We got a little focused on welfare here, and sure, that can be a problem, but there is more than just that.
A lot of the issue is just the attitude of the people. Sometimes, welfare can make it easier to have that attitude.
For instance, we had a lot of people move into town with no jobs, knowing that they could get money.
I don't know about anyone else, but I would never just move into a town known for not having many jobs without having a job. What's the point in that? (Edit: Actually, some of them just figured that people of the same religious background in town would help keep them afloat, same sort of rant I got into about morals, but that's a conversation for another day)
Even from when I was 12 years old, I wondered how these people thought they were going to get along moving into a town without having work lined up? What's the difference in that and staying where you were before? And how could you expect others to take care of you?
Some people that are on welfare, even for legitimate reasons such as a town with no work still brought it upon themselves.
That's why there will never be an accurate figure on this. There are those that abuse the system, and that's a small number, sure. Then there are those to actually need it, but wouldn't have if they would have moved somewhere they could have found work, and I have a hard time feeling sorry for them.
I've pulled unemployment before, but over half of my company was laid off, it wasn't any fault of ours for not doing our work, etc. Also, I considered it an insurance benefit since I've spent years paying into that. I feel entitled to claim unemployment just like I'm entitled to get car insurance money from an accident, I pay for that right.
A lot of the people everyone is referring to have never paid in, or have paid in very little.
I think unemployment is fine for the most part, as long as you're diligently looking for new work. I think disability is fine if you got injured and can't perform in your trade for an amount of time. (If you can be retrained for another form of work, that would be my choice, but I like to work or I get bored easy) If you are pulling disability because you're overweight, I don't feel sorry for you, quit eating so damn much. (Yes, some people have medical conditions, but not the majority) If you're on welfare because life gave you lemons, because you're a single mom and your husband ran out on you, or whatever reason, fine. If you're perfectly capable of working, it's not fine, and you should feel bad about it.
It's the people that think the assistance is a right that I have a problem with.
I justify my position at work by saving the company at least double my salary per year in efficiency. Why couldn't we allow PIs to work on this or something and give them 10% of the benefits recovered because of being found fraudulent? Easy, because they would work too hard to screw the good people as much as the bad and we'd just have the reverse problem.
Okay, I'm done with my completely incoherent post now.
