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Not a bad suggestion by any means.

When criminals are kicked out after finishing their sentence with just £50 or so in their pocket and no accommodation, is it any surprise that they end up reoffending?

One point - don't give the money to the criminals if they have known drug or alcohol dependencies for obvious reasons. Arrange for the trust to pay their rent and bills and a weekly allowance.

Excellent work and suggestions from caring Conservatism. Well done to all involved and in particular Grant.

ALL government policies rely on perpetuating the illusion of credit.

We're as near damn it in the same boat to Norway as Iceland and in the same wigwam's as tens of thousands of Americans who live in poverty.

The only reforms we need in a 'real' economy is a return to those of the Dickensian era with prison for debtors, gallows for murderers, gruel for breakfast, dinner and tea, and restoration of the Royal Mail to give them some mailbags to sew.

Also, they shouldn't be 'paid' to work in prison they should be flogged for refusing.

I think that Rugfish has forgotten that we are supposed to be a "civilised Society". I wonder how Rugfish him/herself would take to doing porridge for "the great crime" of simply falling on hard times and not being able to pay your bills.

I'm a great believer in the need for greater personal responsibility, but surely there must be a way of achieving it through eduction rather than the launching into the heavy handed tactics (which in any other set of circumstances would be called bullying and assult)proposed by Rugfish.

I suspect that in order to reduce the numbers affected by drink/drug dependancy and homelessness issues - and the costs and social problems associated with them, then we need to deal with the taboo subject of mental health treatment which (I believe) in the majority of cases is a major factor. Only then may we see the tide turn on this problem.

Prison for debtors? Gee that's just about the whole of the UK in debt. Since there aren't enough prison places I guess we could just put up barbed wire along the coastlines. Labour would be happy with that plan I am sure.

And what will you do with all the Eastern Europeans who according to a report on our local radio have made up the majority who have been knocking on the churches door. I believe that they should return to there own country, what would you do?

Well 'SOMETHING' has to be done.
Okay so my Dickensian approach might have been a tad OTT but I'd still say this lovey dovey everything is wonderful approach is the real cause behind an every increasing liberalism which merely changes the perception of many to think it's good to be bad.

Debtors might not need to be flung in jail but they do need something of a shock.

Typically, only yesterday a woman who has a monthly take home pay of £1,000, told me she'd bought her boyfriend a £1,000 engagement ring and spent another £1,500 on Xmas presents and was off out again that day to "get the rest in" with her newly arrived credit card as the other had maxed out. It's people like her who will cause people like me to lose £000's on the value of our homes and others to lose them altogether whilst she carries on regardless with her spending.

As for paying prisoners, such a thing is a nonsense I believe when 'hard time' is simply a way for some to avoid the dole queue which was helped to form as a result of the lady and her idea of Xmas which is as far removed from good life values as you can get.

As a model of the new "caring sharing" Conservatism you don't get much better than Grant Shapps.

Another innovative statement of intent allied with robust policy ideas that Shapps has come up with.

Its great, if you like that sort of thing!

Rugfish is onto something on the criminal side, but debt is not a crime and the proper place for dealing with it is in the civil courts, not by putting people behind bars. That doesn't actually help anyone: not the debtor, not the creditor, and not the rest of the public.

Rugfish, FWIW, I believe "prison wages" in my own Florida run about 4-10 cents an hour, and most of that is garnished until any restitution owed any victims is paid in full.

We'll be talking about the problem of homelessness on News Talk Online on Paltalk.com at 5 PM New York time Monday December 29 with my guest, Lindsey Davis, from the Coalition for the Homeless.

Please go to www.garybaumgarten.com and click on the Join The Show link to participate.

Thanks,

Gary

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