And here we go: the New Labour Government's "compassionate" welfare reforms are revealed (and no, there isn't going to be "anything after the fold" - you get it like it is)...
Sources:
"Benefit reforms 'mean fair deal' -
"Q&A: Welfare reform white paper"...and as expected, it's more of the same - not "carrot and stick", but a red-hot poker up the arse, dressed up as "reforms" for the big pro-Labour newspapers, and the Tax-Nazis. Plans for "support for the unemployed" actually mean "£25 on top of your wages when you get a job" - but what about actually
getting the damn job in the first place? That's the whole problem, and this all does absolutely
zero to address that - my, what a frickin' surprise.
(And I wouldn't be surprised if there were so many conditions imposed that almost no-one would
actually get their £25 - "Sorry, your feet are different sizes", "Sorry, you're too white", "Sorry, we just changed the rules to exclude you, ha ha ha...")
Another hilarious notion - your money will be cut if you "refuse a reasonable job offer". Now, Mister Purnell, just
what do you mean by that...? To
me, a "job offer" comes from a prospective employer, who has
1) received your application,
2) assessed your application,
3) invited you to interview,
4) assessed your performance at the interview,
5) has decided that you are the best person for the job, and finally
6) calls you up and says "When can you start?"
A sheet of paper, handed to you by the JobCentre Plus staff, with the details of a "suitable vacancy",
is not a job offer. If you mean "actively pursue a suitable vacancy", Mister Purnell, you need to
actually say that, not stick in some "catchphrase", like "prepare for work" - that sounds to me like "wash, shave and put on a clean shirt", and
not "get training or other job skills". Did no-one go through this with you
before you gave your speech, so that you could iron out the ambiguities? Clearly, the answer is "no".
None of these latest "wizard wheezes" do anything other than keep The Fucking System in business, a system that direly needs a complete overhaul. The worst thing about trying to get a job when you've been "long term unemployed" is that there's a junior secretary with the job of thinning out the applications before the head of Human Resources gets to see any of them, and she's under strict instruction to bin any application that has more than 3-6 months TOTAL unemployment - and every form you fill in now has the dreaded words:
"give details of your work history, ACCOUNTING FOR ANY GAPS"What's
needed is a way past that barrier, an opportunity to talk to a suitable employer and say "Here I am, here are my qualifications, here are my skills - what do you think? Any chance of a job...?" Unfortunately, that doesn't generate the same juicy headlines as "JOBLESS TO WORK FOR BENEFITS"... "BACK TO WORK OR LOSE YOUR DOLE"... and on, and on, and on, and on...
And by "WORK", we mean "charity work" - and I'll tell you now that I WILL NOT "WORK" IN A CHARITY SHOP AGAIN, not after "The Year Of Pain".
However - and here's the real joke...
...none of this even comes close to coming into effect until
2010-11, when this New Labour Government will have been booted out. Pity that the
Tories, the only likely replacement, openly and actively support these "reforms". Same barrel-organ, different monkey.
*sighs*
And forget trying to get a job at Woolworth's. They're screwed - officially. The closing down sale starts tomorrow.
Guess I'll be going out shopping tomorrow.
End rant transmission.And finally... "Assisted dying"? Let the patient decide, and the patient ONLY. No pressure from family, or society - and if the God-Squad want to force you to stay alive against your will, the Church should pay for your treatment - ALL your treatment, and NO short-cuts.
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In Today's Season Finale... Only the most drastic action is left for Darkhawk, as all her enemies gather, and her only remaining hope lies open to attack, and possible destruction...
