January « 2008 « Samizdata

The welfare state we are in, ctd.

Johnathan Pearce (London) · Economics, Business & Globalization · UK affairs

This item in the FT reminds us that the spirit of enterprise has not reached all pockets of British society:

More than half a million young Britons are officially too sick to work and claiming incapacity benefits, a higher tally than the number claiming unemployment benefit, according to figures obtained by the Financial Times.

The word I think the FT is looking for but reluctant to use, I think, is “lazy”.

The figure, which includes more than 300,000 young people claiming for “mental and behavioural disorders”, shows continuing high levels of worklessness among the young, in spite of 10 years of steady economic growth and a concerted attempt to move people off welfare and into work.

I will not dismiss problems of mental health – this is a serious subject, but 300,000?

This does rather throw the issue of economic immigration – and indeed, emigration – into sharper relief. If a significant chunk of the potential working population is mentally not the full set of cards, or lazy, no wonder it is proving easy for motiviated, not-ill foreigners to enter the UK job market. Contrary to the Rod Liddles of this world, I dread to think what would have happened to the British economy had it not been for the influx of immigrants over the past decade or so.

Another year of mine

Michael Jennings (London) · Sui generis

Brisbane, Australia. January 2007

Seoul, South Korea. January 2007

Almeria, Spain. January 2007

Heidelberg, South Africa. February 2007

Maputo, Mozambique. February 2007

Ondarroa, Spain. March 2007

St Jean Pied de Port, France. March 2007

Alfortville, France. April 2007

Oslo, Norway. May 2007

Gothenburg, Sweden. May 2007

Heiligendamm, Germany. May 2007

Swinoujscie, Poland. May 2007.

Granada, Spain. June 2007

Los Angeles, California. June 2007

Tijuana, Mexico. June 2007

Paris, France. July 2007.

Wroclaw, Poland. August 2007

Riga, Latvia. September 2007

Zurich, Switzerland. September 2007

Vaduz, Liechtenstein. September 2007

Feldkirch, Austria. September 2007

Porto, Portugal. October 2007

Paris, France. November 2007

Barcelona, Spain. December 2007

Penang, Malaysia. December 2007

Singapore. December 2007

Gold Coast, Australia. December 2007

Paul Marks makes a fool of himself – Hillary will win on Thursday

Paul Marks (Northamptonshire) · North American affairs

One of the first things I learnt, indeed was taught – with hard words, when I first stuck my British nose in American politics is that one should never predict caucus meetings, especially when the polls are close, because “anything can happen on caucus night”.

However, I now find myself predicting the Iowa caucus – indeed I have even found myself writing about it in on-line games I am involved in, which must make me seem even odder than I do normally. I am not predicting the Republican side – my emotions are too involved in that. But I do find myself predicting the Democrat side – in direct contradiction to the first rule I was taught. Therefore I am almost certainly making a fool of myself. However, I can not see Senator Hillary Clinton losing.

Take the line of policy.

For example, going on television and saying that people should vote for Senator Clinton because if they did she would “cure autism – I have been working on this for many years” and “cure cancer – a women came to one of my campaign events with a bald head from cancer treatment, but she had painted her head in support of me and I will not let her, and all the other people who have placed all their hopes and dreams in me, down”. Or the Christmas ad – Senator Clinton with lots of presents wrapped in ribbons saying things like “universal pre K.”, “alternative energy”, “universal healthcare” and so on. With the Senator indicating how all these presents would be given if she won.

I may think that such an behaviour is terrible and disgusting, indeed a sign of a maniac with delusions of Godhood – but Democrat voters will love it. But it is not just this, it is organization.

For example, what other Democrat will have five thousand cars on Thursday to take people to caucus events – and this is just the full time cars not the ad hoc help. And then there are all the child minders in special centres who will “take care of the children” whilst the parents are at caucus – I trust that nothing bad will happen to the children if the parents vote the wrong way. The campaign has just such a huge organization and such an unlimited amount of money I do not see how Senator Hillary Clinton can lose.

Samizdata quote of the day

Samizdata Illuminatus (Arkham, Massachusetts) · Slogans & Quotations

[X-Factor winner] Leon Jackson is more influential than Gordon Brown.

– Alex Singleton

Mapping state intrusiveness

Johnathan Pearce (London) · Privacy & Panopticon · UK affairs

Via Andrew Sullivan’s blog, I came across this rather nifty map showing how different countries around the world vary in their treatment of privacy. Both Britain and America get a black. Some parts of the world are a sort of grey, like Africa (I guess the thugs that run parts of that continent have other things to worry about besides snooping on everyone). It looks as if Germany is less intrusive than France, and less than Britain. Canada is less intrusive than the USA, etc. The link takes you to the methodology that Privacy International, a civil lberties group, uses to calculate its rankings.

Here’s hoping that British lovers of liberty have rather more reason to feel less ashamed of what has happened in this nation in 12 months’ time.

An evil start to the year 2008

Paul Marks (Northamptonshire) · Sui generis

Hundreds hacked or burned to death in Kenya, in response to and election that may well have been rigged. Shootings and suicide bombing by Islamic radicals in many parts of the world. And news of record prison suicides and savage violence here in Britain. And, of course, the centralization and growth of government. Less wildly violent than the preceding, but hardly welcome and based on the same principle – the threat of violence.

Yesterday Cyprus and Malta became part of the Euro Zone. Thus further centralizing power in the hands of the EU and the magic circle of politically connected banks and other business enterprises that depend on the credit money which, in the end, comes from the European Union Central Bank. In this way competition between government currencies, and the possibility, that some might expand the credit/supply less than others, is reduced.

The smoking ban in France is also coming into force, although I hope the French resist. Although other Europeans seem in a passive mood – in “Belgium” the Flemish Liberal party leader is back as Prime Minister although he lost the General Election way back in June – but there is no resistance. And in Switzerland the Swiss People’;s Party got the highest vote of any party for many decades yet its leader is out of office and the Social Democrats, who got only 20% of the vote, remain in office – but there is not resistance. In both cases “Parliament had a vote” is the defence, and it is true it did.

And, of course, it is yet another year of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. Things have come to a strange pass when President George Walker Bush is what pro-freedom people have to rely on – the wild spender facing even wilder spenders, the regulator facing more fanatical regulators.

In Britain also we have regulations being presented as freedom. Prime Minister Brown promises more regulations and calls them a “Constitution for the National Health Service” and there are yet more bans and regulations in other areas.

One can only hope that 2008 does not carry on as it has started.

Wishing a splendiferous New Year to liberty’s friends everywhere

Perry de Havilland (Prague) · Antics & Parties

All the best from Samizdata HQ and wishing all of liberty’s friends success and prosperity in the New Year! Champagne for our real friends, real pain for our sham friends.

In the networked world in which we live, right after New Years struck the ladies started a frenzy of sending greetings to all and sundry friends via…