The computer says... no...

Maxinquaye · Mar 26, 2010

Last week, Max comes into the bland office on some mid level of the municipal center in Sweden. A woman sits behind the desk; dark hair, tied in a bun in the back of the head, big glasses, no smile, fingers on the keyboard of the office computer.

"Sit down", she says and points at the visitor's chair, a simple thing probably bought in bulk. Max sits down on the orange plastic cover. No "hello, how are you" here, he notes.

"Hi", Max says. "I'm here to report in." He laughed, a bit nervously. He felt uncomfortable for making a joke, and she didn't appreciate it. She just stares at him.

"Report in, for what?"

"Well, I'm supposed to report in for unemployment."

Silence, the woman's fingers tap on the keyboard. "What is your personal ID number?"

Max tells her, though he has to struggle to remember. He hasn't had to use that number for years.

"We'll fill in the benefit claim."

"I don't need it." Max says. "I just want to be able to look for a new job."

"You have to fill in the benefit claim."

"But I don't need any benefits. I've done allright. I've got savings. It's wrong to take money from others if you don't need it."

"Look, you have to fill it in. You need money, to live on, right?"

"But I've got money. Give it to someone else. To someone who needs it."

"We can't just give money away."

"But you want to give it to me?"

"You're entitled to it."

Max leaves the unemployment office, having filed for benefits he doesn't need, with a slightly sour taste in his mouth. He decides to give the money away, if he gets it.

The computer just said no to his wish to not get other people's money.

benbradley · Mar 26, 2010

Maxinquaye said:
Last week, Max came into the bland office on some mid level of the municipal center in Sweden.
...
"We can't just give money away."

Pulling that out of context, the world needs more government employees like that...

(putting the context back in, "you have to fill out this form.")

Bartholomew · Mar 26, 2010

Maxinquaye said:
Last week, Max comes into the bland office on some mid level of the municipal center in Sweden. A woman sits behind the desk; dark hair, tied in a bun in the back of the head, big glasses, no smile, fingers on the keyboard of the office computer.

"Sit down", she says and points at the visitor's chair, a simple thing probably bought in bulk. Max sits down on the orange plastic cover. No "hello, how are you" here, he notes.

"Hi", Max says. "I'm here to report in." He laughed, a bit nervously. He felt uncomfortable for making a joke, and she didn't appreciate it. She just stares at him.

"Report in, for what?"

"Well, I'm supposed to report in for unemployment."

Silence, the woman's fingers tap on the keyboard. "What is your personal ID number?"

Max tells her, though he has to struggle to remember. He hasn't had to use that number for years.

"We'll fill in the benefit claim."

"I don't need it." Max says. "I just want to be able to look for a new job."

"You have to fill in the benefit claim."

"But I don't need any benefits. I've done allright. I've got savings. It's wrong to take money from others if you don't need it."

"Look, you have to fill it in. You need money, to live on, right?"

"But I've got money. Give it to someone else. To someone who needs it."

"We can't just give money away."

"But you want to give it to me?"

"You're entitled to it."

Max leaves the unemployment office, having filed for benefits he doesn't need, with a slightly sour taste in his mouth. He decides to give the money away, if he gets it.

The computer just said no to his wish to not get other people's money.

How awful. It'd be a shame if he spent some money and made the economy's bowels move a little.

Don · Mar 26, 2010

Bartholomew said:
How awful. It'd be a shame if he spent some money and made the economy's bowels move a little.

Well, look at that last line again.

The computer just said no to his wish to not get other people's money.

Shocking, isn't it, that some people actually see a difference between spending other people's money and their own?

Absolutely shameful. How's an economy supposed to work if everybody doesn't support pillaging their neighbor?

Maxinquaye · Mar 26, 2010

Bartholomew said:
How awful. It'd be a shame if he spent some money and made the economy's bowels move a little.

Yes, Max is awful. His mother tells him that all the time. Particularly when he's slacking in the city, doing god knows what.

And even more awful for not taking the money from some nurses assistant, or a park maintainer, which I'm sure has consumption of his own that s/he wants to do - except the government takes that money and gives it to this awful Max, who doesn't need it, to fuel the wheels of consumption...

Don · Mar 26, 2010

Maxinquaye said:
Yes, Max is awful. His mother tells him that all the time. Particularly when he's slacking in the city, doing god knows what.

And even more awful for not taking the money from some nurses assistant, or a park maintainer, which I'm sure has consumption of his own that s/he wants to do - except the government takes that money and gives it to this awful Max, who doesn't need it, to fuel the wheels of consumption...

Except, as the old indian said in respect to Daylight Savings Time...

"Only the government would claim they could make a blanket longer by cutting off one end and sewing it on the other."

Only government would claim that taking money from one person and giving it to another to spend would fuel the wheels of consumption.

emilycross · Mar 26, 2010

Classic!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZAoMv_QnAU

USA one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly3Ew3wQ4PA

Bartholomew · Mar 26, 2010

Maxinquaye said:
Yes, Max is awful. His mother tells him that all the time. Particularly when he's slacking in the city, doing god knows what.

And even more awful for not taking the money from some nurses assistant, or a park maintainer, which I'm sure has consumption of his own that s/he wants to do - except the government takes that money and gives it to this awful Max, who doesn't need it, to fuel the wheels of consumption...

But who are we kidding? No one will ever do anything to change it. They'll only grumble until some bigger, more shiny problem wafts into view.

Spend the money.

Exir · Mar 27, 2010

Broken Win... okay, you know the rest.

SPMiller · Mar 27, 2010

Don said:
Only government would claim that taking money from one person and giving it to another to spend would fuel the wheels of consumption.

Consumption, sure, if one contrasts it with investment, which most (but apparently not all--see yourself for an example) people do. Otherwise, you're right: it wouldn't make sense.

RJK · Mar 27, 2010

If a rich person invests his money in bricks and mortar the economy grows. In today's economy, the rich gamble their money through Derivative pricing models based on mortgages backed by over valued or non-existent properties. These investments do nothing for the economy.

Money taken from that person (through taxes) and distributed to others who will purchase bread, milk, meat, cars, and houses with it, will build the economy.

The increase in percentage of wealth taxed from these super-rich is negligible, less than they spend on an afternoon's entertainment each month. The dollar amount supports millions of low income families, and allows middle income, working Americans to rest a little easier, because the economy is growing, rather than hanging over the abyss.

Maxinquaye · Mar 27, 2010

RJK said:
Money taken from that person (through taxes) and distributed to others who will purchase bread, milk, meat, cars, and houses with it, will build the economy.

There's not enough money there. Sorry. If I have to receive benefits, despite the fact that I've been saving - not much else to do for a single guy working most of the time - then the ones who will provide me with the unneeded cash are working people: janitors, nurses, constructin workers. Because that's where the money is.

Not with the super rich.

Case in point. GM was buckling. Government had to step in. GM is one of the largest corporations in the world, and its debts were in the order of 20 billion. Government constructed a package with a sleight of hand for 800 billion for GM and the banks.

If you have 100 million people that can regularly provide you with 10 thousand dollars every year, or if you have 1 million people that can regularly provide you with 100 thousand dollars per year, where are you going to focus your efforts?

kuwisdelu · Mar 27, 2010

Don said:
Except, as the old indian said in respect to Daylight Savings Time...

"Only the government would claim they could make a blanket longer by cutting off one end and sewing it on the other."

Hehehe.

I'm an Injun and I hate DST. This made me giggle.

Fran · Mar 27, 2010

You don't need to sign on to use the Jobcentre, Max. Use those machine thingies (if you can find one that works) and just print out the job descriptions. You don't even have to talk to anyone.

In my sadly long and stressful dealings with the Jobcentre trolls, if you can string a sentence together and actually want to work they have no idea what to do with you anyway. And if the £60 a week offends you so, my account number and sort code are...

Maxinquaye · Mar 27, 2010

Not the Job centre I'm afraid. Arbetsförmedlingen.

The swedish version. And they want to give me 75% of my previous salary for 360 days. I'll have a new job WAY before then, and if I don't, I've got enough to live by - if I live on macaroni - for maybe half a year.

ETA: This is the thing. To preserve the legitimacy of a welfare state like Sweden's, or the British one, you need to have the well-off feel like they're getting something out of it. The problem is, defining what's "well off".

I have no problem what so ever with the state giving aid to the poor. I have no problem with the state giving unemployment benefits, or food money. That's what the state is there for, to prevent harm. But that's not what happens.

The people that get the most out of a welfare state are the well off. Of course, one can argue about who is well off. I'm by no means rich, but I've got enough to pay the rents for a while and to keep food on the table. I know there are bar maids around that really struggle to keep food on the table for themselves and their kids that get nothing.

I can file to tax returns and stuff at the end of the year, and get a lot of it, but I'll still be "entitled" to a lot of the benefits of the welfare state, and I'll be met by blank stares when I don't want it.

That's the reason for wanting to limit government, for me. To focus government not to pay for votes from the middle class and the rich by pandering to their sense of entitlements, but by reducing overall taxation, remove all possibilities of the well off to get benefits and deductions, and thereby limiting the scope of the governemt to its core - preventing harm.

LOG · Mar 28, 2010

So...this happened to you or someone you know? An article link would make me feel better.

The computer says... no...

Maxinquaye

That cheeky buggerer

benbradley

It's a doggy dog world

Bartholomew

Comic guy

Don

All Living is Local

Maxinquaye

That cheeky buggerer

Don

All Living is Local

emilycross

is away with the fairies

Bartholomew

Comic guy

Exir

Out of the cradle endlessly rocking

SPMiller

Prodigiously Hanged

RJK

Sheriff Bullwinkle the Poet says:

Maxinquaye

That cheeky buggerer

kuwisdelu

Revolutionize the World

Fran

Slate grey mole person

Maxinquaye

That cheeky buggerer

LOG

Lagrangian