Quote Originally Posted by Starter View Post
There is always someone looking for a free ride. If access to that ride is made too easy, then the number of people interested in taking it rises. That's human nature and any system that doesn't take human nature into account will ultimately fail of its own weight.

Welfare systems were originally meant as a short term bridge for people who had experienced bad luck to get back on their feet. That is a laudable goal which I support. It's when the bridge becomes a lifestyle that the long term viability of the system comes into doubt. The moneys spent on welfare would be much better served if they were spent on infrastructure improvements and such. That would create jobs and income for those willing to work. For those not willing to work and who don't have a real (not pretend) disability - screw em.
So how many people actually use welfare as a lifestyle choice?

We in the UK like most developed countries use the benefits system as a means of calculating the total number of unemployed. The vast majority of people transit through benefits and eventually find employment, so much so that we (like every developed country on earth) can use the number of benefits recipients as an index of economic performance. Better economic performance results in a direct lowering of the unemployment rate which is statistically significant enough to base economic policy on, even if many people choose jobs that pay barely more than what they get anyway through benefits. We know that obviously there is a minority who do not seek work and sponge off the system for most of their life but it is important to remember they are a minority, not large enough to skew the statistics significantly.

As for being a bridge, its interesting that different countries have such differing attitudes. In the UK unemployment benefits are at subsistence level and you need to have demonstrated that you have used up much of your assets before becoming eligible. In France and other continental countries the attitude is very different. If you are a high earner then you would have put in much more money into the system via tax than others, therefore it is only right and just that you get more out of the system when you are unlucky in life, therefore unemployment benefit comes in as soon as you lose your job and is linked to your pre-redundancy salary...