Reply to www.somethingcool.ca about welfare issue May 8, 2002

Say there Fred … Did you really mean to write the third example of: “Deductive reasoning is the key element… Sadly, this special ability given to us by whatever force is often misused, or in the case of some us living in British Columbia, not used at all. This was clearly evident in the newspaper at least twice this week” in your logic piece in the May 1, 2006 issue? Because you clearly demonstrated a lack of deductive reasoning in the statement: “Which is, of course, why welfare is at $510 a month. The purpose of this program is to give only the amount needed to acquire the most basic of necessities: as in rent, and a little bit of food. While collecting these meager funds, the welfare recipient is expected to be looking for a job, the acquisition of which will provide the person with the money to live that comfortable, happy lifestyle we talked about earlier.” Even if one chose to accept your premise that $510 is enough to provide the most basic of rent and food, and I would challenge you to demonstrate that $510 could meet those basic rent and food necessities, There is a hole in your reasoning, not to mention a total absence of the logic required to qualify as deductive, sufficiently large to fly a 747 through. Toiletries, garment cleaning, transportation, newspapers, communications are only a few of the costs required to find a job. How do you propose that the welfare recipient be looking for and acquiring a job when you provide no funds to accomplish this task?

Now it seems to me that anyone capable of “deductive reasoning” would immediately recognize the reality that if you want someone to accomplish something (employment) you need to provide them the tools (expenses) required to do the job. To expect job seekers to be successful, you need to provide them sufficient funds to cover the expenses that must be incurred to find accomplish said success. Requiring job seekers to rely on ‘abilities’ such as telepathy to communicate with prospective employers or teleportation to travel to submit résumés or attend interviews seems irrational and most definitely illogical. Clearly demonstrating a total lack of “deductive reasoning”.