FAFO

It stands for “fuck around, find out” and there are plenty of memes on the matter, if you’re into that sort of thing.

This is from 10 years ago:

You all remember this part.

Apparently, if you didn’t back the idea of taking in 1M refugees, you were a racist.

OK.

Fast forward 10 years, what do we have?

Hmmm. Are you telling me that if you take in 1M refugees (ballpark figure, I wouldn’t know the real number) who don’t speak German, who have no work experience in the West, who might be suffering from various medical/mental illnesses, your welfare “bill” will increase?

That’s just .. .incredible. Who could’ve seen this coming?

Of course, reforming the system usually translates into “we’ll reduce the amount of money we spend on welfare…hurting everyone who relies on it…roughly equally”. No discrimination, right?

This, of course, is bound to happen against a backdrop of higher prices caused by higher inflation (and corporate greed), the sort of 1-2 that usually results in a knockout in boxing. As we can see, according to DW, there was also a surge in shoplifting (a surge in shoplifting has been noticed in the UK as well, by the way), so this won’t help much either.

The “reform” will, of course, hurt the most vulnerable people in society: those who were already relying on benefits/the welfare system.

Who could’ve seen this coming? Oh, that’s right: absolutely anyone with a brain. It’s a good thing nobody listened to them – they were probably racists anyway.

Now, of course, it would be a bad idea to tax companies in order to “plug that hole in the budget”. Hmmm, I wonder who’s going to have to foot the bill in that case?

Of course, it’s going to be a fairly expensive (and for some, very painful) lesson. My only problem with it is that it’s going to be felt by everyone.

“But mate, I have a job, I don’t rely on welfare, it won’t affect me”

Err, yes … it will. How and why?

1. Your taxes will go up, because “someone” has to foot the bill.
2. Going shopping will likely become more of an adventure – people who are willing to shoplift won’t need a huge push to start robbing too. It doesn’t even have to be about shopping – simply walking down the street might become slightly dangerous for those of you who don’t look scary enough to deter potential aggressors.
3. Sooner or later, more people will become homeless and you’ll pretty much have to strut around them wherever you go.