Should welfare benefits be capped at £26,000? Most working people would probably say yes, particularly as that is a lot more than many hard working people take home after tax. For decades, Western welfare policy has struggled between two conflicting principles, how to encourage self-sufficiency and betterment and to ensure there is a safety net for those who fall on hard times. The latter is not based on ideology - it is the mark of a civilised society and common humanity that those who fall on hard times should be assisted.
Depending on how the policy is configured, whether in the direction of self-betterment or liberal assistance, a culture of permanent welfare dependence can easily develop. Now there are proposals to re-configure in the former direction. There are no easy answers. Times are tough and jobs are scarce. In the 1990s and the early parts of the new century, the job market was booming and a good opportunity to encourage the long term unemployment away from welfare dependence was squandered.
Tuesday, January 24
Friday, January 6
Assisted dying
The Commission on Assisted Dying has recommended that doctors be given the power to assist terminally ill people, subject to strict restrictions, to end their lives. Details of the recommendations are easily available online. Some thoughts on the ethics.
This emotive subject has been in the background for sometime now, especially since some terminally ill people and their families travelled to Switzerland where assisted death is legal. There are several religious and ethical arguments against legalising assisted death. Many people would argue that life is from God and only God has the right to take it. If this argument carries little weight with some, there are more general ethical concerns.
Whether you are religious or not, life is sacred. This sacredness is undermined if the possibility of legally ending it is in the background. It is conceivable that those terminally ill will feel under pressure to end their lives simply out of guilt that they are placing an enormous burden on their families. Even when, as in most cases, families are highly supportive, the thought cannot be avoided that they are imposing a burden which they can legally end. It is a difficult situation to be in.
We need excellent end of life and palliative care, not assisted death.
This emotive subject has been in the background for sometime now, especially since some terminally ill people and their families travelled to Switzerland where assisted death is legal. There are several religious and ethical arguments against legalising assisted death. Many people would argue that life is from God and only God has the right to take it. If this argument carries little weight with some, there are more general ethical concerns.
Whether you are religious or not, life is sacred. This sacredness is undermined if the possibility of legally ending it is in the background. It is conceivable that those terminally ill will feel under pressure to end their lives simply out of guilt that they are placing an enormous burden on their families. Even when, as in most cases, families are highly supportive, the thought cannot be avoided that they are imposing a burden which they can legally end. It is a difficult situation to be in.
We need excellent end of life and palliative care, not assisted death.
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