The welfare state

[DrunkenMistake]

Paint on a moustache and it's me to a 'T'

Hahaha

[neels]

You people are funny.

Well most of you, anyway.

The world has changed quite considerably when it comes to getting a job, and luck has a lot to do with it. I'm lucky to be in a job that according to the ad's our HR people put out I'm nowhere near qualified for, so it's just as well I know pretty much everything about everything at work, the trainees we take on now are more qualified than me.

I have lived on the dole (for 2 weeks in 1998), at the time I couldn't even get a job in a gas station because as soon as there is a whiff of just looking for a job to fill in time until something better comes along employers aren't interested.

And if your attitude is crap people will pick up on it, even if you're on your best behaviour when you're talking to them, it's not hard to see through the bullshit to what someone is really like.

[jaffaonajappa]

Originally Posted by DrunkenMistake
This is also a pretty good option, the army would be your best bet if your a bit of a tard. Just have to be physicaly fit.

Unfortunately not true anymore.

Bwahaha. Its an excellent option for All Tards. Still is.

[jaffaonajappa]

And if your attitude is crap people will pick up on it, even if you're on your best behaviour when you're talking to them, it's not hard to see through the bullshit to what someone is really like.

I dunno. Ive been fooling everyone for about 30 years so far

[DrunkenMistake]

I dunno. Ive been fooling everyone for about 30 years so far

Sorry to go off topic a little, but if you click the speech bubble with the + at the bottom of someones post it allows you to multi quote, so click several then click reply with quote or just reply I think and all the quotes should be there for you :]

[The Stranger:Me]

It's a bit hard to make a living when I can't find a job and when polytech don't want me.

Yet again the inference seems to be that someone else owes you a job. Who and why do they?

Why do you need to go to polytech to learn?
I have had several bouts of illness in my time that have resulted in extended lost time from my employ.
Each time has been an awesome learning opportunity that has resulted in my enhancing my ability to make money and set myself up well for the future.
Being out of work gave me opportunities in education (self taught) that I would never have had if I was employed.
Use this time to your advantage, it's a chance that you may never get again.

Quite frankly I am less likely to hire someone who needs to go to school to learn what they need to know. I'm of the view that if you can't work it out on your own I don't want you - but then I'm in IT and it changes so fast that really school seems rather moot in very many respects.

[SMOKEU]

Yet again the inference seems to be that someone else owes you a job. Who and why do they?

Why do you need to go to polytech to learn?
I have had several bouts of illness in my time that have resulted in extended lost time from my employ.
Each time has been an awesome learning opportunity that has resulted in my enhancing my ability to make money and set myself up well for the future.
Being out of work gave me opportunities in education (self taught) that I would never have had if I was employed.
Use this time to your advantage, it's a chance that you may never get again.

Quite frankly I am less likely to hire someone who needs to go to school to learn what they need to know. I'm of the view that if you can't work it out on your own I don't want you - but then I'm in IT and it changes so fast that really school seems rather moot in very many respects.

I don't really care if people on here want to take the piss out of me for being on the dole.

When I had to go into Winz every week to look for jobs, there were about 8 of us in the group that had to go in every week at the same time. My case manager commented several times how keen I was to find work - I would always apply for at least 5 jobs every time I was there. Most of the other people didn't really care, and all they would do is muck around and chat because they weren't serious about finding work.

I am not one of those people who wants to be on the dole for the rest of my life - I want to be able to own a house one day and I realize that I will not achieve that by being on the dole or working in a supermarket for the rest of my life. I want to get somewhere good in life where I don't have to count every last $ and struggle to pay all the bills when I'm 40 years old.

When I worked in a supermarket for 4.5 years, many of the people there were in their 40s and they were stacking shelves for minimum wage, or slightly more if they were a manager. I don't want to be like that. I'm making an effort here to be a productive member of society, and if all people want to do is ridicule me for my efforts, then that's fine by me. It makes me even more determined to prove you all wrong by one day being that productive member of society and paying back the government in the form of taxes for all the help they have given me.

Peace.

[kiwifruit]

I don't really care

Peace.

Nothing wrong with stacking selves while you look for other jobs. I've found door knocking to be quite good when looking for work.
Go around town asking if there is any work going, if there is not offer to clean the shop window, leave a card, make an impression.

Good luck

[The Stranger:Me]

I don't really care if people on here want to take the piss out of me for being on the dole.

Not a lot of piss taking going on here in reality. Rather it's been a remarkably sober thread given the OP and the topic.

Sure, most don't know you so they can't be specific and consequently some of the advice/opinions may well be wrong, but it's pretty damn good advice in general.

If you are thinking people are taking the piss then you need to put your emotions aside, go back and re-read the thread (with an open mind) and think about what's been said.

[Brian d marge]

One of my better Ideas if I do say so myself!!!
so , ya go on the dole ....at the same time you teach yourself as much as you can about a subject
CFD CGI CAD i dont know , I used those as an example because the help that you can get on-line is possibly better than a polytechnic

Ya get half competent , ( all the while on the dole ) then apply to the poly get the bit of paper at a now reduced rate because one would assume you wouldn't need to do the whole course

Whala edumacated and the state pays the tab

brilliant or what !

Only places that are hard up quibble about the small things , plenty of other countries that have money, and where Jobs are easier to get...no sense in pushing shit up hill

as for hard yakka , sod that use your brain.... damn sight easier, thats why we employ minions they do the hard stuff ......

Carry on ... let me know if you would like any more good Ideas ..........

Stephen

[The Stranger:Me]

One of my better Ideas if I do say so myself!!!
so , ya go on the dole ....at the same time you teach yourself as much as you can about a subject
CFD CGI CAD i dont know , I used those as an example because the help that you can get on-line is possibly better than a polytechnic

Thank you! This is what I have said twice in this thread already.
Being unemployed is a hell of an opportunity - if you just shift your thinking!

If you have a job you aren't going to get that chance again. Get a mortgage and a kid or 2 and it's even worse.

Make the most of it!

[awayatc]

never knew scummy had a painted on mo.......

[Maha]

I'd like to teach the world to sing and furnish it with love, grow apples trees and honey bees and snow white turtle doves....
But fuck it, I have a job!.

[short-circuit]

I'd like to teach the world to sing and furnish it with love, grow apples trees and honey bees and snow white turtle doves....
But fuck it, I have a job!.

Fluffer boy ... won't do interracial.



Aw fuck it - I though I was quoting SmokeU

[Paul in NZ]

Lets TRY and get this back on topic....

I don’t know about the reform of social welfare but I do have a very bad feeling about it.

I’m old enough for my grandparents to have lived through the great depression and heard 1st had the stories that didn’t make it into the history books. Its enough to say that terrible things can happen to prosperous, industrious people in these circumstances and we should all hope that we never get to live through a full blown depression. I’ve been gainfully employed since 13 years old and Vicki since 14. We have never had a single payment from Welfare and the one time Vicki was briefly unemployed (she was a Chef and the Hotel went bust) the Govt people were so bloody demeaning and unhelpful we never went back. They were blindingly good at helping socially inept or the criminal underclass (the ones with a leather vest habit) but just couldn’t deal with an ordinary person. Welfare was not apparently to help a normal person temporarily fallen on hard times which was the first sign something’s wrong with the system.

However, the emotional propaganda that the rightwing libertarian types put about that somehow it’s a persons own fault if they receive welfare is both short sighted, demeaning and wrong. Things can and do go wrong in the complicated process of living – welfare was set up to make sure that people didn’t suffer terminal harm when they did and to scaffold them back into a productive society before they are so damaged they can’t get back on the horse..

Yet something’s not right – its costing us more and more money and seemingly working less and less effectively. I suppose we all have an opinion on what needs to be done I think everyone agrees that ‘something’ needs to be done but the kicker is what?

So far – I have not heard one solid idea.

The situation is easier to define but one factor that’s often overlooked is that society itself has changed dramatically since the days of the great welfare reforms when these systems were established. Education is no longer free, families and societies are more volatile and the economy does not resemble anything like the one that people were used to at the birth of welfare. Even couples with reasonable jobs and in stable relationships struggle to generate enough income to purchase a house and survive with both working full time and then the hideous cost of childcare kicks in. Sure – there is a lot of junk in modern living that can be stripped out but the costs of the basics have increased beyond reason. Factor in a disability or an aged relative that needs care and its no wonder we are in trouble. During this time the state has also found it cant really afford pensions and anyone in long term care is better off ‘in the community’ (whatever that means) so that too has increased the pressure on families.

The job market has changed beyond all recognition as well. Industry training schemes, apprenticeships etc have as good as disappeared. Large state owned enterprises were not always effective businesses but did soak up a lot of people on the fringes and provided a steady supply of well trained ‘skilled’ workers. It was also a way for the younger people to be exposed (mentored) by older people from outside their own families. There were a lot of life lesson to be learnt taking the morning tea orders etc. The job market has expanded but there are fewer positions at the entry level into worthwhile careers. Those jobs are often filled by migrants who already have the skills required.

Social Welfare was established in a time when it was expected that a working mans wages could adequately support a home and a family. In a time when this is definitely no longer the case maybe we need to redefine what Social Welfare IS and what it can and should do? We need to be very careful here. Pressure is mounting on the economy and socially. This country cannot afford to cut out so many crippled and damaged people that we create an underclass that will swamp us all. There are no walls high enough to keep them out. We MUST find a fair and affordable way to glue this mess together.

I dunno what the answer is – and I’m pretty sure National and ACT don’t either.