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Everybody in Daleth who can not earn his or her own living (housing, food, clothing) can choose two ways to live: ask for help and get a living from the government, or turn to streets and go begging and stealing to earn a living. Because the government has a program for the poor, that is partly been paid for by all persons living in the gongs, begging and stealing from those who are paying gong is prohibited. Beggars are only tolerated in the Kungsfelthan, but that is mainly because there are not enough guards and prison cells to turn all the Kungsfelthan beggars in (in the Kungsfelthan, almost everybody is either a prostitute or a beggar, or a criminal of a worse kind). On the other hand, the poor in the workhouses have much less freedom, therefore no hunger nor cold. The idea is that everybody who is too poor to live, can go to a workhouse. There, they get a uniform, a furnished room to live in, five meals a day, oil for the lamps and coals for the stove. In exchange, they have to work in the workhouse. If there is not enough work, the government makes sure there still is food. Persons who do excellent work in the workhouse might get some extra Assar to spend on luxury. If a whole family calls at the workhouse, they will share the same room, which will be a little larger than the rooms for singles. All persons of the family from the age of twelve must work in the workhouse. The younger children are entertained in the workhouse (by one or more adult inhabitants) or educated in a nearby school. The work scheme is as follows: At dawn, the workers have to get up, have breakfast with a bowl of soup or tea and with bread and butter, and start working. After the first stond, they get the morning meal, including bread, cheese, eggs, sausages, porridge, tea, milk, fish. Then, they work another stond and after that, it is noon and they will eat a lunch with bread, butter, beer and beans. After another stond, they have bread again, with honey, tea and milk. In the last stond before dusk, they work again, and finish the day with a meal of a kind of stew, meat, vegetables, fruit, porridge, bread, beer, tea, milk and on holy days a chalice of wine. Children who do not work don't get the fish and the meat, and water instead of beer and wine. Under the age of 6, they got half the ration. The government wants to make sure the workers from the workhouses do get enough food and don't get sick from bad food. Many poor families who are on the edge of extreme poverty don't get so much food, or they have to save on meat, fish etc. to feed an extra mouth. And of course, many free poor man or woman spends his Kintus on cheap drinks, gambling, and the panoramas; living above their class in fancy dresses... the inhabitants of the workhouses don't get a chance to do so. On holy days, only the stond after dawn and the stond just before dusk should be spend working. Who works in one or both other stonds, receives an extra payment of 1 Assar per stond, that can be spend on the foors or elsewhere. The inhabitants of the workhouses are allowed to keep their clothes, but are given a uniform that has usually less holes in it than the normal clothes. The inhabitants are proud to wear these uniforms. They may be poor, but at least they make an honest living. Minimum incomeWhat the inhabitants of the workhouses get, is considered the minimum of living. Everyone who makes other people work for him, has too make sure each one of them earns at least 10% more than the workhouse inmates, excluding the gong rate. The 10% should be used for savings and "irregular payments" and luxuries. Most people offer 20%-50% more for normal work.The ones who have their own business have to ask at least the minimum income for the work they do. More on that in the chapter about income. The list of prices for minimum living (for one person, for a week, approximately):
>>>Minimum income: about 1 Skatt and 1 Skilliggs. Please note the following: The above mentioned minimum income is based on a one-person household and considered absolute minimum. If this person wants to have some more luxury he or she has to save on food to afford it. Two persons who work and live together have a double income and can save on coal, lamp oil, housing (25%!) and some other things they can share. However, these menages a deux will in most of the cases soon have children who can not work but do eat all the same. Then it is not much to live from, and hunger is on the threshold of these families, knocking loud on the stomachs. Having a job and earning more is necessary to have a family, and most people are fully aware of that. If there are too much hungry children in a poor family, they will be taken from their parents and end up in an orphanage or, if they are older than 6 years, in the workhouse. The food is cheaper is bought directly from the farmer. Many houses, even in the towns, have small gardens with a patch for herbs and vegetables, and a fruit tree. Who is keen on saving money will find a way to do so. If the money that is saved is spend on luxury goods, it is good for the economy. Unable to workSomeone who is unable to work, can turn to one of the charity consults (paid from gong money). These consults will first see if the one asking for help can do another job than the usual, and if not, they try to find out if it is only temporary.If it's only temporary, they search a "adoption person" who is rich enough and will take care of the one who can not work. This usually is giving left overs at the kitchen door, and donating old, worn clothes, and paying the rent if necessary. Since this is only temporary, it doesn't really matter for the one who can not work - he or she has food and clothing and stays at home. If it's not temporary, the charity consult might decide to put the person in an charity institution. These are places where the people unable to work can live a minimal life (as in the workhouses) and usually get treatment for the cause of their unemployability. Related topics: |