'Should we starve the jobless back to work?' poll discussion

Lillyme

ime claiming jsa have been since January, I really don't care what job I do. One I applied for weeks ago cleaning 2 pubs, 17-20hrs a week. They rang other day to ask if I was still interested - I said yes..........they told me they would ring back today to organise an interview for next week.......They haven't

Last week I went for an interview for another job, minimum wage, full-time. They didn't even bother ringing to tell me outcome

There are thousands like me......worked all their lives and..trying damn hard to find a job.........if JSA was cut -- well then what?

All self respect and esteem gone as it is

marko2002

So what happens if you are in privately rented accomodation? Would the housing benefit cover the £420 each month I pay for a room in a shared flat?

Are you kidding me, £420 each month for a ROOM - I'm in a council house and the rent is around £200 per month, £100 or so for council tax - personally I think £420 per month is excessive unless you have a particular reason but I couldn't justify a £420 bill every month for a room I'm afraid.

Lillyme

My rent is £360 per month for a reasonable 1 bed flat.I moved from a 2 bed house which was £550 - housing benefit pay around £90 per week for single person in private the rest you top up out of JSA - which is why I downsized

Do you live in London - £420 for ROOM?????

liswan

I voted for average earnings for the unemployed because if it takes that amount for someone who gets free electricity and heating at work and sometimes other perks ie free travel, petrol allowance, subsidised canteen.etc Also while working you are less in need of entertainment than the unemployed due to boredom. Plus the unemployed need a decent salary to keep up thier dignity and dress well for interviews.

I for one only partly work for the money but also for the need to contribute to society as a whole and to reduce my weekly out goings. Coming home exhausted means I enjoy the weekends more than i did while unemployed and I don't feel the need to go out but instead save money by staying in for a change.

Also more money would make people better parents as poverty worry steals the time and energy that should be next idea is to give everyone on low income the average wage
WHERE WOULD THE MONEY COME FROM I HEAR YOU ASK?

Well if everyone had the average wage ( including bankers and politicians ) and we all spent it building a healthy economy we would all have a job so there would be no need to starve anyone. Its not rocket science just simple economics. but hey am just a pt cleaner with a degree

Cerisa

Marko, that doesn't apply to private tenants, although I am not sure where I could have found rent cheaper than £270 a month. Their idea was that because the baseline for my area was £50 a month, they would only give me £200 a month. So the rest had to come out of my jobseekers.

All the stopgaps you mention, crisis loans, etc, are wonderful, but I had no idea they were available and even when the Job Centre made that mistake they didn't tell me that crisis loans were an option! I would have loved one, i was really struggling to live.

I don't smoke at all, I was just using this as an example

I just mean utilities, but especially over winter the cost goes up significantly. My JSA didn't.

marko2002

Just realised that private rent is only paid upto the value of the local authority standard Cerisa, so yes I can see your point on that one. If it's a shared accomodation I would still consider £270 a month a bit steep, but again it obviously depends where you live, if it's for a house then I would say that cost was pretty damn reasonable and should have been considered such when the benefits system were working out the amount of housing benefit. If we're only talking about a few quid over the "norm" I would say it should be paid pending the outcome of the next 3-4 months job hunting with a review or how things are going, obviously if it's a case of there just are no jobs around then little can be done about this but if it was a case that they found someone was taking the p*ss a little then I'd say it would be fair to offer someone council property until they were able to find a job. At the end of the day, fairness has to be in play here, on both sides, where it's obvious someone is trying their hardest they should be given the breathing space they need, when they are found not to be taking on suitable employment for no good reason then the hammer should start falling.

adouglasmhor

liswan wrote: »

I voted for average earnings for the unemployed because if it takes that amount for someone who gets free electricity and heating at work and sometimes other perks ie free travel, petrol allowance, subsidised canteen.etc Also while working you are less in need of entertainment than the unemployed due to boredom. Plus the unemployed need a decent salary to keep up thier dignity and dress well for interviews.

I for one only partly work for the money but also for the need to contribute to society as a whole and to reduce my weekly out goings. Coming home exhausted means I enjoy the weekends more than i did while unemployed and I don't feel the need to go out but instead save money by staying in for a change.

Also more money would make people better parents as poverty worry steals the time and energy that should be next idea is to give everyone on low income the average wage
WHERE WOULD THE MONEY COME FROM I HEAR YOU ASK?

Well if everyone had the average wage ( including bankers and politicians ) and we all spent it building a healthy economy we would all have a job so there would be no need to starve anyone. Its not rocket science just simple economics. but hey am just a pt cleaner with a degree

Dirty commie thief with a degree. Communism has failed get over it.

Cerisa

It was for half a house; it was pretty reasonable and included my council tax, which again, I didn't know until after I had a job again, I could have claimed for.

I'm not in favour of people who don't want to work continuing to be able to sponge, I just think the amount who do is miniscule compared to people who are really struggling.

liswan

adouglasmhor wrote: »

Dirty commie thief with a degree. Communism has failed get over it.

Havent even started yet, that was just a dress rehearsal, and your names now in the book

James__5

I think the only way the benefit system will work is if we can differentiate between people trying to find a job and people who don't bother. Also, ideally you'd get more money the harder you're trying, but both these things would be very hard to achieve.

In reality the whole problem is that this country can't support the population size, I think heavy taxes for having more than two children would be a good idea. I don't think we should make it illegal like China, just very expensive to have 3 or more children. These taxes could then go into the education and health systems, both of which lack funding.
This would also have the effect of high income families having more children who will generally be educated to a higher level, which of course is good for the job market and the country.
Also, due to there being less low income children, much more financial support could be given for them to go to University e.t.c.

I think that can be an unpopular opinion but in reality, anyone thinking of the welfare of everyone in the country would agree that it's a good idea, generally it's selfish people that disagree strongly.


I would also just like to ad, I'm anti-commie