Over 8 Million Now Economically "inactive"

[miko]

Things just don't work like that, for many reasons, one being the lump of labour fallacy, this is borne out by the 35 hour week in France that did little to reduce high structural unemployment. In the modern world of automation and cheap energy there is very little "real" work, production is asymmetric with employment, you could for example quadruple output but only double the work force. Another problem with your plan is skills, the division of labour in an advanced industrial economy is highly specialised with the workforce learning more and more about less and less. If a brain surgeon cuts his working week by 20% are you able to step into his shoes and take up the slack?

I know its a bit of a pipe dream,

It might have worked better if they had carried on reducing the working week since 1980 by an hour every five years till we got it down and got more people into work.

Another thing i have noticed over the years while working in industry is the amout of over time worked. Much more flexible for the companys and gives the workers the oppotunity to earn more. If more people were taken on and less O/t relied on that would have an effect.

Alos know many people who work a lot of unpaid overtime anyone that does their set hours where my niece works is labled a part timer.

Cutting the working week will not be easy , but the same arguments against it were put forward after the war when the unions demanded cuts in hours and better pay , it did work then .

[crash2006]

The whole systen has been designed to extract wealth from the masses, using rules and regulations.

[crash2006]

Things just don't work like that, for many reasons, one being the lump of labour fallacy, this is borne out by the 35 hour week in France that did little to reduce high structural unemployment. In the modern world of automation and cheap energy there is very little "real" work, production is asymmetric with employment, you could for example quadruple output but only double the work force. Another problem with your plan is skills, the division of labour in an advanced industrial economy is highly specialised with the workforce learning more and more about less and less. If a brain surgeon cuts his working week by 20% are you able to step into his shoes and take up the slack?

They have made it almost impossible to be self sufficient.

[Warwick-Watcher]

The government doesn't value anything it cannot tax, hence the reason why they like to see mothers out at work paying tax then employing someone else to provide childcare, also paying tax.

Mother looking after own child = valueless

Mother & multiple fathers - never worked but have spawned several kids. Positive or negative value to society?

[The Ayatollah Buggeri]

Can I just remind you that the NHS isn't wealth creating?

It's not that simple. Most of the public sector is like the royal family: its cost is easy to identify and add up, but its benefit is indirect. I bet there are a lot of people whose economic productivity over their working lives have been boosted by having a serious disease cured or a chronic one managed by 'free' NHS treatment. The problem is that it's virtually impossible to identify how many and to what extent. The other problem is that to the left, the NHS is more of a religion than a service unit, with any suggestion of reducing its overall scale and limiting or focusing what it does being regarded as blasphemy or apostasy rather than a rational economic or social policy decision.

Edited April 22, 2010 by The Ayatollah Buggeri

[Guest sillybear2]

I know its a bit of a pipe dream,

It might have worked better if they had carried on reducing the working week since 1980 by an hour every five years till we got it down and got more people into work.

Another thing i have noticed over the years while working in industry is the amout of over time worked. Much more flexible for the companys and gives the workers the oppotunity to earn more. If more people were taken on and less O/t relied on that would have an effect.

Alos know many people who work a lot of unpaid overtime anyone that does their set hours where my niece works is labled a part timer.

Cutting the working week will not be easy , but the same arguments against it were put forward after the war when the unions demanded cuts in hours and better pay , it did work then .

That would cause problems with our international competitiveness, remember it's a race to the bottom so if you want to reduce working hours like that you would also have to impose tariffs so the economy is protected from Chinese workers that do 15 hour shifts. We'd also have to live with being materially worse off.

The UK works the longest hours in Europe because we have a high cost of living, largely due to house prices of course, it's a vicious circle.

Edited April 22, 2010 by sillybear2

[Guest sillybear2]

Mother & multiple fathers - never worked but have spawned several kids. Positive or negative value to society?

Positive in terms of votes!

[Cogs]

Stupid comment

Can I just remind you that the NHS isn't wealth creating?

Yes it is.

[Guest sillybear2]

Yes it is.

Facilitating a healthy workforce adds value, but I would argue it's still just a spending department, be it a vital one.

Edited April 22, 2010 by sillybear2

[mightytharg]

Just questioning why some are attacking the unemployed?

Partly because they are lazy scum, living the high life at our expense, but also because they never seem grateful.

I agree the tax credit scroungers are as bad or worse. Please can we get rid of both?

[aa3]

Why not raise the tax free threshold to a very generous level, it amounts to the same thing, but produces more incentives to work and less fraud.

A consumption lead economy without the corresponding production is bull$hit anyway.

Agree with that 100%.. that is a good first step. And would be popular too as everyone would benefit.

[europbaron]

Why not raise the tax free threshold to a very generous level, it amounts to the same thing, but produces more incentives to work and less fraud.

A consumption lead economy without the corresponding production is bull$hit anyway.

The problem with this is that you still need to pay benefits unless you want the unemployed to starve. A citizen's wage means you can do away with the majority of the benfits system and tax all earned income.