Limiting Welfare Handouts
We haven’t taken a look at the indispensable Austrian Times for a while, but here’s an interesting thought which might strike a chord in the UK:
Dole bosses in Romania are adopting new laws banning people from claiming benefits if they own a camera.
Under the new rules people who own too many “luxury items” will be banned from any state handouts which start at 25 GBP a month to a maximum of 100 GBP.
Officials say anyone with one telly, one fridge, a bike, one desktop computer, a vacuum cleaner and a washing machine can still claim.
But anyone with a camera, laptop computer, photocopier, sewing machine or more than three cows and five pigs will be banned from benefits.
Three cows and five pigs, eh? Luxury! In my day…etc etc etc…
Baffled about the sewing machine. If people do not own one, they should be given one as it is a most useful tool for helping people to be less dependent and more able to maintain their clothes, equip their homes and perhaps produce saleable items or do paid work. Nothing luxury about it. You might as well say there is something luxurious about owning a drill.
It does seem odd, doesn’t it? Unless they’re trying to force everyone into seamstress workshops to make piles of football shirts for export.
But drills though? Completely different story. My drill collection is the very essence of luxury. If it had a brand name on the box it’d be something like Magnifico. I’m almost afraid to drill with the thing.