A discussion On Food stamps:

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Respenus

The following idea is similar to food stamps, or any type of stamps, in purpose, for what about a rationing book (which wouldn't be a bad idea in general, but let's try to limit the outcry)? This way you would be given money to spend rather freely and on necessities, without the necessary control of what type of food stuff stamps are being used for. The first major problem I see with this idea, is that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to equip only a certain number of people with the cards and others not and how stores would control it. Perhaps people with rationing cards would get basic goods at a discount price?

The priority for me is to make sure that other people'S moeny gets not wasted on luxury goods and luxurious details in ways of life. The aid given thereforew should be linkied as close as possible to the purposes it is meant for: essential food to prevent hunger and disease, shelter, education options and school material for children in a household. People should not make a living by such aid, nor should they sack money for buying cigarettes, the latest MP3 player, filet steaks, and Boss Bottled, expensive style.

I see no advantage in your idea, therefore. I even see it as inferior to a stamping system. I would prefer to supply only a very very small ammount of cash, and give instead purpose-bound values: stamps, in other words.

Oh, and I think there should be a law that makes stamps non-tradable, so that they cannot be exchanged/sold for money. They should be personalised in any way, like a monthly pass for the Bus, for example. Same ID on stamps and in a receiver pass - by that you prevent trading stamps. Irresponsible parents thus cannot trade the stamps for school material for their kids for money - money that then goes into buying alcohol or cigarettes. What is meant to help the kids, should remain theirs, beyond doubt. A black market trading for stamps should be battled against from beginning on.

It must not be a big bureaucratic effort, I think. In these days, with chip cards and all that digiatl data processing capacity, so much is possible so easily and so quickly, assuming the job of establishing such a system is not left to lobbyists or political dilettants.

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On forcing wellgfare reciever to work in communal services, I am aware of the fact that this opens doors and gates for abuse by employers as well. We have this very very big problem with socalled 1-Euro-jobs here in Germany, that's why. It led to the establishing of economic business models that from all beginning on depend on paying employees only 1 Euro per hpour, and the remaining needs of the employee being taken care of by the tax payer. As a consequence such jobs destroy regular jobs, again at the cost of the general public. Plus it makes you feel like dirt knowing that your emplyoer only emplys you because you are worth to him just one Euro per hour - that is abuse, and in principle modern slavery, unvoluntarily subsidised by the tax payers, while some profiteer collects the cream. That'S why I tend to think on a design that accepts to give the basic wellfare help for free, an essential basis of help without much luxury, and then with an option to increase slightly over that aid level - by signing in to community service jobs like soopaman mentioned - this then earny the wellfare receiver additional stamps or special stamps or maybe even a little money. - But again, children's aid should be unaffected by this.