Tuesday 22 July 2008

Welfare Reform or more Monopoly?

James Purnell announces new Welfare Reform, moving towards a Workfare model and everyone is waiving their hands around in glee as if a new age has begun.

Reading between the lines I see a massive programme of private monopolies being tendered for. More taxpayers money diverted into what will become, IMHO, an inefficient, unprofitable, target-driven catastrophe. The pilots have not shown their ability to scale or maintain headway over time.

The private companies are likely to focus on those easy to place or easy to bully. Will they go out and reform the truly entropic? Let us see, but I seriously doubt it.

When New Labour embarks on a big plan there is almost always some form of private "contract" to be "bid for" these days where the winner gains a monopoly. It is entrenching Corporatism and is highly unlikely to do anyone any good.

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