January 28, 2013
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Why Work?
I was reading a story about a couple in the U.K. who are living off welfare. They get £17,680 a year in benefits which is about $27890.20 in U.S. dollars.
The woman mentioned she would not take a job for less than £26,000 a year because it would not be worth it for the little extra money. There thinking is that their parents paid taxes for years and so it is just like they are getting that money back that their parents put into it. Here is the link: LinkI remember a woman on xanga who was on welfare who said she would not take a job for $10-12 an hour because she would not make more money than when she was on welfare and yet she would have to work full time.So imagine you are on welfare making $26,000 a year.Would you take a job that offered you $26,000 a year?
Comments (99)
I’d take the job. I’m bored as shit when I’m unemployed. I’d rather be doing something.
They’re my friends.
I don’t think I could do welfare. I don’t think my drug dealer and the gals at the strip club would take an EBT card.
This is a good post to tell the difference between republicans and democrats (did I just go there? yes).
I would take the job.
You don’t want to know what I think should be done. It’s rather felonious.
I don’t know the whole workings of the UK system, but in parts of the UK, I think in Scotland, there is a right to housing, and I am wondering if that’s part of this. As for me, I don’t know what I’d do as I’m lucky enough not to be in that position, so I can’t judge. If I could physically work and could get a job I would.
@heythereJOANN - They don’t have republicans or democrats in the UK.
Sorry I couldn’t resist going there either. 
Yes, actually I would. either that or I would volunteer a ton. It would get really boring really quickly.
sadly, they get more off of welfare than what my mother makes in two years with both income and our financial help from the government.
The point about childcare is valid, but a lot of their thinking is faulty. They need to give serious thought about their daughter’s future before they have more children. Although, if they’re smoking 40 cigarettes a day around her, none of them may have much of a future.
I would take a minimum wage job if the work is something I’m physically able to do. But childcare is not an issue for me.
If you want to talk about welfare, you should be honest about how it works. There are strict work requirements. There’s a lifetime limit of five years. It is only available to individuals with children. Note that five years is not long enough to raise even one child. Note also that working full-time requires paying for childcare, which significantly reduces that 10-12 bucks/hour.
I don’t know how the British welfare system works, but since you cited an article in a sleazy tabloid, there’s a high probability that the story is 100% bullshit.
But don’t let that interfere with your self-righteous indignation.
On the other side of the coin FOX mouthpiece Bill O’Reilly makes somewhere between $9 and $16 million per year depending on the estimate. Last year he said he would quit his job if he had to pay another penny in taxes to help the American economy. The question is, who’s the bigger sleaze?
Hell, no. Employment costs money and more importantly, time. Your life is time. You can manage your money, your home, your health and your life, and to duplicate that welfare check would take more time and more money and more life, and thus, a lower standard of living. However, you can’t compare the UK to the US, because of health care benefits, and also, I don’t know what the cost of living is apart from that.
@TheSutraDude - oh so true!
i’d probably switch to volunteer work.
I cannot say that I am acquainted with the UK’s welfare system, but I can that I am acquainted with ours. And I know, for a fact, that being on unemployment from a job such as McDonalds actually pays MORE than working there. But of course, that is not the question. To answer the question, I would most likely work a job that paid that much instead, but only because I become bored very fast, even at work. But then again, I could just take the welfare, and make money off of photography instead…
@heythereJOANN -
Really? I would think it would be a dividing point on two different levels: individualist versus communitarian and then logical and illogical. In terms of pure economics, it’s a no-brainer to take welfare (excluding things like the other considerations that transvestite_rabbit mentioned). Your time is worth a certain amount of money, and you thus have more of it when on welfare. Thus one decision clearly has more economic value than the other. Maybe there are strong feelings for the community that would make this less of a purely individualistic economic decision for yourself (or maybe even values stemming from personal pride, etc), but if no other values come into play, then the logical person should choose welfare.
I’d rather work. Some chicks just pop out more kids for $$ instead of working.
@transvestite_rabbit - You can get welfare for more than 5 years, and you can get it if you do not have children.
I know a lady whom is not old enough to retire yet, and works but doesn’t make much and gets some kind of welfare and has for 9 years. Bro. Doc
In a heartbeat.
I would take the job, if I could do it.
I’d take the job. In fact, my extended family’s current difficulties may lead me to go back and work full-time. After all, they were there for me all these years.
I imagine that people who rely so heavily on the “system” do not realize how much personal freedom they give up. Sure, they get free benefits/ food/ housing. But they cannot live anywhere they want, I imagine they have to choose among the government-funded housing. They cannot negotiate a raise, their benefits are dependent upon government officials and agencies. I am not familiar with the UK’s system, but in the US, government-funded healthcare plans only cover particular doctors, so medical options are limited. They might get financial support from the government, but even that will not cover every emergency that comes up. It is a minimally supportive life, but not a strong, independent one.
Every parent I know wants to give their child a better life than they had growing up. By relying on government assistance, this family’s opportunities are limited. And the child grows up with their role models demonstrating the essence of self entitlement, instead of the qualities of hard work, perseverance and work ethic.
Ride the wave.
I’m on welfare making more than that.
Would I work for 26,000? Yes, but I get into fights with people really easily, and I have severe memory problems. People will torture me at work. When I work, and I was disabled before when I worked too, people think I owe them because they must be better than me. They have a serious problem, and it makes me lash out and lose my job. It’s one of the reasons my disabilities got worse. People hurt me a lot. They expect a lot from me without perceiving themselves.
The only place I’ll work for is the VA, and I have to have a job where I am not around people.
depends on what kind of job. we got satisfication in job right? more than money. and working makes me feel I have contribution to the world……
@transvestite_rabbit - not really, there are a ton of other programs out there like HUD housing and other benefits.
I’m essentially on welfare since I’m disabled. I make a huge amount for being disabled. This amount will go down next year when I’m rated again because I’ve made improvements, but the likelihood of me returning to fulltime employment is not high.
I will probably do parttime work again, but I won’t be fully self-sufficient, but I can reduce my benefits, I think. I will probably be able to get rid of the social security, start work and be rated lower by the VA. I’m not quite there yet, but I’m working on it.
I will try to do something, but I have to work on losing weight now because I am so heavy that being on my feet for long periods of time (I have really bad bone spurs), the only jobs I can do, would be difficult for me at the moment. I would be a janitor or something.
I also have pretty severe cognitive problems, but I can talk just fine. I can understand what people say, but I often can’t remember in a linear way. Sometimes, I don’t make any sense.
I make, on welfare, more than a lot of families do. I’m not bragging, just saying.
At least the job opens doors for advancement and raises.
When I rode the bus to a doctor appointment last week I overheard a guy talking about how much he makes on welfare. The funny thing was, it was a real person. No kidding. Flesh and blood and everything. It’s really nice when, in theory, you never have to worry about making the choice between a 26,000 dollar job and 26,000 dollar welfare, but once you do you never forget it. Once you’ve been in the position of being degraded, it’s a feeling you never forget. Picture yourself back in middle school gym class. Remember that one big kid who would throw the dodgeball right at the face of the kid with cerebral palsy? There is one in every school, or community. The bully will puff out his chest and feel like such a big man because he picked on someone weaker than him; someone less than him(in his eyes). Yeah, it’s kind of like that. Once real life hits you and you see something like that in the flesh, it’s a little more nauseating to see other people experiencing the same thing.
I make no apologies for the fact that I would rather be friends with joe schmo on the bus or the kid who got the dodgeball thrown at him than theodan and others like him.
One of the problems that I have, in addition to others, is that people will get in my face and scream about how successful they are, and how it’s “karma” that I’m mopping floors, or they think I deserve worse things. They will make it so that I can’t date, and try to dictate other areas of my life with their ridiculous morals. They did this to me when I worked food service and HS.
They make my life unbearable.
I have a history of violence. What can I say? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZL1Qapnf0RE
The only thing that makes me want to go back to work is a trip to the ER where I watch the doomed disabled people.
I want to work to pay taxes for them.
@Shadowrunner81 - lol, I wish they’d separate us in society or have job slots for us.
That’s one of the reasons I went mad. People will destroy me in every way.
I was hoping Putin would just hand over the money so that I could avoid all that and have nice things too, make a point and go back to mopping.
They usually box me, knowing I’m desperate for anything.
I get degraded no matter what I do, which is why I was hoping the CIA would take me and let me start disposing of people in a secret prison or something.
I’m somewhat divided on that. One thing is that for people who had invested money into the education like going to college or obtaining their masters and have loans to pay back, would not be able to survive on a measly $26,000, especially living in big cities like NYC. The cost of living just wouldn’t cut it. However, certain people that are welfare develop a dependency on it, which ultimately corrupts them, making them somewhat dysfunctional in society. In other words, they become lazy. Work, helps break those unhealthy reliance, and makes life more purposeful and happy for those individuals. Without a purpose, it is likely they will drown in government dependency, and sometimes into depression.
For one reason or another, when I think of this issue, I recall the movie “Precious” – an adaptation of the novel “Push” by Sapphire.
Also welfare should given to people that truly need it, and by no means, are able to support themselves. Using the excuse that you can’t get along with other people, or feigning other reasons, would only strip resources from those who need it. I remember this lady on the train talking with her friend about getting her Social Security Check and going to get a pair of UGGS. The lady appeared to be around the age 30-40. She appeared completely capable to support herself.
I work full-time for less than that right now…
@Tooty_fruits - the problem is that they integrate us so much into the community. While that’s good in some ways, it’s bad in others.
Growing up, I had a mild disability, and I was able to work around it, but people really get in my way.
I think I could work given the right support. Unfortunately, yes, getting along with others is a huge problem I have. It would be much easier if I were in a place with other disabled people. I cannot do unsupervised work due to memory problems and other issues, and like I said, I am overweight right now, and I cannot walk for long periods of time without being in agony, which only adds to my weight problem. It’s in my right foot especially. I’m only at baby obesity, almost just overweight. If the government would do a weightloss surgery on me, I would be a lot better off. LOL, the people in the ER were laughing at me as I waddled to the MRI machine last night. They were like, “Can you walk?” And I’m like, “I’m fine.” The agony is terrible though. I don’t like being helpless.
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/bone-spur-topic-overview I limp every time I walk.
I am overweight due to antipsychotics. I’m going to ask to be put on perphenazine, which is weight neutral too. I used to be really active and ate healthy. I am in so much pain.
At the end of the day, not working makes me feel worthless and is boring. Plus, I feel better about other people.
Heh… just try getting anything close to $5k, let alone $26k, in AZ. They’ll laugh you out the door.
Yes! I get bored and feel so bad about myself when I’ve been unemployed. I really love my job which helps as well. Regardless, if you’re able to work, you should contribute in tax dollars, none of this too lazy to work BS. There’s lots of days we all feel like we’re being underpaid, but you work because it’s just what adults do to support themselves
Don’t like anything in connex with governmntl context. Don’t take anything, otherwse they take you. Am only connected to this banana rep by passport. this requres a job
Cheers, michel
I grew up in the 1970s on welfare following my parents divorce. My dad had a stroke and went into forced retirement. We got a monthly check for $610, or thereabouts, to support mom, two sisters, and myself. Mom got food stamps for us. Rent in HUD housing was 10% of the income. For a short time Mom worked part-time as a taxi cab dispatcher. She also baked and decorated cakes at cost. Selling cream candy at Christmas was the only activity that was for profit.
$610 x 12 = $7320 for four people to live on.
Its a drag that today people are making $26,000 a year cheating the system or refusing to find jobs because jobs don’t pay as well. Not to take away from the minority who honestly need the help and use it temporarily until something comes along, but the majority who exploit the system don’t have my sympathy.
@BroDoc - You seem to be conflating some other form of assistance with welfare, which is Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). It has a five year limit and is only for families. There are other programs–social security and SSI (disability) that have different rules.
@Colorsofthenight - You are not on welfare. What we call welfare is TANF–Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. Subsidized housing is not the same as welfare, nor is disability.
taking that tabloid news at face value, i would say no to work. Hell if i can do whatever i want (say i want to paint my masterpiece) and still make decent money, why not.
Uh, you *do* realize that Quoting The Sun is like quoting The National Examiner or “Weekly World News”?
What’s their next story gonna be: “EARTH TO BE INVADED BY TINY GNOMES? READ IT HERE!”
And guess what–the Sun has done this before. They previously posted a work on immigrants supposedly living in luxury on the public dole, only to be later discovered that those people were actually ACTORS.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d41_1358695369&comments=1
-netnguy
You take the job, and use it as a stepping stone to the next better job. This is a no brainer, unless you are just plain lazy!
I don’t make much more than that but I manage to make a house payment and pay my other bills. I have no respect for those two, or any other person who works the system.
I’d be embarrassed to be them.
This reminds me of a story I read a while ago about a Michigan woman who won a $1 million lottery prize and continued to receive welfare assistance after failing to tell the state about her winnings. She did a TV interview where she argued that she should continue to be eligible for benefits because she did not have a full-time job. The link is http://www.wjla.com/articles/2012/04/amanda-clayton-michigan-lottery-winner-arraigned-on-welfare-fraud-charges-75002.html
She was later arrested and convicted of fraud. The interesting twist, which I didn’t realize until I was searching for the above link, is that she died in October of a drug overdose.
I live in the United Kingdom, I want to work, trying very very hard. I have a one of these hidden disabilities which is registered as a well know disability, but some employers overlook it.
As for wage I will sooner earn an extra twenty pounds per week. even though I will be no better off, I live with my parents so it okay at the moment.
I have known about this for years. If they get off welfare they lose a lot of benefits,too.
I can understand it but I always worked for my money.
as nice as living a life of leisure may sound, I would have no sense of pride or accomplishment in myself. as long as I were physically and mentally able to work, I would always choose to rather then being dependent on the system.
I started making less than that. A year and a half later- I might be making a good bit more than that.
England’s welfare system is messed up. Take this for example: if you’re a single parent with a child, and you work part-time, you are financially MUCH better off than if you work full-time under the same circumstances, for the following reasons. 1) You don’t earn enough/year to pay tax, so all your earnings are tax free. 2) You recieve working tax credits as well as child benefit. 3) You recieve a reduction in rent and council tax and 4) you recieve (often, but not always), free school meals, free childcare or at least a massive reduction in child care costs. If I was a single mum struggling to raise a child, I’d pick the option that made me more financially secure and more able to spend time with my kids.
You can’t fix the people without fixing the system.
how can you bring a child into the world when the 2 of you are jobless?there is WORLD HUNGER not enough educated people in the world,to many wars because of the uneducated people.i dont know why there isnt a law where you cant have children unless you have a job and a home.welfare?well in romania they pay only 8 months after that must return to work.in italy 10 months after return to work.you must work at least 2 years before receiving welfare.
@TheSutraDude - The bigger sleaze would be the lazy-ass.
No, of course not. I think it’s really sad how judgemental people are when it comes to those of us who choose not to work. Not all of us are cut out for the workforce. Some of us are free spirits that want to explore other things like art and travel or maybe just plain ordinary leisure. That doesn’t make us less worthy or all the stuff that working people have. If you’re the corporate type great but I’m not and you have an obligation to ensure my constitutional right to pursue happiness by helping to provide the necessary financial resources.
yeah, I work for less than that,well last year I did, this year I’m getting a raise so I’ll be just over that figure…I’m proud to have a job, I’d work for even less if it meant not getting a goverment check.
So many people are just plain lazy, if you don’t work you shouldn’t be leaching off of those of us who enjoy working.
I worked all of my life and was only out of work 3 weeks–thanks to God.
I started welfare when I retired at age 62 due to heart disease. I am living comfortably and I am grateful.
I am just sorry that due to the misuse of Social Security and Medicare funding by Democrats and Republicans, the younger ones coming up behind me will probably not have these benefits.
frank
If you have a family like that I could see not taking a job that is significantly less because you having a family that you must provide for and if you cant it doesn’t make sense if your gunna be in a worse spot but you better be looking. If the job pays = to welfare you better take it.
@heythereJOANN - yeah, i couldnt agree with you more.
@TheSutraDude - how is he a sleaze for that? I wouldnt want to give my money to the government to help the american economy when instead they’re gunna throw it away on obamacare
I’ve got these funny things called morals, so I’m working a job that I hate and makes me sick, and I make around $10.50/hour. I’m scheduled full time but I don’t think I’ve gotten a full 40 hour week yet between taking time off and getting sent home. I don’t know what, if anything, we’d qualify for otherwise, but given the fact that my husband makes little more than I do (same job), if I wasn’t working, we’d be living out of the car and would have to rent a storage unit or sell off our stuff. And we’d choose that over such handouts.
hey I worked a job that paid less than welfare with no medical, and tried to raise my kid son that money with a dead beat dad. No one cared and we struggled and made it. It was hard but we made it and my sons know the value of money today and so do I.
@transvestite_rabbit - All I know is they said it was welfare. And it was what my sister was on for 6 years with a daughter whom was born 3.5 lbs.
So maybe different states have different lengths of it? Bro. Doc
I currenlty make less than that… and I still don’t take welfare. LAst year I made 5,000 bucks total. I didn’t take welfare or foodstamps.
@EmilyandAtticus - Wish Xanga had a like button.
I would take the job just because i hate relying on other people.
HOWEVER in regards to that article… it pisses me off that they wont take a job for 26,000GBP, average post-grad starting salary in the UK hovers just above the 20,000GBP mark. 26k is and contributing to (even if pointless) society is better than 26k and mooching.
@TheSutraDude - He is without a doubt
A career begging and loitering with never a roof over your head makes better logical sense than taking any form of assistance from any government; besides an ocassional emergency response.
I don’t know about the U.K, but in America it would be very hard to get 26,000 in welfare. Especially only having one child.
But to answer your question, given that I was a healthy individual and not disabled in any way I would absolutely take the job for 26,000 over getting welfare.
@Colorsofthenight - I’m truly sympathetic to your circumstances, and I understand what you are saying. I’m not completely ruling out the welfare system because in many ways, it still helps those that really need it, like yourself. I couldn’t fathom being in your condition and being able to happily perform all the duties that are required of me without some medical assistance and accommodations. Unfortunately, companies are more concerned about producing more money, and that culture, more or less, has filter through our society. And unfortunately, with a government system that is hypocritical and full of loopholes – ultimately those who need the assistance are marginalized. It may seem on the surface that they are helping a whole lot, but the help can only bring a person so far. The root of the problems remain grounded – that is my key issue with this system.
But what you said is true, it helps you integrate into the community, but in what way? How was your situation affected by the assistance? I’m very much interested in what you think about it.
@Tooty_fruits - the problem is that most of us CAN do something. The people in the hospital and I talked about it one day. I was locked up for not being able to take care of myself then, as I stopped eating and doing other necessities, but I improved during my stay.
People who are paralyzed could answer phones, they argued, and people like me can be janitors if we have supervision, and I lost 20 pounds and had these bone spurs removed. Unfortunately, like you said, people compete with us in the workforce. They make it so that we can’t do anything. I get distracted easily, but if someone could keep me on track, I’d be fine.
I don’t like being on assistance because it makes me feel helpless. At the same time, I’m worried about dealing with the world again.
Prior, I only had a minor mental disability, but they made my life a nightmare.
How am I integrated into the community? I’m out of the group home, and the government has provided me enough money to live in an apartment with care. They call it assisted living. I need to say something about this because I do NOT need homecare anymore. Sometimes, I go into schizophrenic episodes, and I stop doing anything, but couldn’t we call someone in then? See, the doctor wants someone to check on me every day because I have a history, and they like to check my blood pressure to make sure I’m eating and drinking (I know I’m fat, but we still have to eat or bad things will happen, and I’m not fat because I overeat but because of the meds) but I don’t like this many people coming into the apartment. Why can’t I just call in or something? They could have someone come in once a week.
Assistance causes you to lose your independence, which causes mental anguish. I get feisty.
The money does not help me make friends or be part of the community, however, and I think it might be better if they separated all of us with moderate to severe disabilities. A lot of other countries have colonies of disabled people. They sustain themselves.
Most of my neighbors hate me because I scream in the night sometimes, though I’ve cut back on that. It happens when I lose focus and things bother me.
Minus the bone spurs, I’m in great physical health. Well, I do have a problem with heat due to my medicine, but janitor work inside usually.
Sometimes, I guess, I do overeat, yes, but usually, I’ll eat less than I should and my vitals will drop or I’ll become malnourished. Right now, I’m short on vitamin D, which is partly because I’m fat and partly because I eat the same things over and over again. My potassium or sodium has been low too many times.
I have memory problems, so I don’t remember when I’ve eaten. The shower is another problem. I’ve been showering too much, and my skin is peeling off.
Things that happen more than once in a day are things that I struggle with. I finally have thought of a solution and that’s putting a board on my shower, like that you can tape on, and writing when I’ve had one for the day. Same thing with the fridge. 4
I can do other things fairly easily. If they’re repetitive, I struggle with them though because I recall having done them or not having done them.
I’m neutral about this. I feel there are some benefits to living off the government such as free health care. Where if you work and pay for your own healthcare that’s a huge cut from your paycheck. I think being at home every day contributes to depression.
I’d pick the job but only if it didn’t suck all my time for nothing. $26k/year is well below the poverty line where I live and if I could get that money from the state and simultaneously pursue something that paid a livable wage it could be worth it. Either way neither would not be a viable solution for survival and I would be actively seeking an alternative. So, if it was an exempt position where hours could be long and involved I would most likely pass and pursue while receiving state funds but if it was something part time or non-exempt capped at 40/week I would take employment since I hate to be bored.
@TheSutraDude -
You’re an idiot. Bill can do what he wants with his money. it is not yours. he put the effort in and he earned it. he made himself valuable enough to earn what he earns and it is none of your frigging business what he does with it. He does not have to pay for your welfare class to sit on their butts. If I earned millions I would live comfortably, quit my job and live off what I made so not another cent went to the government who can’t seem to figure out how to stop giving crap away to worthless people like you and your ilk. People who produce nothing, but take everything and get mad when the people who do produce want you to take less. You and your kind are what is wrong with this world … 100%
People like this give a bad name to the rest of us who are legitimately on assistance and unable to work. I can’t tell you how many times people think I’m one of these people working the system, and nothing could be further from the truth. I want so badly to be able to work and have a job. Even if it paid less than the very tiny amount I get from the government, if I COULD I would absolutely take the job instead.
@Brian_Jeremiah - You assume a bit much. I’ve made a lot of money in my life. I’m retired now. I’ve lived most of my life in luxury Manhattan high-rises. My suits cost in the thousands. I buy ties for $200. I’ve worked hard and I’ve also paid taxes without complaining because as a society we rely on infrastructure, security from uniformed officers to courts and judges to a ready military. For our future we rely on the best education we can offer all of our kids. I also realize there are people who work every bit as hard as I have, some harder, who nonetheless didn’t get paid as well for their hours as I was paid for mine. Yet without those people, police, firefighters, labor workers, teachers, auto workers, the workers at the supermarkets or car washes etc. have made my life better. I don’t mind giving my fair share back and then some. And I didn’t make my money by getting on the airwaves and lying to the American people, something Bill does on a regular basis.
I would take the job. I’d take the job in the hopes of working hard and getting a better job for more money. But I’m the type that is always striving for something.
I make less money than that, and I work. They are a disgrace to humanity and should be ashamed of themselves. The welfare state is absolutely despicable.
@heythereJOANN - Disagreed. I have a strong opinion on welfare yet I am neither.
@nerdyveggiegirl - Good points. I’ve known so many successful adults who grew up dirt poor and learned the value of hard work and resilience than others who grew up less poor to middle-class because of welfare (if any).
@Colorsofthenight - You would make a good clerk or IT person. I say go for it.
@Shadowrunner81 - Would you please explain to me how complaining about redistributed wealth is analogous to bullying? Especially when resistance to said redistribution (“bullying”) is responded to with force?
@SKANLYN - LOL you’re such a qt pie.
@Tooty_fruits - @Colorsofthenight - The reason why people like colors can’t compete in the workforce and have
to rely on welfare (or charity, as an alternative) to get by is because of the minimum wage. There are many well-bodied teenagers
and illegal aliens who would take a job which they are (presumably) more competent at than she with her condition at minimum wage. (As a sidenote: those illegal immigrants would have less incentive to emigrate here were there more American competition for jobs under minimum wage.) But if no minimum wage existed, she could work for lower (less competitive) pay while maintaining full autonomy and independence. Call me crazy, but I’d rather work as a cart pusher at WalMart for $5/hour than declared incompetent and living off of redistributed money. She absolutely hates that she lives off of social security and I sympathize with that. As a driven and intelligent woman, she deserves the chance to make her way in the world. I’m sure cognitively, she would regain a lot of the mental capacity she once had were she restored said dignity.
@TheSutraDude - I’ll admit I’m not a fan of O’Reilly either, but his salary comes from the service/product he provides, which is in high demand. If anyone should be blamed for his salary, it’s those who consume it. Would you please tell me how much *exactly* “fair share” taken out of a person’s income is and why?
You don’t have to go all the way to England to find worthless welfare douchebags. 20% of our own population makes zero contribution to their own survival.
I would rather die than spend my life bumming off of other people.
@blonde_apocalypse - Only 20% You sure about that? It seems like it should be more.
I would happily take a job at 26,000 a year, especially if it was pounds rather than dollars. I would happily pay the taxes as well.
I lost my job in October and refused to file to unemployment despite being eligible to do so. I’m living at home, looking for work, and doing unpaid work for a local startup to gain experience in the interim, but I’ve just cut back on my spending and appropriately budgeted the money I saved up from my previous job.
Not filing for unemployment while living at home might seem like the obvious thing to do, but a lot of my friends are in or were in similar situations and still drew unemployment money in order to sustain their lifestyles. Their argument was they had paid into it and therefore they had a right to draw money from the system even though they were living at home. My feeling is that even though I paid into the unemployment system, I don’t need the money at the moment and filing for unemployment when I don’t need it is just taking away from people that do.
Drawing unemployment because you need it to put a roof over your head, pay bills, or put food on the table is one thing. Drawing unemployment so you can spend it on trips to Vegas, iPads, flatscreen TVs, and other stuff you don’t need is another and I’m not going to be a part of that.
@SKANLYN - “No, of course not. I think it’s really sad how judgemental people are when it comes to those of us who choose not to work. Not all of us are cut out for the workforce. Some of us are free spirits that want to explore other things like art and travel or maybe just plain ordinary leisure. That doesn’t make us less worthy or all the stuff that working people have. If you’re the corporate type great but I’m not and you have an obligation to ensure my constitutional right to pursue happiness by helping to provide the necessary financial resources.”
I think this is the single most selfish misinterpretation of the Constitution I have ever seen as a comment anywhere on the internet. If I’d never discussed this kind of thing with you’d before, I’d say you’re joking. Sadly, I know you’re not.
@SKANLYN - you have to be kidding me.
I’ve worked around people who live off welfare. They do not fare very well. There are certainly lots of people who cannot work, and I do not begrudge them a portion of my hard earned paycheck. But it is a terribly psychologically debilitating thing for an able bodied person to live off welfare. Welfare is slavery, it’s just a subtle kind of slavery. I’d prefer to work and be productive.
@Ambrosius_Augustus_Rex - As of the 2010 Census, 20% of the American population lives entirely off of government payments (that’s only the peope who have NO other income of any sort, so it doesn’t include grants, loans, refundable credits, subsidized housing, rent controlled real estate, etc etc etc). I recall (but may have this figure wrong) about a third of those are living on pensions earned either in a government job or social security that they paid into for decades but that still leaves 13% living on unearned government payouts. So, if you know 6 people, odds are you know at least one person who contributes absolutely nothing to his own survival.
@SKANLYN - Oh my dear God, you have got to be shitting me. You think the rest of us don’t want to enjoy leisure activities? You sound like you actually believe that your enjoying being a douchebag makes you more highly evolved that those of us who choose not to be a worthless parasite on everyone else. This comment has got to be satire, because no real person could actually believe the cunt twaddle you posted here.
@blonde_apocalypse - It’s hard to tell with that guy. As you know the left is pretty ridiculous, so when you try to parody them you can’t really take it that much further.
@blonde_apocalypse - That is pretty disgusting when you think about it. One out of six… Although I try not to associate with people like that.
@Ambrosius_Augustus_Rex - ha. I actually know someone who set up a xanga site exclusively for parody of the collectivist parasite and went around posting retarded crap like this. He was absurd and took everything to its ultimate, ridiculous conclusion. Nobody even noticed.
@firetyger - You really think he’s serious? I always assumed he was doing a satire to mock liberals, but it’s hard to tell with those guys. I say he who does not work does not eat.
@blonde_apocalypse - I also did that once, and for about a year no one figured it out, until one time I boasted to some guy about having an IQ of 95.
If I’m doing something with my time, like volunteering at a barn or something, sure. Otherwise I might get bored. Wouldn’t take a job for anything under it though.
@Ambrosius_Augustus_Rex - I do. He has been on Xanga for years and his comments in our discussions/debates as well as those he has had with other people have always been completely consistent with that mindset. His comments never deviate, ever. I don’t know anyone who can do parody that perfectly. Though I suppose, it’s always possible. But I’m incredibly doubtful.
@firetyger - If he is serious then he is the best case for human neutering that I have ever seen.
@whataboutbahb - Only an asshole would chose welfare when they don’t need it. Everyone’s tax dollars helping out some worthless piece of trash.
@psychdr - Coolio.
@tokyoexpressman - I know. It’s like being on social security when I already get VA benefits. I didn’t want to do it. That’s why I didn’t before, but then I got a guardian. I also didn’t want to draw unemployment when I first got out because I was already getting a check from the government. They could cut a lot of waste if they would look at these weird exceptions.
I think its funny, people on welfare who feel entitled to cigerettes, flat screen televisions, smart phones, and tattoos. What was it, a year ago when they said if you want to be on welfare you have to take a drug test. People got all hot and bothered because no one wants you to know that perhaps your tax dollars go to fund someone’s addiction.
I read above where a commentor states there is a 5 year limit on welfare but that cant be right. My cousin has a baby every other year just to stay ON welfare.
I’ve had friends milk the system and feel justified in doing so. I dont know if they think there is a magic money tree somewhere thats growing money… or if they know that its coming out of their friend’s pockets (of those that work). I was pretty naive about welfare for years… point is there is a candle burning at both ends and there is only so much money to go around.
If I got paid $26,000 per year to not work, I would not work and get an education. I could become a doctor or engineer, and make a good life for myself.