Business practices taking advantage of growing poverty should be eradicated - Akahata editorial (excerpts)
With the poverty rate increasing due to the government’s policy of cutting social welfare budgets and the massive layoffs of temporary workers by large corporations, illegal business practices that benefit from the desperate situation of the poor have been spreading. New businesses running accommodations for homeless people or care facilities for the elderly have become major social problems because such companies are making profits through the transfer of welfare benefits.
Making deductions from payment of welfare benefits
Under the Social Welfare Laws, any individual person or private organization can open accommodations for homeless people by giving advance notice to local governments. Some owners of such accommodations ask homeless people to come and apply for welfare assistance, and then make deductions from the payment of their welfare benefits as fees for facility use and meals provided. This underhanded business method is drawing sharp criticism.
The real aim of such accommodations should be to help homeless people to find a way of making a living. However, homeless people staying at these accommodations endure awful living conditions and end up paying a large amount of fees that are deducted from their welfare benefits.
A fire at a care facility for the elderly in Gunma Prefecture this March clearly showed the tragic state of for-profit nursing home businesses in which 10 people died because they could not find their way out of the facility which was illegally reconstructed and which had no equipment to protect people from fire. Most of the tenants received welfare benefits and were introduced to the facility by local governments. Fees for facility use were deducted from their welfare benefits.
Without helping the poor to become independent, illegal business practices benefitting from the poverty of residents take their dignity away and prevent them from improving their situation.
National and local governments should conduct a survey to determine the real situation regarding these illegal business practices and impose strict regulations on such businesses.
Of course, strict control over businesses benefiting from the increase in poverty is not the final solution. It is important to take measures to eradicate poverty, which is the root cause of illegal businesses exploiting the poor.
- Akahata, October 11, 2009