I've just had a BRILLIANT idea

[bradc]

All people on the dpb/sickness/unemplyoment (well they are all the same really anyway) benefits should be made to take a urine test every month.

It should test for alcohol, tobacco and of course drugs. If they fail on drugs they are immediately treated like a criminal in the usual way and given fines or put in jail depending on the drugs.

Those who have alcohol or tobacco in their systems should have their benefit reduced by a percentage each time they are caught, and be given food stamps and less money from the day of their first offense to the day they get off the benefit, or until they die.

[danwins224]

Question,
I had a serious accedent a few weeks ago that has caused me to loose the use of one of my hands, meaning I can only(for the time being) be employed on light, part time duties. Because of this I now claim sickness/diablement benefit.
I dont drink or take drugs but I do smoke. So what your saying is I should have my benefit reduced because of this? Drinking and smoking are not the same, how many people have been killed due to smoking and driving, how many times have you heard of someone being arrested because they were under the influence of tobacco?
just my opinion

[bradc]

Yeah but you are working, and obviously doing your best. I'm talking about the people that are not working at all and using my hard earnt money to buy luxuries which are in no way essential and in no way a positive product.

[SiliconAngel]

Brad my g/f used to work on the call centre for the dept here that sounds like your DPB - she's said for years they should do something like that, and I completely agree - giving people wads of cash every week isn't doing them any good at all. Those people need education, food, clothing and most of all an INCENTIVE to do something useful with themselves.

A friend of my g/f's who she worked with used to say to people "no, you don't get PAID. Employees get paid. People who work. You don't work. You're on welfare, love." She also believes everyone on benefits who isn't working should be collected together in large dormitories and made to do things like tend council verges, make roads etc and in return they have a bed to sleep in, food to eat and clothes to wear. They can leave when they have their own means to sustain their existence.

Personally I think both approaches have merit. Certainly far more than current welfare schemes

[bradc]

The National party over here want to introduce a work for the dole scheme which is a great thing imho

[Subaru ETA]

All people on the dpb/sickness/unemplyoment (well they are all the same really anyway) benefits should be made to take a urine test every month.

It should test for alcohol, tobacco and of course drugs. If they fail on drugs they are immediately treated like a criminal in the usual way and given fines or put in jail depending on the drugs.

Those who have alcohol or tobacco in their systems should have their benefit reduced by a percentage each time they are caught, and be given food stamps and less money from the day of their first offense to the day they get off the benefit, or until they die.

well brad, you just summed up jess' uni thesis in one post!
she did it on perternalism which is pretty much if the govt is paying your way through life, the govt should be telling you what you do with the money, ie instead of money, you get food stamps

its one thing if you are on sickness benifit because you hurt youself working or what not but people who just take the piss out of the system really annoy me.

maybe they could work it on a system where if you go on a benifit it gets paid to you as a percentage of the taxes you have paid up until then.

[bradc]

+1 for Jess! (even though she is a ginge!) /waits for her to read this

I've thought about that last point a bit in the past. I'm not sure how much tax I've paid over the years, but if I was unable to work for a while, I should be entitled to a percentage of the amount of money I've paid in tax. Same thought of thing for retirement perhaps, if you've paid a huge amount of tax over your lifetime, you should get more money when you retire.

[Wodjno]

I've thought about that last point a bit in the past. I'm not sure how much tax I've paid over the years, but if I was unable to work for a while, I should be entitled to a percentage of the amount of money I've paid in tax. Same thought of thing for retirement perhaps, if you've paid a huge amount of tax over your lifetime, you should get more money when you retire.

So if you earn more money then you have the right for higher payments of pension and sickness benefit ?

But wouldn't this make people who are in lower income paid job's strive for job's that pay more income... Then we would have a defecit of workers in the lower paid banded job's. The job's that need doing and are the backbone of countries and the job's that if they wern't done would undermine the very foundations that hold up the structure of the country and that allow people that are on higher earnings to achieve them

CALLING HMS KIERAN !!! HURRY UP WITH THAT NEW SMILEY !!

[Wodjno]

......

[bradc]

Exactly, it would make people who are in lower paid jobs strive for better jobs

[Nutter_John]

Then who would do the lower paid jobs ????

[bradc]

the current unemployed and youth's

[Robotnik123]

Well I guess you won't be voting for Labour or the Greens then, eh?

[Subaru ETA]

ok well maybe years worked? or something.

when i finished tech i was on the dole for 6 weeks while looking for a job. every week i had to go into meetings and discuss my job searching. one week i went in and i over heard this dude talking to someone...he had been recieving a benifit of some discription for around 8 years.

following week i go in and tell the woman that i have 2 job interviews that week. then she turns around and says "but we hhave a job placement for ou as a cleaner at the movies..."

i told her that they could keep there bloody money and i got a job that week.

it defys logic that there is a bludger out there with no qulifications who could quite easily be out cleaning toilets but hes too lazy and kept getting sacked apparantly.

then there was me with a Dip in IT and my automotive engineering pre trade, and can prove that i was activly looking for a job, but the are saying "no, you have to do this min wage job"

[bradc]

There is more chance of me owning a ford than voting for either one of those piss poor excuses for a communist party

[Kieran]

Good grief, as someone currently unemployed (though not seeking benefits), I must say I'm quite taken aback at some of the opinions mentioned here!

[Fully]

...... and made to do things like tend council verges, make roads etc

So what am I going to do with myself since you have just made me unemployed?
A lot of skill is needed to do this job, Or are you saying that we are stupid?
I wouldent want to drive my vr4 on any of there roads, no hang on I will open a shock shop. Discount to all members apart from SiliconAngel

I think your idea is floored. What about the solo mums with pre schoolers?
Child care is not cheap, half the time is not even worth going back to work.
But given them a fist full of cash every other week is not the right thing to do either, chits is the way to go.

[bradc]

Someone's got to carry the gravel though, that isn't a job requiring smarts

Why are there solo mothers with preschoolers? Sure marriages do break up, but it should be each parents responsibility to ensure that they are financially capable of supporting any kids they have. If the mother isn't sure who the father is, well imho it's her own fault, and I shouldn't have to pay for her problems!

[bradc]

Kieran - as a hard worker for the last however many years there should be a safety net for you, of which imho should last for a period based on how many years you've worked and contributed to the country. I know you're not going to be one of those who will sit around and not work for the next 10 years, so I can't see how it would really affect you?

[Fully]

lol so narrow minded, that is what trucks, loaders and diggers are used for.

Can you operate any of the above?
Are you licenced to drive any of the above?