18 December 2010

The Very Real Price of the Austerity Programme

Did anyone see the headline of yesterday's JEP? A pensioner had to be treated by paramedics because he could not afford heating and was standing in front of his cooker to keep warm. This should not be tolerated in an affluent island such as Jersey. Senator Ozouf's cuts will lead to more of this type of incident as GST hits pensioners and the vulnerable most. Meanwhile corporations and the super rich have their tax bills slashed.

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16 comments:

  1. AnonymousSaturday, 18 December, 2010

    Are you saying the elderly do not get any benefits?

    ReplyDelete
  2. rico sordaSaturday, 18 December, 2010

    This has been happening for as long as I can remember Monty. It will only be getting harder no doubt about it. Do people care?

    Cut school fees= outrage

    Pensioner dying trying to keep warm= ?


    rs

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  3. AnonymousSaturday, 18 December, 2010

    Jersey wealth originally created by piracy and slavery. Nothings changed

    Saw above on online JEP comments section.

    ReplyDelete
  4. GeeGeeSaturday, 18 December, 2010

    Quite quite sickening and totally unneccessary that anybody should be in this situation in this Island. But, let's face it, the rich are well looked after and catered for whilst the poor have to endure such circumstances.

    Philip Ozouf - you should be totally ASHAMED!

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousSaturday, 18 December, 2010

    Oh grow up, you cannot blame this on any member of Government.

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  6. Deputy Montfort TadierSaturday, 18 December, 2010

    Who is blaming this on any member of Governement? Simply saying that the increase in GST on domestic energy and bills, as put forward by Senator Ozouf, Treasury Minister, will make this kind of occurrence even more common. Anon is right to point out that it is not simply Senator Ozouf to blame when this happens, but all the unquestioning FSLM who support him

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  7. TonyTheProfSaturday, 18 December, 2010

    You are quite right Monty - it is that marginal area - also pointed out by Citizen's Advice extremely well in their comments on 5% GST and NO exemptions on food or DOMESTIC FUEL, that lead to this kind of appalling situation. It is one of the main reasons I blog on politics, the sheer inability of the States (those who voted AGAINST exemptions) to see the harm it can do to these kind of people. It really makes me so angry. If any pensioner does die this winter because of these circumstances, I hope all the States members who voted against helping them will think again. It is a complete inability to emphasise with these people that I find so dangerous in some politicians. If they can't imagine what it is like, why don't they do a bit of "reality TV" and try living on the amount a pensioner gets for a month.

    Unlike food, which does go up, fuel - and the cost of heating a home - can go up very suddenly. Even with Income Support, there are not, as far as I am aware, any emergency powers for increasing this as fuel goes up, and consequently there is always a time lag between what is assessed and what is needed.

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  8. martinSunday, 19 December, 2010

    mr tadier

    its not just the fslm its the whole of the states those that are two gutless to stand up to tls ozouf.for fear of the own jobs but im sure all states members will be warm well feed this year so nothing to worry about then.i wonder how many old and poor will suffer before those politician,s who talk alot but do nothing grow some b*lls unfortunately never going to happen.

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  9. Big ESunday, 19 December, 2010

    Greedy pigs have always had their noses in the troughs! only taking them out to drink and grab a breath before indulging themselves again.

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  10. AnonymousSunday, 19 December, 2010

    So where is the co-ordinated strategy for 2011 - yet another election year?
    You have almost served your first term Monty and now is the time to meet with the public and prepare the cunning plan.

    How to break the mould of a consistently ill-prepared opposition. Who can work together in and out of the States Chamber. Where are the common policy threads?

    Surely you can find 6 existing Members who are prepared to suppress their own egos in order to prepare a shared manifesto or strategy?

    If not, why bother to stand again next autumn? Let the voters just draw numbers out of a hat like the Xmas lottery and hope we all strike lucky.

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousSunday, 19 December, 2010

    Oh grow up, you cannot blame this on any member of Government.

    Actually, you should be blaming it on every member of government. The government as a collective should be doing their upmost to help vulnerable people but as a collective they obviously are not.

    Anon who wrote the comment I copied, I take it you dont have family members in the position this poor person was in otherwise you would not be so quick to make a shameless comment. People like you make me sick. You couldnt give a hoot really could you, you just want an excuse to pick the bones, I wonder what your family think about such trash talk. Disgusting attempt to belittle someone else in my opinion.

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  12. TonyTheProfMonday, 20 December, 2010

    See

    http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2010/12/cold-weather-welfare-deficiencies.html

    ReplyDelete
  13. Darius PearceTuesday, 21 December, 2010

    Before there was welfare in 1945 it was just as cold and people survived.

    It used to be that the parents would work to provide a home for children and the grandparents. The grandmother would look after the children during the day. Of course in those days people had to share bedrooms.

    Now we have government providing child care at the taxpayers' expense, we have the prospect of increased social security to pay for old age care thus at the taxpayers' expense.

    The difference being government is inefficient, wasteful and spendthrift.

    Why should one old person occupy a four bedroom house when there is limited housing available? If he had a smaller place he could afford to run it.

    If children want to inherit anything at all then they should accept their familial responsibilities and earn their inheritance the old fashioned way.

    The welfare system is supposed to be a safety net not a lifetime guarantee of a decent standard of living and something to leave to your family. Instead it is an excuse for people to be lazy.

    Demolish the welfare state completely, slash taxes and let people look after themselves, we will all be better off. Government simply is too incompetent to do anything well.

    There will always be charity for those who hit hard times.

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  14. TonyTheProfTuesday, 21 December, 2010

    "Before there was welfare in 1945 it was just as cold and people survived"

    Spoken in total ignorance.

    Average age of death in 1935 / 61.7 / 59.9 / 63.9 .

    Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics Reports, vol. 54, no. 19, June 28, 2006. Web: www.cdc.gov/nchs .

    Not many older people around to die of hyperthermia, was there!

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  15. AnonymousTuesday, 21 December, 2010

    darius
    roll on the day when it happen,s to you but then again you have daddy to bail you out?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Deputy Montfort TadierTuesday, 21 December, 2010

    Just to clarify, the individual in question did not die. It was lucky that he got found quickly

    ReplyDelete

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