We live in the 4th most unequal society in the civilised world, where the gap between rich and poor gets wider all the time. Just let that sink in, then read on...
The fact that one in four children in Scotland are raised in poverty at the moment is an absolute disgrace. The British Red Cross for the first time since the end of World War Two are distributing aid in Scotland because of the austerity measures put in place by the current government. Oxfam, and remember this is an internationally respected charity who have no political allegiances, have called the current situation in Scotland a "humanitarian crisis". We have people in full time employment who are regularly faced with the stark and depressing choice of heating the family home, or feeding the family, that makes me feel sick. The current minimum wage is a complete and utter joke it doesn't rise anywhere near in line with for example energy bills which the government have allowed to double in the last 6 years while we have energy companies posting record profits. For the working poor, independence and the SNP's living wage promise is the solution. A proper wage for a hard days work.
I Would like to talk about the workfair system too, this is modern day slave labour. People being forced to work full time hours or face having their benefits taken away. I spoke to a young guy recently who had to work 12 weeks unpaid in ASDA. He was told by the Job Centre he might get a job at the end of it, he worked very hard and at the end of his 12 weeks his supervisor their noted this and asked if he wanted to do another 12 weeks. He said he would only stay on if they would give him a paid job. The supervisor laughed and said:
"why would we do that? ASDA get free labour and get £2000 of the government for each of you that are here."
Not only does this Workfare "work experience" force people into modern slavery and take away peoples dignity, it actually prevents proper jobs being created while giving companies taxpayers money and free labour to private companies! Independence will see an increase in public sector jobs with the setting up of Scottish versions of things like HMRC and the the DVLA. thats just two examples, there are many more. The renewable energy industry is predicted to create an extra 28,000 jobs in manufacture, construction and maintenance. Doesnt that sound progressive readers? Green energy and an employment boost!
Being on benefits isn't a choice for the vast majority. The unemployed and the disabled have been demonised by the likes of The Daily Mail, Daily Express and government ministers such as Ian Duncan Smith as scroungers. As if we have millions of people desperate to live on a pittance of a handout? We arn't in the situation where labour is a commodity that is hard to come by, ask anyone who has advertised a job on one of the main websites, they are immediately bombarded with more applications than they are capable of reading. A friend of mine applied for a hotel receptionist job in January and was told that they had recieved over 200 applications in just a few days. So i would suggest the issue is not that the majority of people in receipt of benefits do not want to work, its that does not have enough jobs to give them! In reality only 0.7% of benefits is claimed fraudulently according to official DWP figures. Our UK government however prefers to victimise the the other 99.3%. TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady said:
'People have been brainwashed into believing that the benefits system is riddled with fraud. In fact it accounts for just 0.7 per cent of the welfare budget and that proportion is not increasing.
'While benefit fraud is a problem, these figures show there is a significant issue with underpayment too, with one in ten housing benefit claimants being underpaid at a time when living costs are soaring.
'Instead of seeking to demonise those on benefits, ministers should be getting tough on tax-evading companies who are cheating the Treasury out of £25bn a year.'
Polling carried out by the TUC in January, showed that on average people think that 27 per cent of the welfare budget is claimed fraudulently. The government's own figure is 0.7 per cent.
The real, single most shameful tactics for me are against the most vulnerable group in society, our disabled. They have been harrassed and subjected to tests and assesments by a French firm, ATOS. They cost the taxpayer £1.6bn a year but many of you will never have heard of them. heres an example of what they get up to readers - http://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/atos and Tommy Sheridan speaks about them in his now famous Kirkcaldy speech, something everyone should see before they make up their mind about the referendum, heres a link to that too- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6GsEKrCvgw For a private company employed by the government to act in this way is completely disgusting. An independent Scotland will never treat its disabled in this way but with care, compassion and understanding.
Matters will be made significantly worse by the recently passed benefit cap, supported by the Tories- LibDem coalition but shockingly Labour backed this too. I don't want my child to grow up in a county where their friends, neighbours or classmates could be going without basic essentials like food and heating. The benefit cap will also hit families with a parent in work who are entitled to benefits for being on low income. The SNP voted against the benefit cap and an independent Scotland would have a fairer benefit system allowing people a reasonable standard of living and give those on benefits their dignity back.
Danny Alexander grins gleefully as he opens a foodbank made necessary by the coalitions austerity policies forcing people into poverty to the extent they cant feed their children. Many more will be opening up soon with more cuts to come.
Anyone who thinks a Labour government in the next general election will help to tackle poverty is gullible and probably the sort of person that would fall for a Nigerian lottery scam. Remember, Labour voted FOR the Tory benefit cap and have vowed to make deep cuts if they get into power. These people expect us to trust them when they tell us to vote no? They don't have the Scottish peoples interests at heart! Jim Murphy, Margret Curran and the other 28 Labour MP's elected from Scottish constituencies are traitors to the poor and disabled people of Scotland. They towed the party line, pandering to the opinions of those in Tory/Labour swing seats in England rather than putting the needs of the people they represent first. Under normal circumstances i would advise you to send your labour MP a letter asking for an explanation but we have a unique opportunity here, lets send them a big loud YES on the 18th of September instead. Then we can make poverty a thing of the past in Scotland.
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