Drug Benefits

I have to say I am amused by the frenzied reaction to the story of the Chinese drug dealer who was drawing a sickness benefit and living in a state house. Does anyone actually think this is an abnormal situation? Judging by the reactions over on Kiwiblog, I would say the answer to that is yes. Even David Farrar himself wonders why this man is able-bodied enough to earn drug money yet unable to work in a legitimate career.

WINZ accept people on to a sickness benefit when they are given a valid medical certificate by a doctor. Unless there is some very obvious reason why this certificate can be called into question, WINZ has little choice but to accept this state of affairs. Typically, someone has to report the person to WINZ before they will investigate. So it is very unfair to blame WINZ for this situation.

It is also unfair to blame the doctor for issuing the certificate. Since it takes a great deal less physical strength and stamina to be a drug dealer than an minimum wage labourer, it is perfectly feasible that a doctor could issue a perfectly legitimate WINZ certificate without ever suspecting the beneficiary’s extracurricular activities.

In addition, a patient may have an illness that provides little or no physical signs to prove that the illness is genuine. The doctor in this case has no real option but to accept the patient’s word that he is genuinely incapacitated. Good examples of this would be chronic back pain, depression and chronic fatigue syndrome. None of these have easily obtainable objective signs or investigations that definitively verify the disease. It is relatively easy for a patient to become knowledgeable enough to fake his/her symptoms. As the majority of  patients with these sorts of illness are completely genuine, it would be both counterproductive and extremely unfair to expect them to provide some sort of “proof” of their illness. One has to take them at their word.

It is perfectly feasible that some people genuinely become incapacitated at a very physical occupation, go on to sickness benefit, then find that they can make a very decent living dealing in drugs. It is not very likely that they will then say to WINZ “thanks, but I don’t need a benefit any more because I’m a successful drug dealer”. I am certain that there are dozens of sickness beneficiaries who are exactly like Mr. Szeto – drawing a benefit becomes a form of cover for them (not a very good one when they buy expensive cars!).

And before anyone frenzies in the comments, the vast majority of sickness beneficiaries are just as honest as you and I. They have genuine illnesses which prevent them from working and they don’t deal in drugs. Of course, a fair number of long-term beneficiaries could retrain themselves into a new career more rapidly and with greater enthusiasm than they do, but that is an entirely different story. Very few beneficiaries are out and out crooks or even particularly lazy (the common right-wing meme). Most (of the long-term ones, at any rate) have absolutely appalling self-esteem which holds them where they are. For this we can thank our socialist-leaning friends in Labour who have convinced most long-term beneficiaries that they are helpless without welfare.

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