Residual income: The amount of income leftover and remaining after all other monthly expenditures and debts have been paid. Residual: Something that remains to discomfort or disable after an injury or illness. Residual Welfare: Based on English Poor Law, it is a welfare system confined to those who are unable to manage otherwise due to some defects in character or will; it is a system that is considered to be counterproductive and one that actually undermines economic performance. There are many different social welfare systems, principles, and policies throughout the world. The current system and thinking in the US is based on residualist, neoliberal policies that are hostile to the poor. It is a punishing system that fails to bring people out of poverty, and the poverty that remains is more severe. There are welfare systems based on the principle of solidarity and mutual responsibility. People in society are part of social networks, and have responsibility for each other. These are welfare systems that view “needs” as accepted and a normal part of life. Welfare is provided for the population as a whole, in the same way as public services like roads or schools might be. In this kind of universal system, welfare is not just for the poor… it is for everyone to secure basic rights and needs such as food, housing, education, and healthcare. There are also welfare systems in the world that are based upon the premise that workers that have their basic and primary needs (housing, food, warmth, clothing, and healthcare) taken care of will be better and less stressed workers that become more focused and more valuable economically to their employers. These are social welfare systems based upon enhancing industriousness or performance. In the US, we have been brainwashed by incessant messaging regarding the lawlessness and immorality of poor people. The mainstream media and social media constantly repeats that poor people, being evil and of poor character and poor genetic tendencies, are criminals, frauds, lazy, cheaters, liars, stupid (yet skillful enough to con the government and other taxpayers), and satisfied to live as a permanent underclass—as long as work is not required and that they can continue to take advantage of the innocent. Since they inherently are of bad stock and bad traits, they deserve to be treated badly and despised, and they deserve their ill-fated destiny in life. They have not reformed and bent to the will of social behavior indoctrination programs so helping them by any means would be the same as becoming an accomplice to their criminal activities. No wonder debtor’s prisons are coming back in the US. No wonder it is a crime to feed the homeless in US cities. No wonder it is a crime to be homeless. This underclass consists of the residuals, the dregs, and the leftovers. Helping them would violate the fairness of competition and one-upmanship. In order for us to win, someone has to be worse off than us, below us, and worthy of our contempt. They have to be shown to be strangers stealing what is rightfully ours. They are not one of us. They have to be dehumanized. Their misfortune becomes our misfortune unless we can survive one notch above them. Giving them assistance is an unfair advantage over the rest of us, and we must not be forced to do so. The US government must remain fair and neutral in economic competition and it must not violate our personal freedoms. Redistrubtion of our earned income is the same as forced labor and theft of our property. Property rights and individual liberties are the most important rights that we have—over and above all other so called moral values. Inequality is the natural outcome of a free market, and government intervention is immoral. The GOP and Tea Party goal is to become more libertarian in government (“small government”) policies like Hong Kong. Hong Kong is the most libertarian government in the world and it has a policy of non-intervention. It also has the highest income inequality in the developed world, and the rich pay little taxes. What the Tea Party and GOP fail to tell you is that Hong Kong recognizes the pragmatic and practical need (if not moral) for social welfare so that their social and economic system doesn’t collapse into chaos and a mass revolution. The Hong Kong government provides substantial universal social welfare benefits with almost free, universal health care; universal free primary and higher education; and heavily subsidized public housing. They know that masses are not residuals—leftovers that disable the system-- but key components to the system working at all. (RP)
Posted on: Sat, 28 Sep 2013 13:52:23 +0000