I want to go deeper on the issues with the Belgian social security system. Not as a way to oppose it, but more analysing why it happens and what’s the logic or apparent logic behind it.
Today I will talk about a case. Person A lives in a rental home while he has a job. Let’s say that person A loses his job for whatever reason it might be and isn’t entitled to unemployment cheque. Here in Belgium than he has to go to OCMW to apply for help. Let’s say that they deny to help him out for whatever reason they might give. Than that person ends up on the street. Now years later, he manages to get of the street and into a home.
A sense of abandonment
Since he was denied help by OCMW he is entitled to the feeling that the system has abandoned him. That would be a correct assessment of the situation. OCMW was supposed to help him, but refused.
If he were to live on the streets,he would still be busy with trying to survive, trying to find a different place perhaps to sleep every night.
Since he got away from it, he has more time to think about what happened. Now the far right would have him believe that the system cares more about foreigners than their own citizens. The thing is, the truth here is stretched to the extreme. I will explain.
The problem concerning social housing.
OCMW can give social housing to people who need it. The problem is. With paychecks barely gone up the last few decades, but everything else gotten more expensive, people either struggle to reach the end of the month or are forced to sign up for social housing. With so many applicants and so little space, they are forced to make unpleasant decisions.
One of being the one to give people who arrived here direct acces because they have nobody and most of them assume that Belgian citizens have people they can turn to. But that is not always the case. That way Belgian citizens could end up on the street while a immigrant gets a social house. Fair? No it isnt. The real problem lies with the government lack of tackling the housing issue head on. They let the private market handling the problem, not realizing or dont care if that makes matters worse.
The reason is that they want people to think that the market regulate itself, but it never does that and doesn’t want that. Now home owners can charge whatever they want. In itself is not a bad thing, but the reality is that when asking to much so that they can filter people who they don’t want.
Affordable housing is a real problem. Both the immigrant who just got here as the Belgian citizen is entitled to help from OCMW. But with so many people apply for help, their resources are stretched to the limit. Is it ok that the Belgian citizen has to live on the street, while the immigrant gets a social house? No, it doesn’t. But that does not mean that the immigrant should live on the street or go back to his country. He or she has as much right to be here as anyone does.
Like I said earlier, the resources of the OCMW are stretched to the limit. why? With so many applying for their help (whether through social housing or monthly wages, etc…) it should be clear that there is a deep social problem here. But the focus does not lie on the problems facing these people, but rather that immigrants are profiting from our system. Its a easy scape goat that in the end helps no one.
Its easy to say that immigrants were to blame. But ask yourself? Does it solve anything? Even if you deny immigrants help from OCMW, would it solve anything? The answer is straight up no. Why?
Its simple. Firstly, its unethical to deny people help that they need or have right to. Its unethical and immoral to do so. Our social security can provide that help, if it is properly funded. Denying anyone who isn’t from Belgium does not solve anything. There are more people living on the streets, more crime. And still a lot of Belgian citizens would need help and there still wouldn’t be enough social housing.
