Living On Credit

When a politician finds him/her self appointed to high office what they might most dread is that in the first meetings with his senior civil servants and advisers etc. after the initial chattering there is a cough from somebody and then, almost off hand, the words, "Something must be done about........".

When they have finished the others seem to be looking out of the window, checking their diaries or staring at the ceiling. The Minister knows what this means. First, there is a disaster area in the Department's functions. Secondly, it has been going on for too long. Thirdly the express train will soon hit the buffers. Fourthly, this was known to his predecessors all of whom chickened out of doing anything.

Which brings me to Universal Credit which now has the media in full cry because the Government ran out of time and space with the old systems of benefits and finally had to do something, anything to begin to sort out the old mess while having a new mess to begin with in the initial stages of any, repeat any, new system devised.

This time round there are differences from the longer past. One is information. The net now can give anyone immediate access to several providers of basic information, sometimes advice and at least an idea of what their personal situation might be.

What is not being discussed so much is that in the past the providing agencies had limited sources for their information on benefits. Today, the net etc. enables wider and deeper searches to be made and basic information checked as well as other things.

As it is very political and large numbers of voters are affected, we can expect all the usual posturing, fibbing, misinformation and allegations that come with any change. This is for the usual reason and an unwelcome one.

When change occurs, unless vast amounts of money are thrown at it regardless of form or function, then there will be winners and losers. Probably, many of the winners will think that they should be among the better winners while the losers will take it very badly.

In short it is a vote loser. When there is a government floundering already in other areas of action and policy, for example Europe, royal marriages, sports provision, transport and health then it adds to the complications.

This one is going to run and run and nobody is going to catch up because just about the entire population believes it ought to benefit from government spending and that the others must be made to pay for it.

But we do not have enough "others" and importing them may create new takers. This is not going to get any better, and I shall claim credit for predicting it will be worse.