to think benefits should be capped at minimum wage

[moogster1a]

A little idea that all benefits should be capped at a weeks worth of minimum wage; so 37 and half hours times whatever minimum wage is now ( £6 pounds odd ).
That way no one gets paid more for sitting at home than they would for going out to work.
Out of this, all rent prescriptions etc. should be paid, the same as most people in low paid jobs have to pay for everything.
it might also provide an incentive to go out to work to up your wages if you progress in a company.
Just think it would be a lot fairer.

And why is it ethical for benefits to be more than nmw (in some cases, with expense of childcare, transport to job etc.), may I ask?

Yes it should and i was so tempeted to call JSA about him (also it cost me £4k)

Julia - did you read what you have jost wrote or are you conjuring bollocks to try and suport your view?

£21k is a good salary but unfortuntaly some one decided being on benefits was prefferable to working on that salary and having to graft. Its people like you, with your views that is making this situation worse.

I also do not provide the jobs, i just try and find the right people for them

pink4ever welcome to the club!

jade if people are daft enough content to be exploited in jobs they need benefits to keep them out of poverty, I'm sure they will be welcomed by Call me Dave, but they are actually undercutting everyone else's standard of living.

northernwreck so why have all those 2 million people available and looking for work not filled the 400,000 vacancies (obviously leaving 1.6 million still looking for work)?

nmw is not enough to live, esp when you have child care fees.

I think childcare should be free. it would make a huge improvement to mums who want to work

Well good for you, willing to exploit these poor hardworking people who are trying to support their families by providing services for you (in childcare, in shops, cleaning the streets). I'm so pleased you view them as undercutting your standard of living, yet are happy for them to do the very jobs that offer you that standard of living. Aren't you a treasure.

JuliaScurr - do you actually read your post before you send them?

How many job interviews have you turned down that have not met your minimum standard?

In fact what is the standard you have set? £30k - £40k - £50k? because £21k is a damm good salary

The statistics tell their own story. The Office of Budget Responsibility says the economy is knackered, why the surprise it affects employment?

knittedbreast- funding free childcare (of a good standard, not by unqualified 18 year olds) would be bloody hard as things stand right now.

Your views do not sit well with me Julia. Each to their own.

I agree mrspoc it does seem for example there is a very strong work ethic amongst Eastern Europeans. They are willing to work like horses and do the less desirable jobs, than the Brits, who feel that some jobs are beneath them and rather stay on benefits.

Julia you have actually show yourself to be the type of person who should not be on benefits. My reason is, you are part of the problem, £21k is a good salary and you should grasp that opportunity with both hands but you like the easier life of benefits.

JuliaScurr i agreed but all those unfilled vancancies are a terrible drain on the knackered economy.

Part of the problem? She appears to me to BE the problem.

Julia - statisitcs are talking rubbish, i work mostly in the manufacturing industry and they are growing, manufacturing is returning to the UK, it is a massive, growing market. There are loads of jobs being created on a daily basis.

i agree jade, but if we have money for out of date nuclear weapons that we cant use without first asking america and that can be disarmed by them at will, we can afford money for our children and young struggeling families.

My BIL is Albanian and a chef, in his restaurant run by Brits all the chefs were from Albania.

Ture, knittedbreast,can't argue with that. You can see from the current 'free' places for 3 yr olds how little childcare is valued though. The money the government gives settings is ridiculously low- the good places with good staff tend to make a loss on providing the 'free' places, which has to be absorbed by fee payers. How would this happen with no fee payers? Quality would decrease, and shit childcare is worthless, or harmful.

also if we want people to do undesirable work for shit pay can we please stop forcefeeding youngsters dreams o riches and fortune? our whole society, ways of thinking are fucked.

we need to step back and think

400,000 jobs?

over 2,000000 unemployed people.

Do the maths, even if those 400,000 jobs were filled by currently unemployed people [some would go to people changing jobs and we know its easier to get a job if you already have one] there would still be a very high number of people out of work.

Lots of those 400,000 jobs will require skills that many wont have or they may be too far from where they live [dont say move, its not that easy]

Is welfare reform [ie sanctions for those who are unable to find a job] really a good idea when unemployment is so high and jobs are being cut?

zukiecat Well I hope I haven't come across as someone who doesn't have a clue and thinks they can solve all your problems with a snap of their fingers!

Good luck for the future.

there would still be a very high number of people out of work i agree but its a start isnt it? a quick search on directgov shows unskilled NMW jobs in the area where my family is from, one of the top 10 deprived areas in the UK. they dont require any special skills. plus employers get £1000 for hiring someone unemployed.

still does not explain those 400,000 vacancies....

wed pay nursery staff properly for a start!

i heard they were thinking of scrapping these free nursery places