Should people on welfare be required to do community service to receive it

[Orlong]

With so many states having financial problems and considering some states pay almost 40% of their budget toward welfare benefits do you think it's a good idea to require that in order to receive welfare benefits the recipient would be required to perform community/charitable service to "earn" it.

I understand some people are 100% disabled and are totally unable to so they should be exempt, but there are way too many people that are physically able to do work but for whatever reason dont want to work or are unable to find a job.

I think that by requiring some kind of service such as picking up trash along the highway, or working as a volunteer at a homeless shelter or humane society or something along those lines, people may be more motivated to look for a job to get off welfare and help the government save some money so we dont have to keep having our taxes raised

[fainflinn]

Personally i think its a great idea.
Alot of ppl collect welfare and dont do a damn thing but wait for the check. Should be something in place to get ppl to earn it even if it was something like 20 hours a week least thats something.

[Deleted]

Those who are able to work, but can't find a job?

Definitely, without a doubt.

[Profligate]

I have been on welfare for the past 6 months, and havent bothered to look for a job, I am buying a new computer with a nvidia 680 graphics card as soon as it comes available, and I live in my moms basement so I don't pay rent. I gotta say this is a pretty fucking awesome life, so NO I do NOT want to be FORCED to do anything rofl. That would sort of kill the whole point of taking a welfare vacation in the first place in my opinion :P

[Purlina]

With so many states having financial problems and considering some states pay almost 40% of their budget toward welfare benefits do you think it's a good idea to require that in order to receive welfare benefits the recipient would be required to perform community/charitable service to "earn" it.

I understand some people are 100% disabled and are totally unable to so they should be exempt, but there are way too many people that are physically able to do work but for whatever reason dont want to work or are unable to find a job.

I think that by requiring some kind of service such as picking up trash along the highway, or working as a volunteer at a homeless shelter or humane society or something along those lines, people may be more motivated to look for a job to get off welfare and help the government save some money so we dont have to keep having our taxes raised

Wouldn't you have to increase their welfare payments so that it is equal to the minimum wage in that case?

[Deleted]

I have been on welfare for the past 6 months, and havent bothered to look for a job, I am buying a new computer with a nvidia 680 graphics card as soon as it comes available, and I live in my moms basement so I don't pay rent. I gotta say this is a pretty fucking awesome life, so NO I do NOT want to be FORCED to do anything rofl. That would sort of kill the whole point of taking a welfare vacation in the first place in my opinion :P

You -have- to be taking the piss. There is no way anyone saying that is serious

[Jodah]

Wouldn't you have to increase their welfare payments so that it is equal to the minimum wage in that case?

I'm sure there are legal loopholes that we could use. We don't have to pay prisoners minimum wage for work they do.

[Riidii]

If you are able to work, absolutely positively yes.

[Deleted]

They just implemented this in my country since the New Year. The ironic part is that for example a university professor of 30 years could, theoretically, be called to sweep the streets or something. They start off with people who don't have qualification and / or haven't worked for a long time so there isn't that big of a chance.

On one hand it's a good thing when it comes to people who haven't worked for a long time and are leeches. On the other hand it's unfair to people who worked for a long time, the welfare basicly comes from their taxes they've been paying for years and now they gotta do some crappy job to earn it.

[crica]

As long as the community service it vital to the survival of the human species, you bet.

Fluff job while on welfare? Nope.

Since most of the people in USA where I live are single mothers, I honestly believe that they ALREADY have a job - they are a full time mother.

[YoghurtSpoonDuckCeiling]

Most people don't take into account the mental health side of things. I've witnessed many people incorrectly claiming that someone else is fit for work and shouldn't be claiming welfare aid simply because they appear to be in decent physical condition. The minority of people abusing the system are often blown out of proportion, too. In addition, it'd be a lot better for everyone if any 'community service' tasks were turned into paid and secure employment.

[Feel The Power]

Yeah, because people on welfare making an average of 200 dollars a month are usually able to afford a car and gas to be able to get to various volunteer jobs. Yes, there is definitely people who abuse welfare, but the people you see raking in good money from welfare are moms, not the average person on welfare. You make next to nothing on welfare, you may be getting welfare confused for people who are on disability or social security benefits. To be able to get those things you must be labeled by the government as disabled...therefore, you cannot go out to volunteer at places, or you the government would be breaking their own rules by forcing a "disabled" person to work. You may get sick or hurt and need welfare for a bit yourself someday, it happened to me. Living off 205 a month (which was the absolute highest you could get from welfare in my state), losing my home, losing my car, losing most everything was absolutely horrible. the majority of people living on welfare are not "just sitting around waiting for checks", they are living in a private hell of being broke/their lives going to shit.

[Deleted]

To clarify; these are the sort of people who should be working for their benefits: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2kGPdxkofo

[Taurenburger]

Yes, great idea if these people are able to do work. This way people on welfare don´t leech of the tax payer´s money.

[crica]

Yeah, because people on welfare making an average of 200 dollars a month are usually able to afford a car and gas to be able to get to various volunteer jobs. Yes, there is definitely people who abuse welfare, but the people you see raking in good money from welfare are moms, not the average person on welfare. You make next to nothing on welfare, you may be getting welfare confused for people who are on disability or social security benefits. To be able to get those things you must be labeled by the government as disabled...therefore, you cannot go out to volunteer at places, or you the government would be breaking their own rules by forcing a "disabled" person to work. You may get sick or hurt and need welfare for a bit yourself someday, it happened to me. Living off 205 a month (which was the absolute highest you could get from welfare in my state), losing my home, losing my car, losing most everything was absolutely horrible. the majority of people living on welfare are not "just sitting around waiting for checks", they are living in a private hell of being broke/their lives going to shit.

The OP clearly stated welfare checks, not disability checks.

[xylophone]

You -have- to be taking the piss. There is no way anyone saying that is serious

He is serious, seriously lazy =P

But ya, people like this guy are just abusing the system.

[BLCalliente]

I'm sure there are legal loopholes that we could use. We don't have to pay prisoners minimum wage for work they do.

Prisoners and poor people = the same?

LOL

[Kendrel]

In theory, yes I believe they should.

Saying that, there are problems with enacting it as the UK government is currently learning. They initially had had a series of corporations and companies lined up with a new initiative that would allow people claiming job seekers allowance to work a few hours a week in exchange. Those companies were then accused of taking part in something akin to slave labour as they were essentially having people working for them without a wage, and - importantly - allocating these positions for the government initiative instead of offering full time spots that would have actually taken people out of work.

This is the main problem they're having. How can you set up an initiative that lets people give back to the community without making it look like full time spots are being taken away from job seekers. If they have work available for people to do, why can't they pay these people full time?

After these criticisms many of the companies pulled out.

[kymmico]

You sir, are a genius! This is a GREAT idea!

[Lickmun]

Definitely. There are plenty of things that can be done to "earn" your welfare check.

If you can get along fine without working and you don't want to work, what is the incentive to actually go out and be productive?