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.
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