With the Roma ethnic minority at the centre of its proposal, the new government looks set to adopt measures to deprive certain people of their allowances if they are not playing by the state’s rules, namely if they refuse to look for work or commit some crime.
According to an article in daily SME today, the Smer-SD party of Robert Fico, which is about to form a stand-alone majority government, will extend the issue to children, meaning cash benefits will be cut if their children commit a crime as well. The party does not deny that the move is targeted chiefly at Roma, but says it is aware that Roma issues also need to be resolved on a European level and so will seek the opinion of Brussels before any final decisions are taken.
The rules will be applied to all recipients of benefits, who will be given food and basis essentials instead if breaking the planned rules. In its Government Manifesto, the Smer-SD party also touches on the idea of setting up a kind of voluntary boarding school system: “The Government will reassess the possibility of introducing boarding schools on a voluntary basis for children from marginalised environments” [a full translation of the Government Manifesto to English is available from TheDaily].
Spot on Stary! Bobby no Mates, not even in his chair yet, proposes a little carrot and big stick approach to the “Roma problem”. What I would like to know is what happened to the millions of Euros the EU has poured into this country to help solve this long running and unfortunate blight on this country. I do know a lot of it has been used to create non-jobs in the west of the country and no doubt line some pockets, meanwhile over here in the East, the Roma still get their water from streams, have no sanitation, live in isolated ghettos of shanties and hovels and continue to live their lives separatly from the rest of society.
Jobs! what jobs! Producing children is more lucrative than finding employment. Yet look around the country and there are thousands a labour intensive tasks that could utilise the work shy of all castes.
How’s about sacking all the pen pushers and chair warmers in BA who have done jack for the last 20 years and spending the money on decent social housing projects that will create jobs and decent homes for all Slovaks.
With the Roma population rising this problem is not going to go away and popularist tinkering around the edges is not going to solve it.
Reactionary pandering to racists. What difference does it make if benefits are paid in cash or as money. You can be sure that someone will be willing to trade food for cash or cigs or booze or whatever. Total bullshit.
~~~~the new government looks set to adopt measures to deprive certain people of their allowances if they are not playing by the state’s rules, namely if they refuse to look for work or commit some crime. ~~~
Bloody hell, most of Parliament would not get paid or have their cash allowances based on those criteria !