bil

Those living off the State, that is.

We have been hearing a lot about the need to get the workshy off their backsides and back to work.

Why?

Why bother?

jimenato

There, that's better.

bil

Same thing. So, what shall we do, and should we bother?

The Daily Wail would probably want them shorn of their benefits and sold into slavery, or made into soup, but is there any point?

Me, I'd keep it just the same with the exception that every single long term unemployed be given all the dope they can smoke, free.

HBG

They need more than dope, free cans of beer and vodka too. And the baby food should be sold at reduced prices.

bil

I just want them so stoned they can't cause trouble.

jimenato

Trouble is, they still need to be housed and fed them and their spawn. Costs money.

rugbymatt

Hunt them... now we are "not allowed to hunt foxes" lets hunt them...

bil

All very tempting.

I suppose the original thought that I was airing was this.

There has been a lot of talk about forcing the workshy to stop sucking on the state teat, get off their arses and work.

Call it draining the swamp. The question is, why when there are two rivers flowing into it, one workers that have lost their jobs, and the other, people coming out of education with no job to go to.

There aren't enough jobs for all these two streams of people, so to go back to the metaphor, why drain out stinking water when there are clean rivers to drink from?

steviedeluxe

Bil, you know full well it's a distraction. Focus people's minds on the layabout they know down the road, and they may just forget about the £70 billion paid to Ireland's banks (note the Irish people won't get this, they get further cuts) the other week. Or whichever bank gets bailed out next month.

cricketman

Exactly and seems like many people have fallen for it.

Meanwhile the bankers are trying to make whole countries bankrupt while taking away millions in bonuses

bil

Nicely spotted.

The speed of the (governmental) hand deceives the eye.

anonimouse

At first I thought you meant the Pm's

Actually I think it's going to be very interesting, the government says it is going to get people back to work, yet all I see are jobs going, they also say they will cut back on things like housing benefits, So there may well be a lot of homeless coming onto the streets soon as I cant imagine landlords reducing rents for the claimants.

Recently on the news the government announced more cuts and job losses to services, and showed bin men as an example. These Guys are not massive earners and will end up on the dole claiming rent and all the rest of it and will probably end up better off (or at least not much worse off)for doing absolutely nothing at all. What is the point, surely it's better they do something for their cash.

Another thought, looking back over the years, who can tell me any government in the uk that has said we will NOT have to make cuts?
It's been the same all my life that I remember, Nothings changed IMO except for the amounts that they want to fleece from us and the scaremongering tactics they are using to make us all happy to accept them.

When the Banks pay us back won't we be back to where we were and If we are will we then get a reduction in prices and cuts and more service jobs back?. ... I wonder

Brits are fools to them selves, one good example... we are now on two week dustbin collections and I have read that millions of people are paying privately to have the excess rubbish taken away (instead of letting it cause the problems it normally would), obviously the council are now seeing that the bins at a low level on collection and it's working well and will push for another week out of us next.

cricketman

What a load of rubbish!

We've just had 17 years of a Labour government promising to increase social spending every year, on schools, hospitals, policeman. Pretty much everything!

Which is part of the reason why the cuts are needed now

Welcome to the site btw

anonimouse

Thank you for the welcome but you took your time .

You only remember the last government then ? Did you remember the one who said they didn't need to make cuts by the way?

For your info, the last time Torries were in power we had riots on the streets (look familiar?) so don't class me as a supporter please, this time around they have nothing to sell off, Maggie sold it all, this however does NOT make me a Labour supporter either.

I suggest that you read posts a little more carefully and not read anything into them that isn't there.

I am suprised at your comments since you are a senior member.

cricketman

No I dont remember the Conservative goverment because I was a young teenager who wasnt interested in politics.

It is true that Tories tend to cut and Labour spend, but having seen how Labour spending was so focussed on enabling the middle class professions to earn six figure salaries with tax payers money (Drs, civil servants, headteachers, hospital managers) and paying people 30k and more to stay at home watching TV and popping out kids, then maybe a little cutting is a good thing!