The Price of Austerity.
A short while ago, my good friend Gary, over at his blog, Klahanie , wrote of how our coalition government is re-assessing those receiving disability benefits and, in the process, causing a great deal of needless suffering. Gary had a personal interest in this subject for he is currently going through the re-assessment process himself, and, unfortunately, it is also causing him unnecessary distress. After filling out the re-assessment form and then going for a face-to-face assessment, Gary was awarded his benefits, only to find that just two months later, after receiving another re-assessment form, he will probably have to go through the whole process again. To Gary, who has experience of depression and anxiety, this is a nightmarish situation. Perhaps he feels a little bit like he is caught up in a bureaucratic Groundhog Day, or some sort of Sisyphean punishment, rolling a rock to the top of a hill, only to have it fall back to ground-level and have to push it...