The UK is moving to a workfare system

[MillCreek]

http://www.npr.org/2013/10/04/229204948/tories-tell-jobless-brits-its-time-to-work-for-their-dole?ft=1&f=1001

Wow, and the 'dole' has been a treasured British institution for decades.  What was that Dame Thatcher said about running out of other people's money?

[AJ Dual]

When Wisconsin started leading the way in Workfare in the 90's with "W2" for "Wisconsin Works" and a play on having a W-2 statement... i.e. a "job", there was initial improvement, however my impression is things returned mostly to the status quo as people worked around the system to carve out exemptions, or the required "job training" became minimalistic etc. or people just shuffled around to finding other benefits, like the big move of people onto SSI/Disability etc.

Or they just moved to other scams, like two unemployed women match themselves up, and fradulently "provide childcare" for each other, and are "employed" as such, in a reciprocal network and collect the state paid childcare benefits while in reality they all just sit at home with their own children and collect the checks.

[vaskidmark]

It started when George Osborne, the chancellor of the Exchequer, told the Conservative Party's annual conference that starting next April, some 200,000 people who have been unemployed for two years or more will be offered three choices: undertake unpaid community work, report to a job center every workday or take part in a full-time intensive program to work on the personal issues that have kept them out of the workforce.

If they don't, they'll lose their benefits check.

This has the possibility to cut out a lot of fraud.  Pick up litter and paint the community center.  Take part in a full-time intensive (8 hours a day?) program to cure their personal ills - how long they have is not known from the article.  Or the biggie - report to a job center every work day.  (Is that M-F or M-F + 1/2 day Sat?).  For those that may not recognize the name, a work center is essentially a labor hiring hall for day labor - the government version of Home Depot.

Hope those picking Door #3 have to hang around all day if they do not get picked by 10 AM.  Hope even more that the folks hiring them will be required to turn the pay in to the work center which will then pass it on, minus taxes and fees, as well as report it to the (f)GB version of the IRS.

About time, I say.

stay safe.