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This outdated equation has always been enforced by the classic
principle of "less eligibility", passed down from English Law,
which set the template for the economic policies of the Western
world. The principle of less eligibility states that, "The
fundamental principle with respect to the legal relief of the
poor is that the condition of the pauper ought to be, on the
whole, less eligible than that of the independent laborer."
(British Poor Law Reform Act of 1834, Blau). Welfare must pay
less than work.
This socio-political tradition is supported by the old thinking found in the British Enclosure Acts, saying that during "the Industrial Revolution in Britain, where the British Enclosure Acts denied rural laborers access to the common lands, thereby depriving them of their livelihood and forcing them to migrate to an uncertain and sometimes homeless future in the cities." (Blau). Together, these used up ideas cause the total expenditure of the United States Shelter System, for the sole purpose of protecting the principle of less eligibility, thereby justifying the omission of Homeless Land Rights. [PREVIOUS] [NEXT] |