Benefits Street

[Captain...]

I agree, I was appealing for more flexibility in certain circumstances if someone applied to be on JSA then found a promising internship then three quarters way through the internship, they get offered a menial job while being on JSA. Surely he/she should be allowed to finish the internship first rather being forced to quit?

 

I would hope that the JobCentre would know about the internship and it would be deemed as sufficient evidence of looking for work/trying to be more employable, that that situation should never occur.

 

From anecdotal evidence it wouldn't surprise me if it has happened, but really we need to remind the job centre what it exists for, finding people permanent work, and not reducing the government's welfare bill and that common sense would be applied in such a situation.

[Rincewind]

I did not know that woman had also goneack 'tovounteering at the museum.

Whence I was looking for work I was going to sign up for a health and safety course but was told by my job adviser at the work program that as it was a two day course I could not do it as it meant I would be unavailable for work. The jobs I was apqoplying for required a. Health and safety qualification. So my applications failed when I applied for them.,

[Guest MattP]

I did not know that woman had also goneack 'tovounteering at the museum.

Whence I was looking for work I was going to sign up for a health and safety course but was told by my job adviser at the work program that as it was a two day course I could not do it as it meant I would be unavailable for work. The jobs I was apqoplying for required a. Health and safety qualification. So my applications failed when I applied for them.,

 

This is just ridiculous.

[Guest MattP]

What on earth is going on here?

 

As John said the welfare state should be a desperate measure and people are now starting to actually see as some sort of entitlement for you until you get the perfect job.

 

If this country does go skint in 50 years and cant pay for anything anymore it will deserve it.

[MooseBreath]

I think that everyone should have a right to lifelong education. Night school should be free (paid for by the govt) though expenses should be at the learners charge. The only way to improve a population and a community is to fight ignorance through education and the only way to make sure a population is adequate for the ever evolving work place is to keep training and re-training.

Basic education needs to be much broader - the Greeks knew what they were doing . We need educating for life not just for work. School needs to change its aims and objectives - secondary school can begin to angle more at education for jobs but not overly so. Further education (post secondary) can begin to specialise for jobs.

If we each look at our own education can we really say that it was successful in educating us for work? Some probably can but not all. How many can say that our education was successful in educating us for life? for parenthood? for living with others? for shopping and budgeting? I'd say not too many.

People have to want to learn though, you can't force people into learning. Especially in the days of the internet, all you're ever likely to want or need to know is available to you at the click of a button. Further education can be paid for afterwards, only when earning above a threshold. Despite that, plenty of people are managing to go through life not gaining any worthwhile skills at all. Why, because they have no motivation. How can a government make them motivated? By giving them no other choice.

[ADK]

I take it is this is symbolic of the millions who work hard in a job they dont enjoy or like, while not expecting the welfare state to support them while they find their dream job / destiny?

 

Because that really happens?

[Rincewind]

But will you work harder in a job you enjoy or one you dislike and dread going in every day for the rest of your life?

The job of your dreams may be less money but more rewarding for you and your employer.

[Soar Fox]

But will you work harder in a job you enjoy or one you dislike and dread going in every day for the rest of your life?

The job of your dreams may be less money but more rewarding for you and your employer.

Whether you enjoy your job or not you should do it to the best of your ability as that's what you are getting paid for.

I don't particularly enjoy my job, but it pays well and that gives me a fairly good lifestyle. I wouldn't work less hard in a job that I don't enjoy, but maybe that's just me with personal pride.

[Rincewind]

Being paid well is a good incentive and compensates somewhat for being in a shitty job. I think it may depend on the type of job.

[Vlad the Fox]

Exactly, if you're in a shit job that pays poorly and your employer treats you like crap there is no incentive to do well for them. People go in do their shift and go home counting the days to retirement. You may say why don't they get off their arse and get a better job? I would. But people don't, they get comfy with the routine, feel secure, and stick it out. Better the devil they know.

[Benji]

The big fat woman sounds like the scrambled voice TV shows use to hide someone's identity.

[Rincewind]

Just been looking for reaction to the programme. It is hard to find a balanced view. The Mail concentrates on the criminal activities and the Guardian/Independent on the stereotyping and complaints. The 50p bloke has been offered jobs btw. I also saw where the police are going to investigate the shoplifting claims. It is a rule that Docs such as this should not show criminal activity and the residents were told that if they did they could risk prosecution.

 

This is from the Birmingham Mail. Read halfway down and it gives POV from more than one side I think. I Googled Benefits Street and it came up with a few if anyone else wants to look. I didn't want to be viewed as being biased.

 

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/benefits-street-tv-show-your-6475080

 

Some interesting comments.

[MooseBreath]

Watched the first five minutes of the truth about immigration docco on iPlayer last night. They interviewed a farmer that employs dozens of fruit pickers. He said he sometimes get British applicants but they never turn up for the interview. The immigrants take the jobs and come out with £300+ a week. Jobs aplenty but not a single interested British person in sight.

[Zingari]

Watched the first five minutes of the truth about immigration docco on iPlayer last night. They interviewed a farmer that employs dozens of fruit pickers. He said he sometimes get British applicants but they never turn up for the interview. The immigrants take the jobs and come out with £300+ a week. Jobs aplenty but not a single interested British person in sight.

Who did these jobs before we had eastern European labour  here ? 

Edit;

sorry i'm just presuming you meant recent EU immigrants .

[MooseBreath]

Who did these jobs before we had eastern European labour here ?

Edit;

sorry i'm just presuming you meant recent EU immigrants .

They didn't go into the history, but the implication was that it has been dominated by eastern Europeans for some years. He employed quite a lot of Romanians prior to the recent border opening because he gave them the job offer they needed to come here.

Amazing really that relatively poor people all the way from Romania are able to secure decent employment in the UK while British people apparently aren't.

[Zingari]

They didn't go into the history, but the implication was that it has been dominated by eastern Europeans for some years. He employed quite a lot of Romanians prior to the recent border opening because he gave them the job offer they needed to come here.

Amazing really that relatively poor people all the way from Romania are able to secure decent employment in the UK while British people apparently aren't.

Maybe so , but my problem is that for generation after generation , British people have done all the most hard , dirty, degrading jobs from mining , sewers , hospitals , farming , fruit picking . etc etc , the whole spectrum .

 But for some reason this generation of British and 2nd 3rd geneation ethnic groups  from other parts of the world are now steadfastly refusing to do this work.

Isn't it just a little bit too fortunate that the only ones supposedly prepared to do it are the most recent immigrants ?

[Rincewind]

Its fortunate for those that want to build a case against immigration.

[MooseBreath]

Maybe so , but my problem is that for generation after generation , British people have done all the most hard , dirty, degrading jobs from mining , sewers , hospitals , farming , fruit picking . etc etc , the whole spectrum .

But for some reason this generation of British and 2nd 3rd geneation ethnic groups from other parts of the world are now steadfastly refusing to do this work.

Isn't it just a little bit too fortunate that the only ones supposedly prepared to do it are the most recent immigrants ?

I'm not sure what you're implying? That British people do want these jobs, but there is some conspiracy preventing them from getting them and giving the jobs to immigrants instead?

[Guest MattP]

Its fortunate for those that want to build a case against immigration.

 

Moose is defending immigration here.

[Guest MattP]

 

Maybe so , but my problem is that for generation after generation , British people have done all the most hard , dirty, degrading jobs from mining , sewers , hospitals , farming , fruit picking . etc etc , the whole spectrum .

 But for some reason this generation of British and 2nd 3rd geneation ethnic groups  from other parts of the world are now steadfastly refusing to do this work.

Isn't it just a little bit too fortunate that the only ones supposedly prepared to do it are the most recent immigrants ?

 

 

And why do they do that? Because they are givewn free money if they don't. It isn't rocket science.

 

Take away someons benefits and they will do that job.

[purpleronnie]

Watched the first five minutes of the truth about immigration docco on iPlayer last night. They interviewed a farmer that employs dozens of fruit pickers. He said he sometimes get British applicants but they never turn up for the interview. The immigrants take the jobs and come out with £300+ a week. Jobs aplenty but not a single interested British person in sight.

I saw something similiar a year or so back, there's no question there are jobs that Brit's just don't want to do so immigrants are essential.  Like Matt said if these long term benefit claiments were given a choice of doing the minimum wage jobs or having their benefits stropped I'm sure they'll do the work. 

 

I don't know what sort of money people get through benefits thesedays but any job has to pay as much as their benefits so either the difference is made up by the government (maybe that happens now I don't know) or minimum wage has to be increased but that in itself is tricky as large increases could affect businesses and actually create higher unemployment.

 

There's so many different aspects to this, its not always so cut and dried, that's how a lot of people on here seem to view it, either their benefit scum or just the poor unfortunate. The reality is there's a fair mixture of both.

[Zingari]

I'm not sure what you're implying? That British people do want these jobs, but there is some conspiracy preventing them from getting them and giving the jobs to immigrants instead?

Would the potatoes and fruit be rotting in the fields and trees if it weren't for the very fortunate and  timely intervention of immigrants prepared to do the jobs that previous generations of British people had done before? 

I'm just at a loss as to why so much of this type of work had been done by us for generations , but just at the very time we are having a wave of immigration , the British won't do it anymore.

Doesn't it seem a bit odd ?

 

edit ; we've had a benefit system for quite some time now and still the fruit and veg got picked and we had a workforce to do it without any help fron eastern europe.

why won't the british do it now ?

[purpleronnie]

Not another conspiracy Zing....surely?

 

Anywho:-

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2537074/Benefits-Street-residents-claim-TV-bosses-bribed-beer-cigarettes-McDonalds-12-hour-day-filming.html

 

[Guest MattP]

Would the potatoes and fruit be rotting in the fields and trees if it weren't for the very fortunate and  timely intervention of immigrants prepared to do the jobs that previous generations of British people had done before? 

I'm just at a loss as to why so much of this type of work had been done by us for generations , but just at the very time we are having a wave of immigration , the British won't do it anymore.

Doesn't it seem a bit odd ?

 

edit ; we've had a benefit system for quite some time now and still the fruit and veg got picked and we had a workforce to do it without any help fron eastern europe.

why won't the british do it now ?

 

We had a benefit system that was replaced by a co-ordinated voting core by the last Labour government, it's no coincedence that only in the last couple of years have people like Rincewind and all these lot on this program have not stopped compaining about given less free money from the state for doing nothing.

 

Not another conspiracy Zing....surely?

 

Anywho:-

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2537074/Benefits-Street-residents-claim-TV-bosses-bribed-beer-cigarettes-McDonalds-12-hour-day-filming.html

 

 

 

lol

 

I'm not sure whats worse, the stuff we actually saw on the show or the fact these people were prepared to show themselves as the lowest of the low for a Macdonalds.

 

Look at this He's been on national TV to 15million people and he's covering his face being photographed

 

I absolutely can't wait for the second episode.

 

[Guest MattP]

Not sure what else you can say about this guy. We all predicted he was bright and may have had a qualification. (

 

 

 

'Danny' – thought to be Danny Smith – is a qualified gym instructor.

He was shown lining a paper shopping bag with tin foil to stop store alarms from sounding during a shoplifting spree.

‘Fill it up with a £2,000 coat or whatever you ****ing want, you’ll walk out of the shop and you’re coming out with no alarms going off’, he said.

Smith, a father of three who admitted being too lazy to work, went shoplifting just days after being released from prison.

Although cameras did not record him taking any goods, he was filmed afterwards boasting about his haul of five designer jackets – which he then sold for £200. His criminal record stretches to around 200 offences.

 

 

He has been convicted 80 times since the age of 12.

Subject to an Asbo banning him from Birmingham city centre, he was arrested after venturing back to the shops on another thieving mission.

He was also verbally abusive to the police and community support officers who picked him up.

The first episode ended with Danny vanishing after apparently stealing cannabis plants a neighbour was growing in a spare bedroom.