Elminate the Poverty Cycle

I think I have identified the secret of running a successful government. In saying that, I have no idea on how to approach the problem, as it is a minefield of red tape and any approach would be likely to upset some people, but I believe if you achieve success in this area, a Utopian society will surely follow.

It is an amazing task, and one that I am sure many a government of current and bygone eras have grappled with it, I am sure someone else has had the notion, but last night in a theological discussion with my housemate and another friend, I isolated what I believe the key to running a government in western society. This probably isn’t a revelation to you, but to me it is a concept I have not explored at length.

We must destroy the poverty cycle.

This is a gigantic task, and by no stretch of the imagination do I think it will be easily achieved. I am the eternal optimist though, and with hard work, and dedicated focus, I believe this is something that is attainable.

I am speaking only from an Australian perspective, because I am familiar with the poverty cycle here. I imagine it wouldn’t be too far removed from that of the USA, only on a much smaller scale.

I hate to admit it, but I guess you could call me an elitist. I sometimes wake up in the morning, and want to hit myself because I have some ideas that are polarised from each other – i.e. I believe in welfare to some extent, but I also believe those that work hard are entitled to all the benefits they enjoy. Those that don’t work because they can enjoy government hand-outs I believe to be at the butt end of society, Those that work only for money and self gratification I hold in the same esteem. There is a happy medium somewhere, and I think I can dedicate some of my time nutting out some of these ideas. I don’t profess to have any new ideas that are workable, but coming up with a concept and implementing it on some scale is not a task that is beyond the average citizen – the beauty of democracy.

I see it all the time, People in and out of jail, unable to function properly in society, having more children than they should because they can’t provide a stable environment, which leads to these children becoming problems for society as a general rule. In my initial thought processes, I attribute this never ending cycle as a problem that’s not just on a political level, but it is a great social problem and it needs to be addressed on a grand scale.

Crime is obviously a large factor here. What is the percentage of crime that we can attribute to drugs/alcohol/cigarettes? How many robberies/murders/assaults are related to people who need money to fuel their addiction? Do people assault others on the street because they don’t have money to buy food? What are the key ideas to make sure this doesn’t happen?

I hate to say it, but there is just no hope for some people. They are the victims of society that will happily cruise along doing what they please with no intention or desire of reformation or contribution. I cannot stand these people with no aspirations or desire to succeed. Their spirit has usually been crushed by society telling them they are no good – Hollywood movies, trendy nightclubs, magazine advertisements, and unfortunately sometimes their parents who are influenced by what society acknowledges as a successful person.

These are the people that resort to drugs, crime, and just generally lose faith in themselves and society in general. These people will continue to live a meagre existence, and contribute to the trend by having children who will be under the same pressure to succeed because their parents didn’t, or they will be finished from birth because of an un-stable family environment that can be subject to substance abuse and the failings that come with it – malnourishment, physical and mental abuse.

I sincerely believe the key to a successful and developing society is education. I do not see a limit to the education budget. This is not just arithmetic and grammar; it is education on drugs; it is education on sex; it is education about personal growth and education about spirituality.

Call me a hardliner, but it’s either comply and reform, or get out of my way. If you are happy to go on welfare and accept your cheques without any desire to work, go right ahead – you are not welcome here. I can’t understand the attitude people have that they deserve handouts from the government because their second uncle is a truck driver and he pays his tax. Some people won’t go and work at a burger joint, because they don’t want to do that. Get real. People complain the jobs aren’t there – what a load of utter rubbish that is, it’s just a case of accepting what you are given, and if you work hard you are bound to get what you want in the end.

Of course there are people that are quite worthy of welfare, and deserve the assistance they get, trust me, I am a socialist at heart, and the people will get looked after, however the resources must be allocated to set up an elaborate system to weed out those that deserve support and those that don’t – you simply cannot categorise. All cases must be judged on a case by case basis.

This is naïve of me, but I believe this is achievable in Australia. I only have one idea on how to go about it thus far, and its probably quite stupid, but an idea none the less.

I would totally cut defence spending for 3 years. This is billions and billions of dollars. Sure, we may be susceptible to an invasion from Indonesia, but I think the whole world knows that if you mess with us, you mess with USA, of course another naivety, correct me if I am wrong, but you guys like us don’t you? I would allow for enough of a budget to send small UN sanctioned peace keeping forces, and make sure there is a clause for spending in case of emergency, but I would instantaneously throw this money at the education system, and the bureaucrats of welfare.

As for the un-reformable, and people who have no desire to use their brains and mooch of welfare, I would setup a nice little community/ “exclusion zone” where they can go as they please, and live their life amongst those like themselves… This little zone would be within central Australia on some desolate plane. These people will always be given the option of joining the normal community; otherwise they will just die off. Their children will be given the best of education – the exact same of those that embrace our way of life, and should the desire to remain in ‘Bum land’ after this education; they will be free to do so – however, I imagine they will approach life with the appropriate eagerness that youth should display.

If the un-desirables choose to live amongst the normal community, they must undertake a rigorous test and must be sponsored by someone who assumes all responsibility for them – this allows for spoilt rich kids who will never know a hard day of work in their life, their parents can pay for their welfare, my societies tax dollars will have no part in the development of these people. Even rich ‘philanthropists’ can have the ability to sponsor the un-desirables, but they must assume total and full responsibility.

This is a pipe dream, and the implementation would be a task of gargantuan proportions, and I imagine I would have to form some sort of dictatorship to see this through. With successful implementation though, the benefit would be enormous. Of course the benefits would come shining through in a number of years – but this is all hypothetical.

The human brain/body are marvellous creations – It has allowed me to come up with this concept and formulate somewhat, surely it is powerful enough for people to flip burgers rather than collect welfare. When people realise that our time is the most important asset we have, they will use it to their advantage. Some people just don’t understand the concept that people work 40 hour weeks and get taxed thousands a year just so they can sit on the couch. These people need to be taught a lesson.

To be successful, you have to push limits and think outside the square. This would be a preposterous concept for some to entertain, and a task so large it could be unfathomable, but if we eliminate the poverty cycle, we would all see a much better world. Initially there would be a lot of pain, and expense, but there has to be a way, people just need to think about things like this more rather than external problems.

BAM!!