I want to be a little careful here because I was speaking with some classmates the other day, in a mental health context, about people who see government conspiracies everywhere and about at what point they become delusional. Still …

In a later conversation, on the webcast the Fred Factor, I touched on the point that the current welfare system tends to beat you up, beat you down and abuse you.

The system strips you of your dignity, self-confidence and self-esteem. It hammers you into a little box, makes you dependent on the system and places multiple barriers to you getting off of welfare.

Having beaten you down it inundates you with all these messages about how much better your life would be with a minimum wage job. Despite the fact that in Abbotsford the minimum wage is not a living wage. That is to say – you cannot live and pay your bills working a 40 hour work week at or within a few dollars of minimum wage. Do the math and you will find that you need to earn $13.00+ an hour to afford housing and food in Abbotsford.

Consider the screams, moaning and carrying on that business does at the mere suggestion of raising the minimum wage even $0.50. $13.00+ is apoplexy range.

Many businesses, many big businesses, are built on low (slave) wage rates set by the current minimum wage rate as well as their ability to use and abuse employees by labelling them “part time”. Business needs a supply of people willing to accept this abuse and wages that do not pay the bills or enable employees to make ends meet – in order to make their huge profits.

Where is business to find such a desperate labour pool of compliant worker bees?

Enter big government with their “Income Assistance” system who also, conveniently, just happen to set the minimum wage rate.

They have a system, the welfare system, which takes people in need and transforms them. It strips them of dignity, of their confidence, abuses them, habituates them to jumping through hoops, renders them totally dependent on the system and then bombards them with advertising that extols the virtues/advantages of even a minimum wage job to escape the clutches of the fiends at Income Assistance.

Voilá! You have the labour pool so needed to run business and fuel the continuing transfer of wealth from those people who actually do the work and build the wealth to the wealthy business/ruling classes.

One would almost think that the Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance was a branch of business, not of the “people” government. Or one could see a conspiracy among the ruling politicians (and their bureaucrats) and the wealthy/business rulers (and their bureaucrats) to provide the needed cannon fodder fir business to thrive, earn undeserved, excessive profits and continue the transfer of wealth to the wealthy and ruling classes.

But that would be delusional – or would it? Keep in mind that you are only paranoid if they aren’t out to get you – and there is no conspiracy. But you might want to be careful – Mental Health is under the control of the politicians and their bureaucrats.

Just a little something to ponder.