Some ill-thought-out wording in the initiative then allowed Mr Lockyer, who has a statutory duty to give a pithy description of each initiative, to argue that it would deny death and disability benefits to the families of the state's firemen and police.

ECONOMIST: Arnold Schwarzenegger: A hard slog | The

"I made it clear this would apply to all claimants in work and out of work, and would cover all benefits other than disability payments and the basic state pension, " he told me.

BBC: Yorkshire MP withdraws his benefits cash card bill

I've spent a lot of time over the last few years wondering if I ought to be alive, because the media constantly tells me that (by living on disability benefits), I'm a drain on the state, a financial burden.

BBC: Disability benefit changes: Case studies