AS I SEE THINGS: Benefits for whom?

Countries all around the world are faced with social and economic challenges from time to time. But more often than not, the debates tend to focus on macroeconomic issues such as the economy, debt, the fiscal deficit, inflation, and unemployment.  
However, whenever general elections are in the air, there are usually major discussions about the role of government and which segments of the society should be targeted for major benefits from the state purse.  
More often than not, discussions eventually shift to how governments ought to finance the provision of welfare services.  
A key aspect of the answer to this question is the issue of taxation.
It is not surprising, therefore, that the new president of France has already made public his intention to increase taxes on the rich in keeping with his socialist agenda.  
In the United States there has been a lot of discussion within the Obama Administration to raise the level of taxes on the more affluent among the population.
In France and the United States the basic philosophy is that those who are able to pay more in taxes should do so to allow the government to continue providing services and benefits to the poor and vulnerable in society. And that indeed is a noble gesture.
What we have developing in those two countries is a clear case of the rich being able to look after themselves while the governments are determined to take care of the poor. The question therefore is, what about the middle class?
This question is even more relevant now, given the harsh financial and economic conditions in many countries around the world.
Rewinding the clock, Barbados presents a rather interesting case when it comes to the plight of the middle class. For example, prior to the last general election, campaign and manifesto promises were made to provide important benefits to the middle class but to date many of those promises remain unfulfilled.
Further, the previous Barbados Labour Party Administration was accused of looking out mostly for the poor and vulnerable, forcing late Prime Minister David Thompson to promise the nation that his party would provide middle-class benefits that included increases in the level of car loans and duty-free vehicles for public servants.
No doubt, the late Prime Minister was absolutely correct in his vision to refocus Government’s policies and programmes to include greater benefits for the middle class.  
Unfortunately, after attaining power there seems to have been a paradigm shift, with most of the Government’s policies and programmes designed to assist the poor and vulnerable.  
Once more, the middle class has been left out even though they have been asked to bear the burden for society for some time now.
The reality nowadays is that many people who previously thought they were part of the middle class now consider themselves to be the working poor. If this is true, should they not benefit from Government assistance in whatever form?  
You decide!