[Newsbot]

Title: B.C. MLA fed-up after five days on welfare rate
Category: Misc CDN
Posted By: Strutz
Date: 2012-01-05 15:45:33
Canadian

[Gunnair]

"Welfare and Disability Support are two different things. It is important to help those with disabilities. If your on welfare it should not be comfy, it should help persuade you to become a productive member of society."

An interesting comment. Although I'm for making welfare a safety net and not much more, I do think that living beyond the subsistance level is a better opportunity for being a productive member of society.

[martin14]

There are other organizations, like food banks and the Sally Ann, who can help people at least get on till a job pops up.

[jeff744]

martin14 martin14:

There are other organizations, like food banks and the Sally Ann, who can help people at least get on till a job pops up.

Or they can move to places where there are jobs (like Sask and Alberta)

[andyt]

Gunnair Gunnair:

"Welfare and Disability Support are two different things. It is important to help those with disabilities. If your on welfare it should not be comfy, it should help persuade you to become a productive member of society."

An interesting comment. Although I'm for making welfare a safety net and not much more, I do think that living beyond the subsistance level is a better opportunity for being a productive member of society.

There's welfare for employable people, and that should be a minimum (which it is in BC) but with lots of help to get them jobs. Also in BC an employable person can only collect welfare 2 years out of 5 - it's not much of a free ride.

Then there's welfare for people who just aren't employable - at least on the open job market. Boost welfare for them, but maybe it makes sense to have them work for it in a sheltered sort of setting. Then there's the single parents - either give them enough money for daycare, or give them decent welfare so the kids don't suffer. It's all very good to say they brought it on themselves (many didn't) but if you don't give them enough money the kids just suffer and grow up to be problems.

[andyt]

jeff744 jeff744:

martin14 martin14:

There are other organizations, like food banks and the Sally Ann, who can help people at least get on till a job pops up.

Or they can move to places where there are jobs (like Sask and Alberta)

Good idea. Let's give all those folks a one way bus ticket east. I bet Sask and Alta would just love that.

[jeff744]

andyt andyt:

jeff744 jeff744:

martin14 martin14:

There are other organizations, like food banks and the Sally Ann, who can help people at least get on till a job pops up.

Or they can move to places where there are jobs (like Sask and Alberta)

Good idea. Let's give all those folks a one way bus ticket east. I bet Sask and Alta would just love that.

Honestly, we would, a lot of employers are actually fighting over employees. I could have gotten a job making $15/hr for night shift at DHL a couple years ago, last summer I was making $16 working for Sask Highways, tons of employment around here and not that hard to get it.

[Brenda]

jeff744 jeff744:

andyt andyt:

jeff744 jeff744:

Or they can move to places where there are jobs (like Sask and Alberta)

Good idea. Let's give all those folks a one way bus ticket east. I bet Sask and Alta would just love that.

Honestly, we would, a lot of employers are actually fighting over employees. I could have gotten a job making $15/hr for night shift at DHL a couple years ago, last summer I was making $16 working for Sask Highways, tons of employment around here and not that hard to get it.

No offense, but where does the single mom of 2 kids leave her kids at night when she's working DHL night shift, and where do they go when mom sleeps during the day?

[stokes]

Brenda Brenda:

No offense, but where does the single mom of 2 kids leave her kids at night when she's working DHL night shift, and where do they go when mom sleeps during the day?

But is welfare really the best alternative to gainful employment for a single mom, my mom worked whatever she could to put food on the table and clothes on my back....a lot better than wlefare as it taught me the value of hardwork and I have not been unemployed in 20 years

[Gunnair]

andyt andyt:

Gunnair Gunnair:

"Welfare and Disability Support are two different things. It is important to help those with disabilities. If your on welfare it should not be comfy, it should help persuade you to become a productive member of society."

An interesting comment. Although I'm for making welfare a safety net and not much more, I do think that living beyond the subsistance level is a better opportunity for being a productive member of society.

There's welfare for employable people, and that should be a minimum (which it is in BC) but with lots of help to get them jobs. Also in BC an employable person can only collect welfare 2 years out of 5 - it's not much of a free ride.

Then there's welfare for people who just aren't employable - at least on the open job market. Boost welfare for them, but maybe it makes sense to have them work for it in a sheltered sort of setting. Then there's the single parents - either give them enough money for daycare, or give them decent welfare so the kids don't suffer. It's all very good to say they brought it on themselves (many didn't) but if you don't give them enough money the kids just suffer and grow up to be problems.

Agreed. For those with disabilities that prevent them from working, there should be improved benefits as well as a regular assessment of their disabilities with an effort to find them gainful employment.

I rather like the idea of workfare myself, especially for those on a permanent disability - not in a punitive way of course, but to give them a feeling of accomplishment as well as ensure the government gets a bit of productivity out of its investment. Community service I think would be great.

I do agree about the single mom as well. It costs a lot to put kids into daycare these days (although the government will kick in for that) but still it's pricey.

In the end, I have no issue raising welfare rates, however, I also expect more accountability from the recipients. They need to have their feet held to the fire so that if they can find a job that pays better than welfare ($8.00/hr gets you $1280 before taxes and BC's minimum wages are going up so that $1600 before taxes will not be hard to earn)

Welfare should be below that lest the recipient opt to sit at home and do nothing.

That being said, I will also agree with you that we need affordable housing and that's an issue. Frankly, people are better off mocving out of the high cost areas but that also means fewer work opportunities and potentially lower pay.

No easy answers nor cheap ones, sadly.

[Gunnair]

andyt andyt:

jeff744 jeff744:

martin14 martin14:

There are other organizations, like food banks and the Sally Ann, who can help people at least get on till a job pops up.

Or they can move to places where there are jobs (like Sask and Alberta)

Good idea. Let's give all those folks a one way bus ticket east. I bet Sask and Alta would just love that.

Yeah, Alberta had a fit last time we sent welfare recipients east.

[jeff744]

Brenda Brenda:

No offense, but where does the single mom of 2 kids leave her kids at night when she's working DHL night shift, and where do they go when mom sleeps during the day?

Plenty of good paying day shift jobs too, though they will have to go without her during a chunk of the day to support two kids, possibly grab a second one.

[Brenda]

jeff744 jeff744:

Brenda Brenda:

No offense, but where does the single mom of 2 kids leave her kids at night when she's working DHL night shift, and where do they go when mom sleeps during the day?

Plenty of good paying day shift jobs too, though they will have to go without her during a chunk of the day to support two kids, possibly grab a second one.

But who is taking care of her kids? They can't be left alone at 3 and 5.
Childcare is expensive, and just working to be able to afford childcare seems kinda counter productive to me...

[jeff744]

Gunnair Gunnair:

Yeah, Alberta had a fit last time we sent welfare recipients east.

Never said anything about forcing them to go, I just don't feel pity for people on welfare that complain there are no jobs when they refuse to move to places where there are jobs. There used to be a mass rush west every harvest season because people in Quebec/Ontario knew the people out west needed farm hands, after that they went back.

[Gunnair]

jeff744 jeff744:

Gunnair Gunnair:

Yeah, Alberta had a fit last time we sent welfare recipients east.

Never said anything about forcing them to go, I just don't feel pity for people on welfare that complain there are no jobs when they refuse to move to places where there are jobs. There used to be a mass rush west every harvest season because people in Quebec/Ontario knew the people out west needed farm hands, after that they went back.

BC didn't force them to go, but strongly suggested it. Alberta lost its nut.