I am not stating an opinion, just making sure you know what’s actually going on there.

Any more questions?

Now the labour laws in Australia forced his employer to actually pay him because of the length of his efforts, perhaps that isn’t true in other places?

The only difference is in how hard they push wrong/evil policies and whether they at least try to offset some of the damage they cause in the process.

So you are right in that it was a new labour policy, but new labour policy isn’t far off Tory policy, so you can call it Tory policy too.

Many of these young people have no work experience and nothing to put on their CVs that demonstrates they can do a job at all.

If by “many” you mean “an incredibly small proportion”, I’d buy that.

Most human beings are not thrilled at the idea of being useless layabouts.  I know conservatives think they do but I suspect this is just projection.

But that’s not quite what you were getting at, I know.

I would rather people buy food and services with their government checks and put money back into the economy, than have the higher costs that criminality brings be carried by the taxpayers. Society? How does it work?

*applause*

Many of these young people … would rather just claim JSA indefinitely.

*ahem*
…

bull

fucking

SHIT

I agree with you that that’s a much better idea than “workfare” — but let’s call a spade a spade here.

Internship/workfare has grown hugely in recent years, and seems to me it’s a logical corollary to the minimum wage, which has damaged the old apprenticeship system.

As with many things politicians do, when you force them to “benefit” from their ideas like the normal people must they get a new attitude about these things.

Our friend S Elwro understands the founding principles of the British welfare state.

All governments claim to accept and follow the principles of Beveridge while at the same time introducing Byzantine levels of complexity to hide the unpalatable application of its policies. They may not go so far as to support eugenics but they seem to do little to disagree with the fundamental direction of support.

Furthermore, a fair few people calling for benefit cuts, and sending ‘scroungers’ to work for free, will find themselves in need of benefits when the UK government’s next round of cuts sees them redundant and unable to pay their mortgages or service their loans.

But, but, that’s different because I had a job, unlike these lazy layabouts that are content to live on welfare right out the door from school.

OW. God damn, it hurt to think like that.

It makes me uneasy that a part of society with effectively no voice can be hated so thoroughly in this way by all classes of society. When bad things start happening to social groups it doesn’t just happen overnight; there’s a gradual build up of disgust and intolerance, until it’s ok to make jokes about them, it’s fine to openly call them scum and that not be controversial. Then people don’t complain when rights are stripped away, benefits are slashed, and they are forced to work for free for private companies. 

I think the welfare system in the UK certainly fails a large amount of people, and a way needs to be found to incentivise people into work, or back to work. This legalised slavery really isn’t it. Furthermore, a fair few people calling for benefit cuts, and sending ‘scroungers’ to work for free, will find themselves in need of benefits when the UK government’s next round of cuts sees them redundant and unable to pay their mortgages or service their loans. 

If companies are able to employ these young people why not actually hire them and pay them a working wage?

That money is earmarked for bonuses for the top executives.