I was in the well of the Court today, appraising one of the Magistrates on the Bench.
One of the defendants was mightily miffed at being told to pay a fine by direct deductions from her benefits.
In fact, she launched into quite a lengthy diatribe bemoaning the lot of the benefit recipient, most of it far from original or unusual but one particular comment which I found so newsworthy that I thought it should be given the widest publicity.
In a nutshell, those on benefits are so dissatisfied with their lot (she said), especially now that certain benefits like housing benefit are being cut, that they are banding together and have formed a "trade union", actively planning "industrial action" and prepared to "strike".
It sort of reminded me of The Amalgamated Union of Philosophers, Luminaries, Sages and Other Thinking Persons and their threatened strike in Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, to which Deep Thought responded with "And whom will that inconvenience?"
I further wondered whether the inevitable militancy might lead to an "up tools" and a "go fast" or even a "skive to rule" prior to the ultimate sanction being applied to such potentially devastating effect.
Oh, and by the way, I DO differentiate between this individual and those who are unemployed through no fault or desire of their own. There but for the grace of god...
One of the defendants was mightily miffed at being told to pay a fine by direct deductions from her benefits.
In fact, she launched into quite a lengthy diatribe bemoaning the lot of the benefit recipient, most of it far from original or unusual but one particular comment which I found so newsworthy that I thought it should be given the widest publicity.
In a nutshell, those on benefits are so dissatisfied with their lot (she said), especially now that certain benefits like housing benefit are being cut, that they are banding together and have formed a "trade union", actively planning "industrial action" and prepared to "strike".
It sort of reminded me of The Amalgamated Union of Philosophers, Luminaries, Sages and Other Thinking Persons and their threatened strike in Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, to which Deep Thought responded with "And whom will that inconvenience?"
I further wondered whether the inevitable militancy might lead to an "up tools" and a "go fast" or even a "skive to rule" prior to the ultimate sanction being applied to such potentially devastating effect.
Oh, and by the way, I DO differentiate between this individual and those who are unemployed through no fault or desire of their own. There but for the grace of god...
Paul
Cogito ergo sum... maybe?
Click the image to go to Nano-Meet Website
Cogito ergo sum... maybe?
Click the image to go to Nano-Meet Website
