Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site dciem.UUCP Path: utzoo!dciem!mmt From: mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor) Newsgroups: can.politics Subject: Re: Universal social programs Message-ID: <1299@dciem.UUCP> Date: Thu, 20-Dec-84 16:34:00 EST Article-I.D.: dciem.1299 Posted: Thu Dec 20 16:34:00 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 20-Dec-84 22:05:17 EST References:Reply-To: mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor) Organization: D.C.I.E.M., Toronto, Canada Lines: 29 Summary: >I can't understand all this furor about the universality of social programs. >People seem to be getting more in an uproar about this issue than about >abortion, capital punishment and nuclear disarmament, but I don't see what >the big deal is. It seems a waste for the government to take money from >my right pocket and then put some of it back into my left pocket, especially >since some of it gets burned on the way to administer the program. Hardly MORE of an uproar ... The main argument for universality seems to me to be administrative simplicity. The rich don't care whether they get these little bits of money or not, but if it costs more to separate them out than it would to let them have the money, I'd prefer to let them keep it. I think that the amount of money involved is so trivial compared to the deficit they are trying to reduce that the whole thing is being played completely for symbolic politics. Brian is doing his usual smoke-and-mirrors trick, and the others are trying to get the public to cough. If a new government gets the reputation early on of stumbling, it's easier to bring them down later. If they are initially seen as firm and confident, that reputation will stick to them in the face of their inevitable later mistakes (for a while, anyway). The opposition wants to make sure that Joe Clark will continue to lose his luggage, whether it has anything to do with the way the Government works or not. -- Martin Taylor {allegra,linus,ihnp4,floyd,ubc-vision}!utzoo!dciem!mmt {uw-beaver,qucis,watmath}!utcsrgv!dciem!mmt