Ordinary Utopians were caught between the wealth of its own upper class and the generosity shown to the newly arrived foreigners.
On the housing market a second layer of segregation was created due to the generous handout system. Large numbers of Enrichers were supported by social handouts and child support - they tended to have large families. They had their rent paid by the council and could afford large, modern apartments. The municipality even paid for expensive furnishing. Poor Utopians, however, earned their living through work and had to live according to their income. They tended to end-up in smaller and older apartments.
Even without immigration Utopia was facing problems in areas such as social policy, the criminal justice system and education. In all of these areas matters were getting out of balance, expenditure was not reflecting needs. The old Utopian standards were slipping, and an apathetic, laissez-faire attitude was becoming ever more apparent.
The injustices that emanated from this decline in public standards were exacerbated by the system's inbuilt bias towards the Enrichers. They were automatically deemed to be in greater need than any Utopian and were given corresponding greater priority.
Such a policy ignored to a large degree the plight of the individual. Many Utopians often faced considerable hardships themselves in the new harsh economic climate but found themselves frozen out of a system designed to meet the requirements of Enrichers.
The social security system made no demands of its recipients.
Once one was in the system it was basically a gravy train for
life no questions asked. Claimants were not required to
seek work. In any case, the levels of benefit paid by the state
were higher than the wages offered for an average job. The system
was notoriously lax, and many took it for a ride. Increasing numbers
accepted handouts while working in the black market, no tax, and
no questions. There was even talk of illegal aliens, or even people
who had left Utopia still receiving state benefits.
The total sum of the handouts was, on average, higher for Enricher households than for comparable Utopian households. Behind these figures lay a dark form of blackmail.
Enrichers facing problems from welfare staff trying to ask pertinent questions concerning their claim simply accused the offending officer of racism. This need only happen once in an office before all the staff realised the danger to their jobs. No further questions were asked.
Aggressiveness and physical threats were also common. The number of newly arrived whom, after a relatively short stay in Utopia and at a young age, had managed to retire early were legion. After receiving his or her pension, the Enricher could return home to a pleasant climate and low living costs and live comfortably on the Utopian pension. The Utopian authorities didn't do much to stop this; instead they tightened the regulations preventing early retirement in general a case of closing the gates after the horse had bolted.
The authorities then introduced a new tax-free "elderly support system", especially directed at the Enrichers. Yet another example of the interests of the newly arrived being given a higher priority than those of the Utopians.
In the field of crime prevention the concept of punishment had long since been replaced by the concept of 'care'.
The convicted criminal no longer had to expiate his crime. The criminal was a 'customer', and could demand services within the institution where he was being kept, like any other 'consumer'. The quality of prison food was higher than in schools and the inmates were allowed frequent absences of leave. Inmates were known to even carry on their criminal activities while enjoying the state's hospitality - often acquiring equipment for their misdeeds from prison stores. Inmates could even receive a passport.
If the system was a failure in dealing with criminal Utopians it proved to be catastrophic when dealing with criminal Enrichers. In their home countries they were used of harsh punishment if they were apprehended. They found the Utopian criminal system if such a farce warranted the title 'system' as nothing short of a joke. The result: even greater contempt of the unintelligible compliant Utopians. An already high level of Enrichers in the criminal system climbed even higher, way beyond their actual percentage of the population.
One reason for the over-representation of Enrichers in the system was a lack of control over who came to Utopia. Most presented themselves at the border with no identification, yet despite this they were given permission to remain. Utopia, in effect, offered foreign criminals a fresh start with no questions.
The combination of:
a) an abundance of valuable assets to steal
b) the small risk of getting caught
c) a laughable prison regime
made Utopia an Eldorado for Enricher criminals.
A stay in prison was not so much a punishment, rather a nice break with the built-in bonus of free lessons from other inmates in advanced criminality. Relapse was the rule rather than the exception.
The prison almost worked like a criminal university. Here one could find new contacts, exchange knowledge and plan new crimes. Inmates on leave carried out every conceivable crime including murder.
Another reason why a stay in prison often resulted in further crime lay in the high standards Utopian prisons offered. These standards were typically higher than those most Enrichers enjoyed as free men and women in their home countries. Enricher criminals began to commit crimes just to end up in a Utopian prison.
The social climate of Utopia was changing rapidly by now. These changes were being driven by the media in Utopia, aided and abetted by the Church and the political parties. The law of the land was openly flaunted by Utopia's own elite who supported people remaining in Utopia who had been ordered to leave. Enrichers learned, from the moment they set foot in Utopia, that decisions of the Utopian authorities could be ignored with impunity.
The changed climate could be felt in other ways too. Crimes of serious violence, once abhorred, now opened doors to the perpetrators, with access to the media leading to fame and celebrity status. This could even herald the start of a career in entertainment or politics. Various political youth associations didn't hesitate to lionise such criminals as 'experts' in ethics. Their criminality was seen as an asset, one could gain a valuable perspective of life at the bottom of the social ladder from these 'experts'.
What lay behind this celebration of criminality? A sick ideology developed where criminals were regarded by the establishment as victims and therefore could not be held responsible for the consequences for their actions. Instead, responsibility rested on "society" in other words, all the hard working, God fearing Utopians who were stupid enough to pay their taxes and live by the word of law.
The entertainment industry loved criminals. They were made into heroes. The world of entertainment lionised the destruction of property and the cult of personal violence (though nobody was ever really hurt in their make-believe world, unlike the reality that was stalking the streets of Utopia).
The flood of dis-information that the establishment poured forth effectively disenfranchised the public from any real understanding of the economic damage being done. The results were all too predictable, a growing contempt for loyal and hard working people.
Enricher youths swallowed the establishment's black propaganda hook, line and sinker. They accepted criminality as the norm, they based their shallow existence on the illusion of Hollywood gangster movies. They formed criminal gangs of their own and began to live out the nightmarish vision in the cities of Utopia.
In many Utopian prisons these gangs had taken control. Narcotics flowed freely, the individual was powerless.
Even outside prison the justice system was in serious trouble. Witnesses were silenced via threats and it became ever harder to obtain convictions. Even judges and prosecutors lived under threat, which explains some of the sensational light sentences handed out to Enrichers who had committed murder.
In the education system the notions of democracy and equality had been taken to ludicrous extremes. Students were expected to be the equals of teachers. Knowledge was expected to be obtained without having to work. No expectations were to be made of students, and no punishment or consequences for students who behaved badly.
Bullying thrived, both amongst students and against teachers. The ones who committed most of the bullying were Enrichers. Cases of grave bullying eventually resulted in the student who faced the bullying having to switch school the bully remained, of course, being a 'victim of society'. His or her bullying was merely their way of responding to the intolerable 'exploitation' they faced.
Equality was the new god, it suffered no condescension. Students could beat up their teachers without serious consequences. A teacher that grabbed a student could be forced to resign a career and a life destroyed.
Consequently standards fell markedly, students learnt little under such conditions. Often students didn't even participate in the lessons.
Another not unnatural consequence of the situation was a growing shortage of teachers and a soaring turnover rate amongst those who remained. Fewer and fewer Utopians wanted to become teachers, while those who were teachers already were trying to get out of the profession.
Extensive immigration and a failed school system gave rise to increasing numbers of working age not having basic essential skills. Others lacked the motivation to better their circumstances. Both groups, however, considered themselves suitable for the job market a view not shared by their prospective employers.
In any case it mattered little, if work was out of the question there was always state benefits very generous in Utopia or the burgeoning world of crime.
Utopia now faced the dual problem of:
a) Unemployed, and unemployable people of working age not entering the labour market
b) Shortage of staff in many occupations such as bus drivers, kindergarten personnel, teachers, nurses, etc.
What was left to keep Utopia together?