britain faces major welfare shake-up , page-65

oorain

I work in the Sydney CBD (I'm a beneficiary of a socialist government that enabled kids from poor families to go to Uni). Under a pure capitalist system there would only be private universities and no government funding. For high schools or primary schools either.

Every day on the way to work I walk past a homeless shelter. I don't know the individual stories but they are probably a mix of criminal records, mental illness, illiteracy, poor education, divorce, retrenchment. Plenty of people live one wage packet away from the street. We have a welfare system that provides disability pensions, unemployment pensions, old age pensions etc that prevent more people from having to rely on such shelters. A pure capitalist system would produce even more poverty than you see in the US, supposedly the richest country on earth.

As many posters have said, a moderate centrist government like we have now will ensure a fair system for everyone and will avoid the excesses of the Howard Government. The economy is meant to serve society not the other way around.