the SNP has successfully maneuvered itself into Labour's old position). This will, however, be difficult due to the need to move to the right to become electable again in England - the electorates in the two countries are clearly divergent.

Incidentally, quite a few of my English friends (including my flatmate) who voted Yes in the referendum voted for other parties in the election.

mdizzle

Also, how good was it to see Galloway lose his seat? He blamed racists and Zionists for his humiliation to umm... Naz Shah. A bit awkward.

bats

I've found it most distressing today reading my Facebook feed from the various Deaf and hard of hearing groups to which I belong. There are frightened, worried people in those groups. Already upset about NHS audiology cutbacks, Access to Work support, and benefit payment assessments they are now anticipating worse.

i hope they are wrong but I doubt it.

BeenTrainingDogs

Conversely, at least 3 of the 5 No voters I haven't cut ties with since September voted SNP!

mdizzle

Not surprised. That's the kind of cuts the people of Britain have voted for.

bats

Heartless

Shard

Well, they did, but they were hoodwinked into it. The Conservatives managed to evade the detail of the cuts and distract the media with things such as the composition of the TV debates, big bad UKIP, big bad SNP etc. I also think not that many people realise just how enormous 12BN is - especially amongst many that will be directly affected. The only hope is that economic growth is very robust and fewer cuts are actually needed. But with Osborne and IDS at the controls, don't hold your breath.

mdizzle

I'm in full agreement with you.

mdizzle

I think anyone who expected anything else from voting for the Conservatives is either incredibly naive or ignorant tbh.

This article is an interesting read btw -

The austerity delusion | Paul Krugman | Business | The Guardian

rivingtonpike

Are you saying democracy doesn't work because the party you might have wanted didn't get into power?

Shard

Yes a good read (only read half of it but I'm familiar with Krugman's views). So much of the proposed austerity is indeed ideological (IDS and Osborne) and we will have to wait and see what actually comes about.