THINK TANK - The Ideas Zone....!!!, Welfare to Work

The Telegraph argues that IDS has got it wrong

The Telegraph ‘s article on Iain Duncan Smith’s welfare reform is a little confusing the author – John McTernan usually writes much better than this:

Whilst I do agree when he says….

“This is so short of detail it is more a breathless, high-concept pitch for welfare reform ……. What’s missing, crucially, are any costings or modelling of the marvelous new systems we’re being offered”

See article

What John is missing is that this is BOLD thinking.  If we do what we have always done in the past we will not address this very intractable situation.

Secondly, and more importantly, it is clear that John has not been in the very difficult position where he has had to make the kind of decisions that the long-term unemployed have to make.

We can all engage in easy soundbites about it being good and right to work but in reality these are very complex issues about  rights, responsibility, incentives, self determination and aspiration.

What IDS is presenting is a plan to reduce the financial risk thereby eliminating one of the blockages to work.

It will cost more: but its necessary and worth a try!

The Coalition however needs to be careful that it is not sleep walking into a perfect storm!

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