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Read The Book
Before the welfare state
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The Greycoat Hospital
The Greycoat Hospital was once a workhouse. It has since been a hospital and a school. It has a very long welfare history. It has now been taken over by the state.
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The Greycoat Hospital
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Education and State
Licence
Stats
Paying a backhander to get a sick note
When I was in Poland last month, someone there remarked how Poland had been one of the ‘disability capitals’ of Europe. The numbers of people claiming to be unable to work through illness were apparently enormous. Today I had a … Continue reading
Interview in Sweden
Here is an interview I did earlier this year in Sweden. http://www.axess.se/tv/program.aspx?id=2666
Posted by James Bartholomew
Indexed in Education, European Union, General, Healthcare and the NHS, Parenting, Pensions, Politics, Unemployment, Welfare benefits
The growth of welfare state dependency in the USA
From an article produced by the NCPA: An index of dependency developed by the Heritage Foundation found that the metric increased from 19 in fiscal year 1962 to 272 in fiscal year 2009. The Heritage researchers found that in 1962, … Continue reading
On TV tonight
The recording I did for Channel 4 is on TV tonight. The programme appears at 7.55. I await with trepidation to see what the editors have done. My children say that I look ‘scary’ in the picture on the 4thought … Continue reading
Posted by James Bartholomew
Indexed in Behaviour & Crime, Media, including BBC bias, Parenting, Welfare benefits
Esping-Andersen and his three worlds of welfare capitalism
One of the most influential writers on welfare states is Gosta Esping-Andersen. Back in 1989, he wrote a book called The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism in which he categorised welfare states into three kinds. When I first heard about … Continue reading
What causes unemployment?
This is an unusually easy question to answer. Governments cause unemployment. How else can one explain why Switzerland, for example, has in the recent past had three per cent unemployment and Spain over 21%? How do governments cause unemployment? That … Continue reading
Incapacity benefit existed in ancient Greece
This is from Aristotle on the Athenian constitution. The Council also inspects the Incapables; for there is a law enacting that persons possessing less than 3 minae1 and incapacitated by bodily infirmity from doing any work are to be inspected by … Continue reading
A mean toff on Channel 4
I recorded an appearance for Channel 4′s series, 4thought, yesterday. I went to the studios of Waddell Media just off Tottenham Court Rd. It is a strange but rather clever format. For the viewer, it appears that someone is talking … Continue reading
Who said “People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance”?
The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest we become bankrupt. People must again learn to … Continue reading
“Golden misses” – reasons why some women are not so keen on marriage
Why do people marry less? One reason, I have argued, is that for those who are poor enough to be influenced, the welfare state offers women who want children an alternative to a financially-supporting man. In Britain, at least, it … Continue reading