Give us strength II

We nearly choked on our cup of tea when we read this just a few moments ago - we have added some judicious emphasis:

An out-of-work artist is setting up a taxpayer-funded "beneficiaries' office" in downtown Wellington to promote the virtues of being unemployed.

He is part of a $53,000 performance art installation series paid for by Creative New Zealand and Wellington City Council.

Creative NZ is defending its decision to provide a $40,000 grant but said last night it was unaware of the installation's "precise content" when the grant was signed off.

Tao Wells, 37, advocates the opportunities and benefits of unemployment and says it is unfair that long-term beneficiaries are labelled bludgers for exploiting the welfare system.

We checked our calendar, just to make sure that the date hadn't suddenly reverted to April the first. No, apparently this is deadly serious. And wait; it gets even worse!

Wells' installation, The Beneficiary's Office, urges people to abandon jobs they don't like rather than suffering eight hours of "slavery".

"We need to work less, so we consume less. The average carbon footprint of the unemployed person is about half of that of those earning over $100,000."

Now bear with us for a moment while we get our heads around this; this is an "unemployed artist" who is being paid by the government and the Wellington City Council to actively encourage people to down tools and join the ranks of the unemployed. That is absolutely outrageous!

But you haven't heard the worst of it - read on:

Wells denied his pro-unemployment stance was hypocritical when he was being paid $2000 for the project. "We should never be forced to take a job. If you're forced to take a job it's a punishment. If a job's a punishment then society must be a prison."

Asked about the irony of taxpayers funding an art project that promoted unemployment, Wells said: "That's a huge argument, there's some huge ideas there. The bottom line is money. What I'm critiquing is the idea of work."

Oh puh-lease! Tao Wells is living in a parallel universe to the one that we inhabit. We have been unemployed in the past, and we didn't enjoy it for a moment. We have never however received a benefit. And we acknowledge that a great number of those who are without work actually WANT to work.

And Wells ignores one very salient point; if no-one worked, and everyone followed his mantra, who would pay tax, and where would the money come from to pay him the benefit the he feels so entitled to?

Ah yes; the benefit. There is ONE positive in this story:

He described himself as an unemployed artist with a masters degree who had been "off and on" the unemployment benefit since 1997. Wells said he was receiving welfare and admitted his benefit was at risk by him speaking out.

Late yesterday afternoon his benefit was cut off after Work and Income learned of the project.

His case has parallels with Wellington's "political busker" Benjamin Easton, who lost his benefit earlier this year after revealing he had not had a job interview since he went on the dole nearly three years ago.

We're glad to see that WINZ has taken fast and decisive action against Wells. We hope too that a "please explain" letter from Arts and Culture Minister Chris Finlayson will arrive at the desk of the head honcho of Creative New Zealand first thing on Monday morning. This is, in our opinion, an absolute abuse of taxpayer funds; the very funds which would be in short supply should Wells' vision ever come to pass.

Doubtless Tao Wells and his Beneficiary's Office will become a cause celebre and a rallying place for those who belive that the government owes them a living, and that they have no obligations in return. He won't get any sympathy from us however. Wells needs to learn about life in the real world.