The very existence of the Welfare Working Group confirms the corrupt philosophy of our welfare state.
With 356,000 working age people and 220,000 children existing on welfare, it's a prime example of cause and effect. Regardless of how well meaning the instigators of the welfare system were, they overlooked the repercussions of their actions when they imposed their ideology on us.
Looking out for neighbours and relatives is not the role of government. Caring for others should be our choice, as individuals.
The welfare state has systemised this area of life into a self-fulfilling, all-absorbing black hole. To implement their flawed system our government relies on tyranny by forcing us all to pay for it. In so doing, we have unwittingly been relieved of expressing our own sense of rightness.
We no longer have to even think about each other; an opportunity to think consciously about others has been removed.
Instead of bringing improvement to our lives, state-imposed welfarism has brought misery.
It has become so entrenched in our national makeup (courtesy of the government-run education system) that most cannot imagine how we can exist without it.
Regardless of how much tinkering the Welfare Working Group recommends, this cannot be solved while government is in control. The welfare state is just the tip of the iceberg. Nanny must also release her grip on our children's minds, our homes and businesses, our pockets and how we choose to live.
Graham Clark, Lower Kaimai.