Forcing "scroungers" to take work

[MrMark]

FAO MrMark.

I'm sure that you will agree that the current situation is unsustainable.

What do you suggest?

What's unsustainable? Having 10-20% of the available workforce without work (isn't there effectively 9 million economically inactives)? I'm afraid that isn't going to change much (unless we as a country suddenly become currency competitive with China, and factories start to open again). You can cut some costs by capping the housing benefit/providing cheaper rents. But forcing those at the bottom into a job is going to be impossible. What shop will employ an assistant who has an attitude that frightens the customers and will scarper at the earliest opportunity, when a willing attractive intelligent Polish person will volunteer?
On reflection, we need a good building project. Perhaps a load of new roads, or wind-farms? Problem is , even here, the constructing companies will probably bring in a load of Italians or Slovakians to do the work. Back to square one...

[MarillionFan]

May I suggest we adopt this approach from Logans run for people who have been out of work for 24 months.

[MrMark]

Maybe we should put Tim Martin (of Wetherspoons) in charge of increasing employment. He's managed to set on people up and down the country.
My prediction : the new Casinos plan (vetoed by Brown) will be up and running again within 18 months. Service industry, requiring new staff, attracting foreign visitors.

[minestrone]

They should be shuffled off to areas away from the wealth producing population and not given incentives to breed like they have been for the last 30 years.

[Jog On]

What's unsustainable? Having 10-20% of the available workforce without work (isn't there effectively 9 million economically inactives)? I'm afraid that isn't going to change much (unless we as a country suddenly become currency competitive with China, and factories start to open again). You can cut some costs by capping the housing benefit/providing cheaper rents. But forcing those at the bottom into a job is going to be impossible. What shop will employ an assistant who has an attitude that frightens the customers and will scarper at the earliest opportunity, when a willing attractive intelligent Polish person will volunteer?
On reflection, we need a good building project. Perhaps a load of new roads, or wind-farms? Problem is , even here, the constructing companies will probably bring in a load of Italians or Slovakians to do the work. Back to square one...

This is where I think the coalition can step in and offer some tax incentives to these companies and make it worthwhile for them to take on Johnny instead of Viktor

[Mich the Tester]

This is where I think the coalition can step in and offer some tax incentives to these companies and make it worthwhile for them to take on Johnny instead of Viktor

That would probably contravene lots of trade agreements from which the UK also benefits in terms of access to foreign markets.

[original PM]

a good war was always useful for getting rid of the wastrels....

[shaunbhoy]

What's unsustainable? Having 10-20% of the available workforce without work (isn't there effectively 9 million economically inactives)? I'm afraid that isn't going to change much (unless we as a country suddenly become currency competitive with China, and factories start to open again). You can cut some costs by capping the housing benefit/providing cheaper rents. But forcing those at the bottom into a job is going to be impossible. What shop will employ an assistant who has an attitude that frightens the customers and will scarper at the earliest opportunity, when a willing attractive intelligent Polish person will volunteer?
On reflection, we need a good building project. Perhaps a load of new roads, or wind-farms? Problem is , even here, the constructing companies will probably bring in a load of Italians or Slovakians to do the work. Back to square one...

You keep harking back to "What Company" is going to employ these people.
The fact is, NO Company needs to employ them. They will simply be working for their benefits, their work being supervised and coordinated by a new breed of Badass Musclebound Official who will have power of veto over whether or not they have earned said benefit. These new supervisors will be largely recruited from the early release prisoner schemes and will replace the ineffectual conciliatory treehugging wasters that currently infest those positions.
This work to include things like picking up litter, mowing OAPs lawns, graffiti removal, canal cleaning, etc. as well as any schemes dreamt up by hardworking Local Taxpayers that are deemed both meaningful yet at the same time demeaning.

HTH

[MrMark]

They will simply be working for their benefits, their work being supervised and coordinated by a new breed of Badass Musclebound Official who will have power of veto over whether or not they have earned said benefit.

Ah, so subsidized work, financed by the tax-payer?
We may as well have kept the mines, ship-yards, British Leyland etc. They at least produced something, and gave the workforce the illusion of meaningful work.
Strange how all the strict harsh-cutting right-wingers always end up saying we have to organize the unemployed into non-productive work and supervised by an army of "Musclebound Official" (or whatever the current craze is). Heavens knows how much all that will cost!

[AtW]

Ah, so subsidized work, financed by the tax-payer?

They are already paid by taxpayer to do feck all, I'd rather see them do ANY work - sorting stones on a beach if necessary, if they don't like them they should find better job!