We must be vigilant for vulnerable

WELL done to Colette Browne (Opinion, Jan 3) for her brilliant analysis of what lies behind the campaign of vilification being run by the government against those in receipt of welfare.

The campaign is a softening-up process to facilitate further cuts that cannot be defended. Martin Gilens spelled out the strategy in his study, Why Americans Hate Welfare as follows: “A large majority of Americans agree that government should provide monetary support to those who are unable to support themselves. But the perception of welfare abuse is widespread. Indeed, as the survey evidence suggests, it would be hard to exaggerate the level of cynicism toward welfare recipients held by the American public. This perception of welfare recipients’ dishonesty and freeloading is at the core of Americans; conviction that welfare spending should be cut”.

This inaccurate perception resulted from similar propaganda that the system was rife with fraud when no evidence was available to support that claim.

As with the system here, the majority of overpayment is due to error, yet this is never referred to, leaving the public to conclude that all is due to fraud.

Minister Joan Burton should be made aware that such a strategy carries great dangers.

She may have heard of the ’Welfare Queen’ jibe used to stigmatise single parents who were, among other things, accused of “spawning the criminal culture of poverty in America’s inner cities”. This ended up with women forced to collect litter in New York’s streets in return for their welfare dressed in bright orange jumpsuits as the ‘workfare’ uniform. In doing this, the New York State forced onto women’s bodies a link to criminality that had circled them rhetorically over a prolonged period.

Those who are aghast that this type of campaign is being replicated here under a Labour Minister need bear in mind that the same campaign led to a critical support scheme” Aid to Families with Dependent Children” being scrapped under so-called ”welfare reform” legislation and that was signed into law, not by a bible-thumping far right Republican, but by Democrat Bill Clinton.

Those concerned with the plight of the most vulnerable among us must be vigilant, it is clear that we are under a government that has no problems resorting to subterfuge and propaganda to camouflage actions that they know full well are indefensible otherwise.

Jim O’Sullivan

Rathedmond

Sligo