Return of the Workhouse. It's now Official

mardatha

Absolutely agree mrs LM. And the majority of sheep in this thread can't see what is going on or where its leading. Until the day comes for them ... Scarey times !

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

mardatha wrote: »

Absolutely agree mrs LM. And the majority of sheep in this thread can't see what is going on or where its leading. Until the day comes for them ... Scarey times !

They are scary times mardatha,I think our rights are being eroded constantly.
Everybody seems to think things won't affect them.
In the 70s I saw people who were so cocksure they'd never be unemployed,never lose their homes or families.
The same people were the people who fell to pieces and complained the most when they did just that even though they were the one's who moaned most about those who were out of work before them.
People should be very careful of this government they are hideously right wing.
We've been Tory voter's all our life but even we did'nt vote for this lot.

lemonjelly

Can I just say how fantastic it is, that this thread has got as far as it has, with well reasoned & rational debate on the issues at hand, rather than descending into a "benefit claimants are scum/no they're not" arguement.

Well done everyone!:T

blueboy43

lemonjelly wrote: »

Can I just say how fantastic it is, that this thread has got as far as it has, with well reasoned & rational debate on the issues at hand, rather than descending into a "benefit claimants are scum/no they're not" arguement.

Well done everyone!:T

Haven't read the whole thread but the idea of 4 weeks compulsory work is already in place as part of "flexible new deal" which was introduced by Labour and was in place in most areas of the country from October 2009.

I'm broadly supportive - the concern is that the "discipline of getting up on time every day", really needs to go alongside decent basic training & education. The second part is being pulled in many areas.

The other problem is that it is being sold / spun as a "punishment" to keep the Daily Mail onside.

treliac

I don't see it as punishment. Nor does it seem likely to be 'working for less than minimum wage'.

No-one lives on JSA alone. If you have no other capital / income you would be claiming means tested benefits, the ones that go to pay your council tax, rent or mortgage interest, tax credits and the like. The total benefits package equals your 'income'.

Income comprises total monies coming in.... that's what people in employment use to pay those bills.

Also, it's being sold as 4 weeks community work at a stretch, however frequently that might come around, but it's not full time forced labour. It might even help some participants.

If I lose my job I will not disagree with having to give something back for my state provided income (but then I already do voluntary work as well as paid work).

ceridwen

The idea of doing some voluntary work for the State is not one I would disagree with. Personally - I've done a lot of useful work for Society when I was "out of work".

What I would disagree with personally is anyone else choosing that work for me. As it is - I chose it for myself and was able to have some chance in my life of interesting/useful/higher level work than I have ever had the chance to get hold of on a paying basis.

I think that if there was an element of compulsion on people - then it may well be the case that some of the unemployed were forced to give up voluntary work that was of the useful/interesting/?might lead to a full-time job or career variety? and swop it for boring/unskilled work. What would also worry me in their position would be whether I would be able to just quickly resume the useful/interesting type voluntary work I had been doing once the 4 week workfare stint was over..

treliac

I think most of us feel lucky if we can choose our paid employment. Most jobs are pretty mundane and repetitive, which seems to be normality in general.

There seems to be an element of rebellion against the workfare idea.... perhaps because it's such a cultural change. Time will see how it pans out and whether the fears become reality.

Whatever happens, times are hard and we're all going to feel the impact, whether we caused them or not. We've all consumed too much and that'll be changing.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

[QUOTE=treliac;38316934

Whatever happens, times are hard and we're all going to feel the impact, whether we caused them or not. We've all consumed too much and that'll be changing.[/QUOTE]

I appreciate the sentiment but I resent the fact that not all of us have consumed too much.
Having never gotton into debt,or went bankrupt,claimed benefits or such I don't think I've consumed anymore than I'm entitled to,probably less just like several other people I know in my position.

Paulgonnabedebtfree

Shakethedisease wrote: »

Well I'll be opening a corresponding book on how long it takes the private sector to 'suddenly' discover lots of 'voluntary' posts... 10,000's of them in fact.

Ooooh goodie.
I could do with a few free window cleaners to clean for my customers while I put my feet up.
Did anyone spot the sarcasm?

While I'm at it, I'll apply for a job cleaning the !!!!!! out of cuckoo clocks.

treliac

MRSTITTLEMOUSE wrote: »

I appreciate the sentiment but I resent the fact that not all of us have consumed too much.
Having never gotton into debt,or went bankrupt,claimed benefits or such I don't think I've consumed anymore than I'm entitled to,probably less just like several other people I know in my position.

Me neither. We went without much of what we saw others getting into debt for, while our children were growing up. DH was made redundant twice too and took whatever manual temp work he could get until he got back on his feet. The threat of redundancy looms again as it is.

Things have just started becoming easier. However, I'm not expecting it to remain that way.