The recession, benefits, the safety net, and the learning curve

Max_Headroom_3

Originally Posted by PasturesNew
My friend just told me he's been laid off, in the US. He rents a 1-bed apartment and will now get 6 months' half pay, then absolutely nothing. The thing is, half his pay = his rent. So instantly nothing to live on. Mid-50s, nothing special about his skills/experience, I think it might be the end if he doesn't get something within that 6 months. He was about 4 hours from ending it all when I resurrected him last time. Poor sod.

What the hell do I do/say? I'm not a good people person, but I DO care.

mvengemvenge wrote: »

It's an ongoing debate, which social security system is better, the British one, or the American/Australian one, where benefits are just cut at some point?

Would we have riots, as some think?

Not whilst Jeremy Kyle is on.

Max_Headroom_3

fc123 wrote: »

I
Max's Big Jobseeking Adventure could attract a following (with right keywords like job seeking and recession)...you could even end up with ads from Adecco or even The Job Centre..as they try to 'get in with the Blog world'. Thta's PN's speshiality.

I quite like the sound of that but I really should have started it (if I were going to) when I was being made redundant. Not a lot to say now, and if i do get a job it'll be a very short-lived blog!

Max_Headroom_3

Originally Posted by Max Headroom
Then hurrah for you all, you sexy things! :T

Consider yourselves Max's Angels. :kisses:

lostinrates wrote: »

You just shot to the top of The List!

What's "The List" a list of..?

Max_Headroom_3

mvengemvenge wrote: »

Whilst i agree with you in lots of ways, let me explain the dilemma...

Jobseekers Allowance (brought in by the Tories, carried-on by Labour) has procedures built-in to it to do more checks on people in terms of their efforts to find work. I recently interviewed someone who blatantly didn't want a full-time job, wanted to carry-on doing his part-time university course, but still receive an allowance for job seeking. In his forties, spent his whole adult life in further education, never worked, lived with mum and dad.

Now, on the conversation screen, staff had written every two weeks..."Excellent jobsearch", because he'd written several jobs he'd 'applied for' in the last fortnight. Yet he knew, and I knew, that he didn't want a job.

What do we do in today's society? Do we go back to Unemployment Benefit, where you just got money because you didn't have a job, and were left to your own devices, or do we apply more rigorous rules, to check taxpayers aren't just paying people to sit at home watching daytime TV?

Both political parties want to do the latter, and judging by the usual discussions we get on here, so do most MSE'ers. Unfortunately, you are now in the eye of the storm of this debate, because the rules and procedures have to apply to everyone, genuine or not, to check they are fulfilling the rules for claiming the benefit.

Staff will become aware that you are genuine, but they still have to apply the rules to everyone, unfortunately.

I agree with and understand all of that. But since your example is of a 40 year old who's never worked, clearly it doesn't actually ensure that people do get into jobs?

I suppose that the only thing that will ultimately stop people "playing the system" is an actual withdrawal of benefits in these instances.

But yes, I understand (and referred earlier) to the "lowest common denominator" approach, but as I said i feel like I'm being swept up in the same net.

Max_Headroom_3

Originally Posted by fc123
He mentioned it once before.

lostinrates wrote: »

I thought it was retail of some sort? High end retail Max?

Yes indeedy. Don't want to be too specific but basically big boys (very expensive) toys. :cool:

Sadly the big boys aren't shopping too much at the moment, and those that are want to get everything for nothing (they didn't get rich by accident most of them!)

Max_Headroom_3

PasturesNew wrote: »

Pick N Mix Manager at Woolies?

Damn it, busted! :rotfl:

lostinrates

Max_Headroom wrote: »

What's The List a it a list of..?

A few of the other gals and I keep a list of top ranking forum male totty.

I guessed it we're that sort of ''product'' (other wise you would've not had to buy the suit, you'd have already had some.

Meant to ask, forgot, do you think anyone you were with on the course appreciated/would benefit from it if taken seriously?

Max_Headroom_3

lostinrates wrote: »

A few of the gals and I keep a list of top ranking forum male totty.

Ooh, quite happy to be at the top of that list! :blushing:

I guessed it we're that sort of ''product'' (other wise you would've not had to buy the suit, you'd have already had some.

True!

Meant to ask, forgot, do you think anyone you were with on the course appreciated/would benefit from it if taken seriously?

Hmmm... hard to say. It's possible I suppose. They did talk about help that was available such as funding transport to work if some distance away until the first pay check for example, that might help someone who might otherwise have turned a job down on the basis that they didn't think they could afford to fund travel between starting and getting paid.

Limited value to limited people for limited reasons I guess. But that said not entirely without merit. If one out of twenty people get a job they wouldn't otherwise then it must have some value (he says as open mindedly as possible! )

SingleSue

I found on my visits to the job centre, that from being a respectable person with brains, all of a sudden I had become someone who wasn't expected to have brains at all and had no idea how to behave in an interview, an office setting etc.

When I asked about courses (in the hope of changing my career direction), I was offered basic English (I mean basic, as in primary school stuff...well my primary anyway) and basic Maths......I have looked at those courses whilst other people have been doing them (it gets boring sometimes doing an ECDL and it's fun to see what others are doing) and I sit there mentally shouting the answer to them and then watch in horror as they get it wrong...very wrong.

I'm certainly not out of practice when it comes to things like that, I have to keep my skills sharp to keep up with youngest son who is a maths genius and will throw questions at me whilst I am driving (we are not talking about simple x + x = but xxxx + xxxxx - xxxxx X xxxxx + xxxxxxx / xxxxx and I am expected to get the right answer within 10 seconds! This is a child who can do the countdown maths questions within the time so it needs a more than basic level of maths to be able to keep up.

Mind you, a fair few people think that once you have a baby you somehow become brainless, to be jobless and a mother is a hundred times worse!

lostinrates

SingleSue wrote: »

, I was offered basic English (I mean basic, as in primary school stuff...well my primary anyway) and basic Maths......I have looked at those courses whilst other people have been doing them (it gets boring sometimes doing an ECDL and it's fun to see what others are doing) and I sit there mentally shouting the answer to them and then watch in horror as they get it wrong...very wrong.................

well, its good these courses are out there. One of the things I despise most about my condition is the random relationship I now have with language, which was previously a strong skill. Even if people don't obtain fulfilling employment giving them stronger language skill means they can continue to self educate and adaquately comprehend making other aspects of their life better, I suppose.

The most horrific thing, IIRC, is that they stay on the phone if you apply for a job via jobcentre - making it a three way call, and then start chipping in! For an experienced/educated jobseeker this must be extremely demoralising, and hardly a good advertisment for oneself if some third party is chipping in and the job calls for good communication skills, or similar!