Parents chose to have children.

And Governments encourage couples to do so, which is why there are Government incentives to do so.

Did he enjoy it as much as I do ?

No they didn't speak English and the boss bullied everyone etc it was hell especially at 62yrs old and working in freezing knee deep water.

why stop there, what about srapping the nhs too…

My point was to man the f up and stop complaining and pointing the finger -come up with a logical solution will make you rich in instead of complaining.

Or go have a /ride/Gf/Bike

My point was to man the f up and stop complaining and pointing the finger -come up with a logical solution will make you rich in instead of complaining.

you appear to have lost me, what on earth are you talking about?

I'm not sure myself working and posting not going well for me today! 😆

think I'll go before hole gets deeper!

No they didn't speak English …….

Ah, I find when they don't speak English an interesting challenge …….. it leads to all sorts of creative ways of expressing oneself.

I'm sorry your dad didn't enjoy working with immigrants Frankenstein……did he complain a lot about it ?

El-bent – Member

Those jobs you refer to are actually taken. What you are referring to is to put people with those jobs already on the dole and supplant them with cheap labour from the dole.

No – you misunderstand. What I'm suggesting is that we use money, which is otherwise being paid to folk to stay at home, to create additional jobs. Until such time as (e.g.) all the roads are repaired, then plainly the existing workforce is inadequate.

Put the unemployed in to gladiator academies so they can fight each other and get eaten by tigers.
It would make great TV.

druidh – Member

What I'm suggesting is that we use money, which is otherwise being paid to folk to stay at home, to create additional jobs. Until such time as (e.g.) all the roads are repaired, then plainly the existing workforce is inadequate.

Repairing roads for £65.45 a week ?

8) Cool…………..where do I sign up ?

No – you misunderstand. What I'm suggesting is that we use money, which is otherwise being paid to folk to stay at home, to create additional jobs. Until such time as (e.g.) all the roads are repaired, then plainly the existing workforce is inadequate.

I read somewhere that to improve the road network in Britain the whole lot needs to be ripped up and replaced.

Repairing roads for £65.45 a week ?

Cool…………..where do I sign up ?

Shouldn't be a choice for the long term unemployed. You help out or get nothing. People will soon see that if they have to work anyway they may as well get a job that pays minimum wage.

People will soon see that if they have to work anyway they may as well get a job that pays minimum wage.

No no, you misunderstand…….there is no money for "extra" jobs, druidh is suggesting that "we use money, which is otherwise being paid to folk to stay at home"

So not the minimum wage, but the £65.45 a week Job Seekers allowance.

The guy is a genius………he ought to stand for parliament.

Hey, maybe he already does ? ……….I would certainly vote for his carefully thought out policies. It's just gotta be a matter of time before he is PM.

Put the unemployed in to gladiator academies so they can fight each other and get eaten by tigers.
It would make great TV

Please pitch this idea to channel 4. I've heard they are looking for new material.

I'm unemployed and would love to punch other unemployed people in the face.

Ernie, what do you think we can do to motivate the long term unemployed to work?
It's not easy especially at the moment but there are menial jobs about which anyone can do for minimum wage. If the people take these jobs especially if they have kids, they'll be worse off than on the dole. I think this needs to change and this can't be done by simply raising the min wage as the cost of living will go up.

ernie – your political will lacks imagination.

I feel a certain amount of personal responsability is required. It's important for couples to only have children if they can supply the income themselves. Do you think only education can solve this?

backhander, you are laboring (see what I did there?) under the misapprehension that those who are unemployed want and choose to be unemployed…

… I sincerely hope that you can keep your job throughout the coming storm.

I have often thought about the "forced labour" option. Suppose after say 6 months unemployed you are obliged to do a week of "community" work (road repairs/litter collection/etc) out of every 4. The problem is – how do you motivate the workforce. They might do the work but in a slack can't be aresd way. Road repairs are bad enough as is. How do you organise logistically? You would need to employ managers/foremen etc so that would add cost. You would risk already cash strapped councils underfunding those departments where they could get enforced workers so you'd probably add to the unemployed.

It's very easy to come up with cosmetic solutions but you do have to think them through all the way. Bit like our new Government hasn't done. Cut 25% of your budget. We won't tell you how you do it, just do it. And in the meantime we will tell the country through the media that the cut will not affect front line services.

Oh how I laughed – Oh. No, I didn't actually.

Bring back national service?

Oh yeah the armed forces have got to cut back too.

Don't get me wrong seeing the scuzzers round town & in the Jobcentre really does my crust. A lot of them all seem to be managing better than I am on supposedly the same benefits that I get after 30 years of working. I consider myself a socialist but it's not easy.

I often think a nuclear war in the 80's might not have been a bad thing. There are too many of us in reality. I can only see things getting a lot worse and I really feel for the children of decent folk who are going to have to live up to the pressures and problems our society is bequeathing them. And that's without the environmental problems.

Ernie, what do you think we can do to motivate the long term unemployed to work?

Provide jobs in the area's with longterm unemployment, improve education and training, not noncy job schemes but what other countries do…apprenticeships and the like, reduce house prices and increase housing stock to improve social mobility.

Often the reason that people/Managers do not employ those with greater skills/experience than themselves is, fear. I've had this and it wasn't just the hiring Manager, but their boss too.

And 'editing' your cv down, yeah right – just how do you 'hide' +25 years of skills and experience?

Don't know about others, but having been made 'redundant' six times I've pretty much seen it all. Shit happens, just this time its taking longer to sort out than previously.

backhander, you are laboring (see what I did there?) under the misapprehension that those who are unemployed want and choose to be unemployed…

… I sincerely hope that you can keep your job throughout the coming storm.
No I 'm not. If you'd bothered to read earlier posts, you realise that I think there is a massive difference between people who are unlucky enough to be temporarily unemployed and the LONG TERM unemployed (bolded and capitalised for you this time). Because there is.
You seem to be under the naive impression that all people who are claiming benefits are eagerly looking for a new job. Many are, but many many aren't. El bent, I agree that the demise of the proper apprenticeship was the start of the rot. House prices cannot be just reduced, that would be financial chaos with the poor bastards who borrowed 100%+ in -equity and with high interest. Most would become homeless.

Like I said

… I sincerely hope that you can keep your job throughout the coming storm.

edit, because my response was, on reflection, combative, and I don't want to argue, merely show that it is not black and white.

it's not just £65 a week allowance, it's council tax rebate and housing benefit as well, so it does add up to a signifigant amount of money, even for a single person in a shitty 1 bed flat.

I calculate by doing my stupid menial job 40hrs per week I am better off by £50 a week rather than be on benefits. So, I'm working my ass off for £50 extra than I'd get from the state for sitting on my ass all week. I reckon I could seriously make more money by jacking in my job, going on benefits and selling paintings and prints on the side.

El bent, I agree that the demise of the proper apprenticeship was the start of the rot. House prices cannot be just reduced, that would be financial chaos with the poor bastards who borrowed 100%+ in -equity and with high interest. Most would become homeless.

The apprenticeships went when the industries doing them were essentially "destroyed" in the 80's in a mass social experiment, which has left unemployment blackspots in those very area's to this day, regardless of the recent recession.

Benefits, dole money or whatever should be used as a short term solution to the problem, but has instead become the long term solution to the problem.

If house prices cannot be brought under control, social mobility is made more difficult to achieve. Then you are left with taking jobs to those area's…traditionally manufacturing jobs. Apparently we "don't do" manufacturing these days, even though we are still 7th or 8th largest manufacturing economy in the world.(I could be wrong)

If you can't take jobs to the people, then people need to go to the jobs. While those who could afford to move, did, house prices, particularly in the south-east are now beyond these people and with the decision to sell the council housing stock in the 80's, means its being left to housing associations to build affordable new homes. It's not enough.

Add to that high living costs and over relying on a financial and services based economy…

In my opinion this country has gone wrong in the pursuit of short termism. It's come back to bite us on the ass.