to be disgusted - a call for the benefits people get to be published

[moisturiser]

Warning, Daily Mail link. here

Basically, the director general of the Institute of Economic Affairs wants there to be a website where every benefit claimant is named and the amount of money they get listed.

Now, clearly (hopefully) this has absolutely no chance of ever happening, but I an still disgusted that we live in a climate where someone of importance thinks this is rational.

Some choice quotes for those who don't want to click,

'The welfare benefits claimed by every individual ? including pensions, jobseeker?s allowance, bus passes, winter fuel payments and child benefit ? should be put in the public domain.

They should be listed, in full, on a publicly accessible website for all of us to inspect. Taxpayers have a right to know exactly who is claiming what and how much they are getting.

This wouldn?t be a matter of ?naming and shaming? anyone. After all, if you are legally entitled to a particular benefit, what is there to be ashamed about? Anyone ashamed to claim money from the State maybe shouldn?t be claiming it.

Surely, no one needs to worry about violent retribution against claimants. The British are far too reasonable to start taking up pitchforks and burning torches and assaulting imagined benefit cheats. We are generous and fair-minded people'

I receive no specific information about who is getting the money, how they are getting on and what steps they are taking to improve their prospects. I certainly never get anything even approaching a thank-you.'

The mind boggles. Hate crimes against those with disabilities have risen since this government came to power. I cannot even imagine how people would be targeted if this ever really happened.

That's going to be a feckin' huge website. Particularly as it would include tax credits and CB.

What a waste of resources.

This wouldn?t be a matter of ?naming and shaming? anyone. After all, if you are legally entitled to a particular benefit, what is there to be ashamed about? Anyone ashamed to claim money from the State maybe shouldn?t be claiming it.

Surely, no one needs to worry about violent retribution against claimants. The British are far too reasonable to start taking up pitchforks and burning torches and assaulting imagined benefit cheats. We are generous and fair-minded people'

This is rather disingenuous at best.
Everyone knows how stigmatised benefit claimants have become in recent years. Of course this proposal is intended to shame them further. Why not just admit it?

Err Catlike, you're deluded.
I've experienced criminal damage and being verbally abused/spat at for being on benefits/due to disability.

It happens.

Meglet Huge numbers of people don't get either child benefit or pension!

It's all very Big Brother though, isn't it. In theory I suppose I wouldn't mind my tax information being on a public register so long as everyone else's was. In practice, many people would find ways of avoiding disclosure.

Thank you, Lying. I respect your position on not sharing any tabloid stuff. I do agree about that for most of what they write.

I think at least this sort of article does expose those who have more extremist views. It's good to know who to be wary of

gobby I think catlike is quoting (the article?).

That it does, Moisturiser, that it does.

if we did have a proper genuine tax register, I believe that the ire of most people might well be directed more at the people who earn shitloads but pay little tax than at those who earn little or nothing and get frankly derisory benefits to help them cling to the breadline. Since a genuine tax register would never be allowed to be published by the people with too much to lose, I strongly doubt whether we will ever see a benefits register. And if we did see moves towards a benefits register I think we would all have rather more to worry about as a result of the implications of people allowing such a thing, than the possible effects of the thing itself (in isolation) . IYSWIM.

He started off referring to the context that applied to him (sponsored a child in, I think, Africa - but I didn't get why he no longer does that).

Perhaps he means that every British taxpayer should sponsor someone on benefits in that way, getting updates on them, sending a gift once a year... I scanned it briefly yesterday in the MoS and thought "Sick fuck".