Originally posted by sasquatch672Sort of a trick question.
Trick question. I think that sometimes, the government should do what the majority wants it to do. Sometimes, the government should do what it knows is best for its citizens.
So where does the US welfare system come into this?
Is it what the majority wants, or what the government knows is best, or something else?
Originally posted by WheelyA combination of carrot and stick.
I would be interested to hear of any practical solutions anyone could come up with.
Make working more desirable and loafing less desirable.
Why not insist people do community service type jobs in order to collect their benefits? If they are fit and healthy they can have no objections.
Of course, care would need to be taken to ensure we aren't using them for cheap labour, but plenty of jobs never get done due to lack of funds, such as picking litter/sweeping leaves, etc.
Also, a minimum wage suitably higher than the benefit they are getting (or vice versa, a suitably low level of dole so it's not too comfy).
Originally posted by VargSeems a reasonable compromise to me but I still feel forced community service would be counter productive. I don't think we'd want to allow those that refuse to starve but if we were then I think crime would likely increase. However, I think it could make it difficult to obtain a job at all. Three years of leaf clearing isn't going to do your CV much good.
A combination of carrot and stick.
Make working more desirable and loafing less desirable.
Why not insist people do community service type jobs in order to collect their benefits? If they are fit and healthy they can have no objections.
Of course, care would need to be taken to ensure we aren't using them for cheap labour, but plenty of jobs never g ...[text shortened]... benefit they are getting (or vice versa, a suitably low level of dole so it's not too comfy).
Perhaps education instead of community service though I still see some problems with that too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilian_Conservation_Corps
"The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a work relief program for young men established in March 1933 during President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first hundred days in office. It was part of the New Deal designed to combat the poverty and unemployment of the Great Depression. The CCC became one of the most popular New Deal programs among the general public. The young men did heavy construction work and did not receive any training. The Indian Division was a major relief agency for Indian reservations."
Approximately seven billion pounds of benefits were left unclaimed last year. It's naturally very convenient for the right to neglect to mention this fact as they libel every other claimant as a scrounger, vagabond or welfare queen, but the reality is very different.
I remember a few years back when the Government loudly proclaimed two wonderful initiatives in the name of administrative "accessibility" - the Benefits Cheat hotline and a Benefits Advice line designed to help people (particularly the elderly and infirm) claim the benefits to which they were rightly entitled. Guess which of the two was quietly closed down a few years later? I'll give you a clue - it wasn't the Benefits Advice line.