A friend of mine, Itohan, recently told me that the best thing to do during these troubled times is to travel back to Africa until the economic meltdown has passed over. In our continent, the people can hardly depend on governments to kick-start their lives.
In a west African country like Nigeria, people are familiar with this kind of recession throughout their lifetime – and the rich often use illegal tactics to get that way. In Nigeria, where I am from, the embezzlement of public funds has been rife among the elites and leaders since the end of the civil war, and such people chart a personal course that will increase their purchasing power or set them on a path to wealth.
Coming back to Ireland, the economic meltdown has brought a new wound in the lives of all, especially those who love to work. Actually there are those who find it difficult to be receiving handouts from the Government when they are fit and healthy enough to fend for themselves.
A new report reaching my desk proves that this country does not reward workers to the same tune as countries who take a large chunk of their revenue from the taxpayer. Quite rightly, I agree that the Republic of Ireland is a welfare state and thus should follow the maxim, ‘The welfare of the people is the supreme law.’ However, it is important to note that the ‘people’ here covers all, especially those who need help and the workers who make the State coffers swell.
Issues involving State benefits are attracting complaints during this difficult time from those that have been laid off by employers. For instance, a man stopped me on the street complaining about the bottlenecks involved in getting paid his social benefits since he had been sacked three weeks previous. He is not alone.
Based on complaints from a few people, I decided to make enquiries from social benefit recipients who told me frankly what they receive. It became clear to me that it’s less stressful to completely depend on benefits instead of working, but the Irish Government should make it otherwise.
It is disheartening to hurt the morale of hardworking folks now that the economy is up the creek; they truly deserve support from all quarters until they find their feet again. There should be no perpetual social benefits except to vulnerable people, and temporary benefits should be easily forthcoming for those who are positioning themselves to offer their Caesar’s tithe in the near future.
With the tide of the recession still beating all sectors of the economy, workers and those eager to do legitimate work should be encouraged through policies that are worker-friendly. Incentives in the mortgage sector and a less strenuous path to soft loans should be accessible to those taxpayers who built up the now deceased Celtic Tiger.
Ukachukwu Okorie is originally from Nigeria. He has recently completed an MA in Globalisation at Dublin City University, and writes a weekly column for Metro Éireann
olumoukachukwu@yahoo.com
