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Well let's see.  Welfare includes benefits.  Lots of people have children.  Most low-wage jobs do not have benefits.  So they have the choice of medical care and welfare or low-wage job and no medical care.  The view that people perpetually stay on welfare is also false.  It's a small percentage of people on the dole.

So we could try ensuring that jobs pay a living wage, close tax loopholes for outsourcing, ensuring everyone gets medical care and such.  Goes against free market principles, but we're reaching a point where even big business is backing universal healthcare because costs are skyrocketing.

One of the best industries for workers without college degrees was manufacturing.  Decent pay, good benefits, retirement, etc.  Most of those jobs are gone because we can have stuff made overseas where workers are paid low wages, work insane hours, where environmental regulations are much less stringent, etc. - making US labor expensve and non-competitive.  But it isn't exactly a level playing field.  US workers are not lazy and are quite productive - just not as cheap to get.

I love how you think that a McJob can help someone climb out of poverty.  But it isn't just jobless people, the working poor don't exactly do well.  Also consider that the federal poverty line is woefully inaccurate and doesn't factor in regional cost of living and you have a situation more dire than we're led to believe.

I'd prefer to see people working and being productive.  But I also think that people who put in their time at work deserve to make wages they can live off of (and maybe even retire someday) and get healthcare, food, etc.  But I guess that's the small part of me that's a wacky socialist.

Metacell wrote:

My tax dollars support illegal immigration.  Thanks Ahnuld.

actually, "your" tax dollars have always supported it. even before ahnuld.

Pariah wrote:

Job exportation is removing many of the lower rungs of the employment ladder and illegals kick most of the remaining ones out.

...or "people who employ illegals." 

However you want to phrase it.

dvpierce wrote:

PhasedRyan wrote:

Illegal immigration: Do you support it?

I'm not sure. Given our current political and social climate, though, this question is almost on par with, "So, have you stopped beating your wife?"

Well, I slap my hos around some. but only when they need it.

Metacell wrote:

Are you aware that you just don't automagically get welfare for being poor and out of work?  You actually have to qualify for it.

No smurf, Sherlock. 

IMO, way too may Americans "qualify" for it. 

robco wrote:

I love how you think that a McJob can help someone climb out of poverty.

Gee .... and welfare does?

I personally would much rather take a job at my local McDonalds' than lower myself to accept welfare.

Yankee Rose wrote:

Metacell wrote:

Are you aware that you just don't automagically get welfare for being poor and out of work?  You actually have to qualify for it.

No smurf, Sherlock. 

IMO, way too may Americans "qualify" for it. 

robco wrote:

I love how you think that a McJob can help someone climb out of poverty.

Gee .... and welfare does?

I personally would much rather take a job at my local McDonalds' than lower myself to accept welfare.

You need to learn some about the massive restrictions that have been imposed on welfare the last 15 years or so.
Notice how you don't hear conservative politicians say much about welfare anymore? It's because they won, they got what they wanted.
So stop with the cliche'd welfare complaining and study up before you open your mouth on a subject you know nothing about.

Seasonal workers claiming unemloyment insurance is what allows seasonal labour to start with. It's just one of those things that required in certain sectors.

I was very amused when a head hunter called me back last week and apologized for no job interview. It seems that the hiring manager refused my resume because I was over-qualified.

OOOOooooooohhhhhhh, I'm to efficient, and capable to do the job. Probably also more expensive, but it was for a contract position, not a permanent position.

No problem to me, cause I had done a lphone interview the day before, and was offered a contract by another company the day after I was "declined."

Yankee Rose wrote:

Pariah wrote:

You need to learn some about the massive restrictions that have been imposed on welfare the last 15 years or so.
Notice how you don't hear conservative politicians say much about welfare anymore? It's because they won, they got what they wanted.
So stop with the cliche'd welfare complaining and study up before you open your mouth on a subject you know nothing about.

I happen to know a lot about it.  My husband's business employs people at $10+/hour, part-time and full-time with benefits.

This time of year where I live, many people around here go on unemployment because their normal jobs lay them off.  (Construction workers for example.)

When he offers them a job, they decline.  They even TELL him they'd rather take unemployment.  Then they sit at home in their warm houses until the weather breaks.  How's that for work ethic?

So please don't BEGIN to tell me not to open my mouth on a subject I know nothing about.

Unemployment is not welfare, and if you have employees, those quarterly employment tax deposits should be a tip off. People who have seasonal employees pay substantially more in unemployment taxes than people who have year round employees. Construction workers who work legally are entitled to unemployment. You can't do roofing if no one is building, for example. The groups of people who stand on designated street corners or congregate at Home Depot are most likely illegal 'day laborers', who don't even get simple mandated benefits like unemployment, disability, or workers comp. It's very unfair fo them.

Benton wrote:

Does Canada limit immigration of those who demonstrate financial and intellectual investment capability?

There's an "investor" immigration class with an extremely streamlined application process; basically if you meet the financial requirements you're in. I don't believe there's a particular limit to to them.

As far as "intellectual" capability, the entire immigration system is heavily weighted toward educated professionals. The qualification process uses a system of points, and there are major points involved in having a professional certificate of some kind (i.e. engineer, doctor) and/or a university degree, especially master's degree. Conversely it's very difficult to get enough points without that stuff.

However overall the government sets quotas each year for the number of immigrants Canada will accept in the coming year.

Truth be told the whole system is quite screwed up, but that's another story.

unemployment isn't a poverty reduction scheme, to the best of my knowledge.

I believe in the US it's paid by the state. I've never met anyone who abuse it but I know a middle aged woman who used to work as a caretaker for disabled, injured her back, and got an UC. She wasn't very wise with it though. She used it for partying for months until she realized she only had several hundreds left.