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A "safety net" can still be regulated against abuse. For example, in Australia, I'm all for some of the more recent initiatives that have been introduced with regards to those receiving unemployment, that they must show evidence of applying for a certain number of jobs per week, that they must be available for the "work for the dole" scheme that combines community service with learning new skills. The belief that "most" on unemployment benefits are lazy is hogwash.
Yeah, safety net is one thing. Just handing out entitlements is another. I guess it's different in the U.S. because I have seen more times than I care to count a number of people I know who could work, but choose not to. That takes money out of the system for people who can't work. And without validating someone's status, they don't have to ... if you have no money in the U.S., you can get the government to give you a little bit, and do it easy.
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When they're young, it can often be down to psychological issues such as being too shy or not having belief in yourself. I know, I was there, 2 years unemployed after dropping out of University. If they had had the "work for the dole" and minimum job application thing back then I'm sure it would have been less than 6 months.
Everyone has moments when they feel shy and do not have belief in themselves. Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Mark Cuban, even Tom from Myspace. Every negative feeling a human being has is not a psychological issue that hinders them from achieving anything.
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And when you're older, even if you have the skills, experience and a University degree it can often be down to just no jobs available, or - stupidly - being "over qualified". Again, I've been there. Was made redundant a few years back from a Marketing Manager position. Was fairly happy, nice payout which paid of my debts, wasn't too happy there so thought it was great, couple of weeks off and then back into it. Boy, was I wrong! It was 8 months before I landed another "proper" job. In the meantime, after the first month, I was applying for EVERYTHING, just to get something to cover the bills so I wouldn't have to claim unemployment benefits. And I mean EVERYTHING. I shudder when I think of some of the jobs I applied for. I still have all the folders on my computer for each job, each of them containing an application letter and a tailored resume for that role. But that was nothing to the shame I felt when I had to walk into the unemployment office to claim for assistance.
Again, I think I'm not making my point clear. I'm talking about people who spend their life on assistance. I'm not talking about temp stuff or unemployment ... I'm talking about the fact that you have a great number of people on the system who don't need to be, and people who can't do anything for themselves who can't get on the system. That needs to be fixed.