Skip to main content

Joseph Muscat's job guarantee

My article published in the Times of Malta issue of Tuesday 29th May 2012.


Joseph Muscat. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

The latest in the series of pie-in-the-sky pre-election promises that has been thrown to our electorate is Joseph Muscat's guarantee that all young people at the age of 16 will be studying, training, or in employment.

I am coming to the conclusion that Joseph Muscat is either spending too much time with Yana Mintoff Bland (who seems to believe that the Malta she returned to is the same Malta she left in 1962 or the one her father would have described to her in the eighties), or he is so immersed in projecting his 'modern Mintoff' image that he is oblivious to the fact the times have changed.

Studying in Malta is not only free till we are 16, but till we complete tertiary education, and even further than that thanks to the various scholarship schemes introduced in these past years (because thankfully, we didn't heed his call to stay out of the EU). Moreover, we even get paid for investing time in ourselves, while most of us still live expense-free in our parents' house, without taking loans to pay for tuition, rent accommodation or buy our own food. And we don't need "parrini" and questionable board selections, because access is already based on meritocracy.

On the other hand, if we do not manage to obtain the necessary qualifications and skills to pursue post-secondary and tertiary education, or we prefer to opt for something different, the Nationalist government has for quite some years already provided us an option of vocational training and education: the MCAST which a previous Labour government had closed down. And we get paid for learning there as well.

And if a vocational course lasting a year or a few more is still too much for some of us, or they lack the basic literacy skills for it, a Nationalist government had set up the Employment and Training Corporation, which is already providing services of career guidance, information talks, training subsidy schemes, work trial schemes, access to European programmes, and many other services, most of which target specifically the youth sector. Not only that, but it also pays a stipend to those who are on a minimum wage and take up one of its courses in order to be equipped for a better job.

And if a few days or hours of training are still too much and some desire to start working immediately after leaving school, there always exists the market demand for unskilled low-cost labour, which speaking to employers today seems to be in a such a short supply that it has become difficult to find people for certain jobs. But if you do find such a work and you're happy because it provides you enough money to fill your weekend with booze, just remember that while at that young age that's probably one of the few things you care about, it will not be enough if you later wish to start a family and raise children. Then, don't blame low minimum wages and low social benefits. Blame only your choices.

And if you're 16, and faced with all these opportunities you neither study, nor train, nor work, but prefer to fool around till mummy calls you for lunch, it's not Joseph Muscat's guarantees that you need, but a good slap in the face to wake up from your slumber. Do we really prefer to further give away our freedom so government now starts forcing us into working, studying or training, rather than analyzing the root cause of why some youngsters seem to finish school with no motivation to do something with their lives? Wouldn't we rather empower NGOs to direct such youngsters to the free training opportunities readily available?

It's not the government's job to guarantee people a job. The government's job is to open up opportunities and safeguard the right market conditions for the private sector to boost employment whilst preventing exploitation and abuse, and let the private sector employ people according to their merit. Because the private sector measures skills and productivity, not votes and party-affiliations. And that's exactly what this government has been doing.

That's meritocracy. Not telling youngsters that they should not worry about stopping their education at such a young age because the Labour government would provide. That only reminds me of age-old working corps (which probably Yana was raised thinking are the best solution in the world). But of course, Joseph Muscat's meritocracy might actually mean taxing further those stupid guys who invested their time in their personal education and training, to pay for the guarantees he's giving to others.

And in view of a situation where our main focus to keep attracting top quality jobs should be the education and training of our people and ingraining a sense of personal responsibility and entrepreneurship, I find Joseph Muscat's guarantees of government providence to 16 year olds both uncalled for and highly irresponsible. Our parents' "learn so that you can find a better job" ranting would actually be much more beneficial in these circumstances.

But probably, saying that wouldn't result in much clapping from the flock attending his Sunday sermons.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Why I am dropping out of the Anti-ACTA protest

Like many avid internet users, I have followed with interest the debate about ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement). After reading numerous articles, watched sensational videos, and discussed ad nauseam with friends, I have realized that what I have come across is a campaign hi-jacked by lies, myths and misconceptions as to rival Malta's misinformed divorce referendum campaign. I have to say that the videos on Youtube   got me worried. I quickly signed the petition, joined the Anti-ACTA groups, and prepared myself for a full-blown fight against the big-governments who want to intrude on our privacy and freedom of expression. Like our MEP Edward Scicluna invited us to do in the University debate last Wednesday, I did not try to understand the details of ACTA but rather saw who the players behind it were. But as usual, my logical instincts took over, and his call to not try to understand ACTA actually pushed me to read the text. And here's what I now know: ACTA is

Who's the real monster?

I usually hate comparisons, but some very different reactions from the 'great unthinking' rabble do merit some analysis. In May this year, the notorious dog Star was found buried alive . A prima facie , this looked liked the most horrific case of animal cruelty, and is still considered so by some. The perpetrator was described by the sensitive and caring animal-lovers as a villain, a heartless monster, deserving of death, stoning, or even to be 'buried alive in the same manner'. But what did Mr. Vella actually do, according to the testimony heard in Court? Star was sick. It was shedding fur, and quite old already, and its owner did not afford the treatment. In trying to save some money from paying for the dog to be put to sleep and killed properly by vets, she gave it to Mr. Vella to have it killed himself. Nothing much to make people angry till now. Mercy-killing of very sick and suffering animals is widely done and usually acceptable. You may

The Church and its riches

The above pictures has lately been doing rounds on facebook. Posted comments refer to injustice, hypocrisy, and of the Church not practising what it preaches. It seems it has become a common trend to blame the Church for everything under the sun. Hitting at the Church is the new way of looking cool. But before joining the bandwagon of shares, likes and comments, let me try to analyze the points this photo is trying to make. The first one: the Church is immensely rich. Well, it could be, but what do most of these riches constitute? Most of the Church's "riches" are fixed immovable assets, of which most are important human heritage. They can practically never be sold. Let's just say that the Pope sells all his adornments (provided anyone wants to buy them), maybe even Michelangelo's Pieta, and once we're at it , yes, maybe he should also sell the Sistine Chapel and have it converted to apartments. Then what? Apart from making UNESCO and the rest of human