Some economists argue that the welfare state is dead as no modern economy can afford to provide the social benefits that have been enjoyed by most European societies in the last century. Others disagree with this nihilistic assessment. They argue that what is really needed is a root and branch reform of the system that has made European society more caring than US society.
The new economic realities that we are facing undoubtedly call for a new blueprint for a social welfare model that will be sustainable in the future. The European sensitivity to social issues is a value that is worth preserving, not just for moral reasons, but also for economic ones. The European dream is not about becoming rich while others rot around you. It is about motivating people to work hard to create wealth for themselves, while at the same time putting something back into society so that those who cannot help themselves can still preserve their dignity.
The future of social welfare in Europe will depend on a number of principles that have to be hardwired in every reformed social policy. Fairness has become the buzzword of modern politics because it is a universal value that most people can make their own.
A modern social policy has to strike a balance of fairness between those who pay for the benefits, i.e. taxpayers, and those who receive them. Unfortunately, a mixture of sporadic system abuse and popular prejudice has often depicted the welfare state as a broken system because it fleeced honest hard working taxpayers to pamper those who were not interested in working and just wanted to milk the system.
Another criticism of current social welfare systems is that they discriminate against those who are in low-pay employment and favour those who receive benefits, thereby encouraging a culture of dependence in those who find little attraction in work. There is more than superficial evidence that this is a real problem. Good political leaders should promote a social welfare policy that aims to introduce an element of fairness between the low paid and those who live on benefits.
The gold standard for an inspirational social welfare policy should be the objective of guaranteeing a decent level of support for those vulnerable groups that cannot help themselves. This objective has to be combined with the equally important aim of tackling the cause of poverty: family breakdown, educational failure, substance abuse, alcoholism, severe personal indebtedness, economic dependency and serious physical and mental health problems. Many argue that most social welfare systems today address the symptoms of these problems rather than tackle their causes.
The strengthening of the family is another principle that should underpin any modern welfare policy. This is not so much a legal issue, but a practical political one. Politicians need to acknowledge and encourage practices that help the family to be a breeding ground of mutual support for those who are part of it.
Thus, more help needs to be given to mothers who have to care for their children or elderly parents, while they also have to keep a full or part-time job. Fiscal incentives are perhaps less important than pragmatic work practices sponsored by employers who really need to value the contribution that such women make to our society.
The best thought out social welfare policy will not be worth much unless it stands the test of affordability. We can no longer pay ourselves more than we are earning. Those who argue that social values are more important than economic viability are really living in a fantasy world.
At the end of the day every euro we pay through our social welfare system has to be earned by what we can produce and sell in international markets. No one owes us a living and we have to find it within ourselves to work hard to create wealth to support ourselves and those who cannot do so on their own.
The time is also right to start promoting positive behaviours like eagerness to work, personal resistibility, thrift, and the habit of saving for retirement. However, politicians who promise us that they can shield us from facing austerity will only be fooling us. Austerity is a correcting mechanism that is inevitable when we find out that we have been living beyond our means.
Will it be a great surprise to anyone if we find out that many of us have indeed been living beyond our means?
jcassarwhite@yahoo.com