Yesterday, the Social Security system in America turned a sprightly 76 years of age.

Now politicians are calling for this septarian to be sent off to Dignitas, in the same way the greedy looking for their inheritance put pressure on their elderly relatives.

At their peril, they forget one of the main reasons it was created and the riots in England, even accepting the opportunistic nature of those involved in the latter ones, should remind those at the top – the poor can take action.

I can not even begin to imagine how horrible life would have been in the 1920′s and 30′s for those facing poverty. I was recently unemployed for six months. It nearly broke me. I put on a massive amount of weight because of a need to buy cheap stodgy food, I became behind in rent as my Housing Benefit did not cover the full rent and the gas bill during a very bleak British Winter was 5 times the meagre £65 ($100) that a single man is expected to live on while unemployed in the UK. Yet, while it was a pittance – it was there. It was something.

If I had lost my home I would have not been someone nearly “broken”, I would have been broken and I would have been angry.

In the 1920′s there were a lot of very angry,very poor people noticing the vast differences between the haves and the have absolutely nothings. As a result Germany turned to fascism as the answer. Russia to Communism. The US wanted to ensure that the “haves” could continue to have, by ensuring that those with nothing were at least given a tiny crumb to keep them satisfied. A simple solution. A real “middle way”. A New Deal.

Well now the haves do certainly have their share. Income disparity has returned to 1920 levels but there is a basic level of survival but that basic level of survival is now threatened by “austerity”. An already minimal support system in the UK is being slashed and in the US even the survival of Social Security is under threat. All while the very richest are getting richer, everyone else poorer to make up for the taxes that the richest are not even paying.

In Conservative eyes, the poor need punishment to force them to work, the rich need to be made richer through “tax incentives”. Where are the “tax incentives” for the poor? Every aspect of Social Security is being threatened so that the haves can get even more.

It should be obvious to all, scrapping or smashing the New Deal will NOT create some Freidmanite Oasis in North America. It will destroy lives, it will create and foster anger amongst those who will literally have nothing. That should be obvious and it is a disgrace that the right have moved so far to the right that the death of the New Deal is even considered as a possibility, never mind by the man the media is pushing as the new Republican front runner for President.

Bankers destroyed the World economy and were given $trillions by Government’s across the World to bail them out. For the very biggest looters, who stole sums of wealth most people could not even contemplate there was no prosecution.

Some kids got angry, rioted and looted, nicking some trainers and tvs. The wrath of the media and government will descend (and is) upon them. Again, the poor need punishment, the richest need “more incentives”.

I ask this simple question to Republicans, when you have slashed police budgets, scrapped fire services and taken everything from the very poorest to give to the very richest, how safe will your home be?