: : First, we must distinguish work from employment- when I was on the dole I was not allowed to work, i.e. to do voluntary work, for more than a certain number of hours a week- it was actively prohibitted. they don't want us to *work* but to be *employed*, i.e. put to work for profit.: *they* presumably wanted you off the dole queue and creating your own means to survival. *they* are also usually beaurocrats whose purpose is shrouded in red tape, loopholes and endless fallbacks. Really you should be free to as much voluntary work as you like, but not at other peoples expense.
: : Now, in a society of free association this distinction ends, all work would be on a voluntary basis of free association, and doubtless communities would form around work.
: They have so far, so I imagine they would continue. The word 'work' does also mean self sustaining action. A zebra is at work all the time.
: : What a lot of deliberately unemployed (and I know more than a few) are doing, is avoiding shity low paid jobs and exploitation, most of them work in different ways, but they just don't want a boss.
: Fine, avoid away, but not at others expense.
: : When work is free and voluntary, people will do it, potherwise they can get very bored (when I was on the dole I found it mind numbing, the abject tedium and lack of structure in my life- and this was only a month or two.)
: I, during my youth, also experienced 2 months of receiving stolen goods. I hated it, dont think I could even do it now, id rather work in a chicken factory.
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Not if it was that chicken factory in which 27 burned to death because the boss had dead-bolted the fire-escape from the outside to prevent workers from taking a break.
Actually once you throw medical numbers in the mix, the price goes up. I know something about welfare because I worked as a social worker for about fifteen years. In that time I discovered 4 cases of serious fraud in my caseload. Petty shit was fairly common (extra shoe allowance type stuff)
What gets me is that corporate welfare is so much more vast yet there is not nearly the outrage. Send off a bunch of missles at 50 mil. a pop and nobody says a damn thing. But some poor "welfare queen" cops an extra $100. and it's like she personally stole your silverware!
Frankly I don't give a damn about a billion or two if it is in small pieces to a lot of poor. At least it will be distributed through the population with positive effect, unlike some bombs I read about.
