1. silicon valley
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    26 Aug '10 19:58
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/7964538/A-sexual-disaster-for-teenagers-and-society.html

    A sexual disaster for teenagers and society

    A welfare system that rewards lone motherhood is perverse and wrong-headed.

    By Telegraph View

    Published: 6:39PM BST 25 Aug 2010

    The North East had the highest under-18 conception rate at 49 per 1,000 girls aged 15 to 17 Photo: PA

    The last government spent £300 million on its Teenage Pregnancy Strategy, with the declared aim of halving pregnancies among under-18s by this year. According to the Office for National Statistics, the pregnancy rate among teenagers aged 15 to 17 when Labour came to power was 45 conceptions per 1,000; a decade on, it had barely changed. Indeed, figures published yesterday indicate that the rate has recently risen sharply, particularly among those under 16. Along with statistics from the Health Protection Agency, which recorded almost half a million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases in 2009, mostly among the young, the data confirm this country’s unassailable position as Europe’s trailblazer in sexual irresponsibility.

    This is a failure of policy on an epic scale, the result of a 13-year social experiment that has proved an unmitigated disaster. Labour adopted the most simplistic of approaches, channelling all its energies and money into sex education programmes of dubious worth, while making contraception freely available – frequently without the knowledge of parents – to girls who were often under the age of consent. Ministers and officials reacted with horror to any suggestion that moral issues might come into play, while the notion of abstinence campaigns, widely deployed in the US, was greeted with contempt. At the same time, the policy of making cheap alcohol easily available round the clock – another Labour triumph – was tailor-made to encourage dissolute behaviour.

    ...
  2. silicon valley
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    26 Aug '10 19:59
    ...

    There is strong evidence that the most effective method of reducing teenage pregnancies is not sex education, but the improvement of general education standards, particularly among the poorest, where the problem is greatest. This is another area where Labour failed. Moreover, parents must be part of the process, not kept in ignorance: evidence from America shows that their involvement helps to reduce teenage pregnancy rates.

    This is because it is the family, above all, that is the key here. A welfare system that rewards lone motherhood is perverse and wrong-headed. It has helped create communities with no male presence. In the words of Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, we are “airbrushing men and their responsibilities from society”, while girls are choosing what he describes as the “financially sensible option” of a life based on welfare, not work. The Coalition has the opportunity to turn the tide. But it will require more than just a sane benefits system: it also requires our political leaders not to shy away from taking a clear moral stand, and proclaiming the value and virtue of family life.
  3. silicon valley
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    26 Aug '10 20:011 edit
    how could this policy NOT be deliberate?

    could such idiots really make it that high in governance?

    wouldn't the Peter Principle weed them out at the level of Dogcatcher plus One?
  4. Joined
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    27 Aug '10 08:23
    Originally posted by zeeblebot
    how could this policy NOT be deliberate?

    could such idiots really make it that high in governance?

    wouldn't the Peter Principle weed them out at the level of Dogcatcher plus One?
    Not in the UK Labour Party.
    The leaders of the former NuLabour government were not only responsible for creating the situation which is the subject of this thread, but also for many other actions which have had disastrous consequences.
  5. Germany
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    27 Aug '10 08:341 edit
    The notion that being able to cope with lone motherhood financially has contributed to teenage pregnancy rates is rather absurd, since you simply have to look across the sea to invalidate it. Teenage pregnancy rates per capita in the Netherlands are ten times lower compared to the UK and the US, yet single mothers have more benefits available to them. But the article did rightly claim that the standard of education available to the poor is a strong factor.
  6. Joined
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    27 Aug '10 08:49
    Funny article. Does anyone else notice that the worst scoring region in 2008 rises only slightly over the average of 98' ? Does anyone else notice that the author goes out of his way not to report the average for 08' ? That seems might suspicious to me.

    Too bad I couldn't find the figures he's referring too that were published this August. What I did find were newspaper articles published in February and they paint a far more optimistic figure. Still very far away from the 50% decline Labour aimed at, but a decline none the less (from 46.6 to 40.4 per 1000 girls between 98' and 08'😉 , so unless something shocking happened between the figures published in February and those published this month this is a nothing more than a weak, disingenuous political attack that uses a small rise as ammunition while completely ignoring the long term trend.

    http://www.figo.org/news/teen-pregnancy-rates-uk-fall
  7. SubscriberWajoma
    Die Cheeseburger
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    27 Aug '10 08:55
    Originally posted by zeeblebot
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/7964538/A-sexual-disaster-for-teenagers-and-society.html

    A sexual disaster for teenagers and society

    A welfare system that rewards lone motherhood is perverse and wrong-headed.

    By Telegraph View

    Published: 6:39PM BST 25 Aug 2010

    The North East had the highest under-18 conception rate at 49 per 1,000 girls a ...[text shortened]... d the clock – another Labour triumph – was tailor-made to encourage dissolute behaviour.

    ...
    Like any industry, if you invest enough in it, it will grow.

    When the DPB was introduced in NZ there were about 1800 solo mothers. Good intentions but, oh dear, the consequences. Third generation solo parents coming through, the grandmother, the mother and now the child who has known nothing but welfare dependancy lining themselves up for more of the same.

    Sucking off the productive.
  8. Joined
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    27 Aug '10 12:35
    Originally posted by Wajoma
    Like any industry, if you invest enough in it, it will grow.

    When the DPB was introduced in NZ there were about 1800 solo mothers. Good intentions but, oh dear, the consequences. Third generation solo parents coming through, the grandmother, the mother and now the child who has known nothing but welfare dependancy lining themselves up for more of the same.

    Sucking off the productive.
    Breeding has become a preferred alternative to working for many women in the UK since it is more lucrative, thanks to NuLabour which has done even more damage to the economic, political, and social wellbeing of the UK than did OldLabour during its reign from 1964 to 1979.
  9. Pepperland
    Joined
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    27 Aug '10 19:09
    Originally posted by zeeblebot
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/7964538/A-sexual-disaster-for-teenagers-and-society.html

    A sexual disaster for teenagers and society

    A welfare system that rewards lone motherhood is perverse and wrong-headed.

    By Telegraph View

    Published: 6:39PM BST 25 Aug 2010

    The North East had the highest under-18 conception rate at 49 per 1,000 girls a ...[text shortened]... d the clock – another Labour triumph – was tailor-made to encourage dissolute behaviour.

    ...
    This use of public money is perfectly acceptable, didn't you know that during the labour years money used to grow on trees?
  10. silicon valley
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    27 Aug '10 19:29
    Originally posted by generalissimo
    This use of public money is perfectly acceptable, didn't you know that during the labour years money used to grow on trees?
    more like squeezed from the .... of Mother England.
  11. Pepperland
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    27 Aug '10 19:32
    Originally posted by zeeblebot
    more like squeezed from the .... of Mother England.
    Hence my deep admiration for the more responsible fiscal policy of the new conservative government.
  12. Joined
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    1945
    27 Aug '10 19:56
    So anyone notice my post about how this article is a political attack that completely ignores the fact that Labour did manage to reduce teen pregnancies or are we just going to ignore the facts to keep on hating Labour ?
  13. Standard memberspruce112358
    Democracy Advocate
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    27 Aug '10 22:47
    Originally posted by zeeblebot
    ...

    There is strong evidence that the most effective method of reducing teenage pregnancies is not sex education, but the improvement of general education standards, particularly among the poorest, where the problem is greatest. This is another area where Labour failed. Moreover, parents must be part of the process, not kept in ignorance: evidence from ...[text shortened]... o shy away from taking a clear moral stand, and proclaiming the value and virtue of family life.
    I have a friend with a good job who went to see a case worker with his wife to inquire abut benefits for her step-son since the father was a "dead-beat" who never paid any child support.

    The worker told them what they were eligible for, and then advised them to get a divorce because then the wife would receive much greater benefits. Not just informed them -- recommended! (They declined.)

    One wonders how pervasive this sort of advice has been over the years.
  14. The Catbird's Seat
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    28 Aug '10 01:03
    Originally posted by KazetNagorra
    The notion that being able to cope with lone motherhood financially has contributed to teenage pregnancy rates is rather absurd, since you simply have to look across the sea to invalidate it. Teenage pregnancy rates per capita in the Netherlands are ten times lower compared to the UK and the US, yet single mothers have more benefits available to them. B ...[text shortened]... ticle did rightly claim that the standard of education available to the poor is a strong factor.
    I would suspect there is a cultural difference in the acceptance of the single mother. I know nothing of Neatherlands culture, so fill us in.

    Here in the USA, single motherhood is celebrated by many liberals, as heroic, rather than the more realistic view that it can be potentially tragic.
  15. silicon valley
    Joined
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    28 Aug '10 01:26
    Originally posted by spruce112358
    I have a friend with a good job who went to see a case worker with his wife to inquire abut benefits for her step-son since the father was a "dead-beat" who never paid any child support.

    The worker told them what they were eligible for, and then [b]advised
    them to get a divorce because then the wife would receive much greater benefits. Not just i ...[text shortened]... ed! (They declined.)

    One wonders how pervasive this sort of advice has been over the years.[/b]
    well, the bureaucrat was only being honest.
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