Random Thoughts Showing 651-700 of 17,689

[Linda]

Has anyone readMad Hannah Rafferty? In looking at the above comments, it appears I have wandered off into the wrong random thought. Sorry.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

No, I have not read it. Linda.

I would not though. especially after reading this in her bio..

I was born in Liverpool and found the dole very helpful while writing my first novels; I also worked in various of jobs before going to Liverpool University.

If the English dole is the same as our Australian dole then I highly disapprove of her boasting about bludging on the government pay cheque so she can write her books.
The dole is supposed to be there (paid by taxpayers), to support people in hardship who can't find a job.
I'm afraid this kind of 'dole bludging' is frowned upon in my country.

[Linda]

Go Australia! Thanks for the insight.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

haha. :D

[Bryn]

Another Aussie. The main voice is dead against, yes, but in my past I've hung out in dole bludger circles, whether ex-uni students, alternative lifestylers or would-be artists. These are fun communities. Don't shoot me, Terri, I've got a job.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

They can still be fun if they had a job. I am not paying taxes for them to sit around sucking on a Hooka, sipping Chai tea and bemoaning their latest lyrical conundrum. :)

[Bryn]

Smile back.

[Bobby]

Sheesh Terri!!! How do you really feel?? You would explode here in the States!! Many, many people play "Fool the Governmenet, Get on the Dole" game. I have to keep working so I can keep them on the dole!

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

lol. Nah, I wouldn't explode. Dole bludgers irritate me, but I am calm about it.
Just for the record, an unemployed person on the dole is not a dole bludger. Not if they don't want to be on the dole and are trying to find work.
Here's a definition in the Urban Dictionary. (ignore the New Zealander reference in the last definition. This is not true.)
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define...

[Bobby]

One dole game here involves mathematics!! # of children= more $ ...therefore get busy and crank those kids out!!! Also move in with your parents on Social Security!!! Now its X (#of children + dependents adult children) Ergo...the younger you are having children and moving in with grandparents...???the math is too much for me.

[Margaret, Sherlockian Sheila]

Terri wrote: "lol. Nah, I wouldn't explode. Dole bludgers irritate me, but I am calm about it.
Just for the record, an unemployed person on the dole is not a dole bludger. Not if they don't want to be on the dol..."

Last one definitely not true. Kiwi's haven't automatically qualified for the dole for about 10 years. They have to be here 6 months before they qualify, I think.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

And every Kiwi I know, works. I think that statement in the definition was unfair.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Bobby, they play that game over here too. It was $1000 a kid over here, I think it is more now although it comes in different forms. It is common to hear young women on the dole boasting about the money they get from the government to have a child and that they are going to have another one for that reason.
i have even heard one young mother say she got pregnant again so she could pay to get a boob job....the Australian worker has good reason to have the shits with dole bludgers. LOL!!

[Dawn]

We have Welfare and Employment Insurance here. Both get abused but the....have more children and get more money.....is specifically Welfare and you usually have to work at least a bit to get the other.

Is this the same elsewhere?

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

I have to say the 'Welfare and Employment Insurance' term I am not familiar with. I sort of don't know what you mean..

We have Work for the Dole for about 15 years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_for...

Which in my opinion is a good scheme.
We had a change in Federal Government and they have been rolling it back which sucks.

[Dawn]

That looks like a good program, too bad they're cutting it back.

Welfare is what you get from the government if you're poor, so you have a job that pays crap or typically if you're a single mother then you get enough to live on. Say pay rent and get cheap food, it's amazing anyone can live on it but it is true that the more kids you have the more money you get.

Employment Insurance I pay into with every check I make. Then if I get laid off or fired (with no just cause) then I can apply for EI. It lasts 9 months and the intent is to give you time to find another job and still be able to afford food. You have to have had a job to get it, unlike Welfare.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

No we don't have that as part of our pay cheques over here.
What you are explaining there, we call Bill Cover and you have to seek that out and pay for that privately if you want it.

You have Superannuation come out of your weekly/fortnightly (or whatever) pay too don't you? It is compulsory over here.
If hubby lost his job, which is our main bread winner income as the farm income id not enough to support us, then he would have to get on the dole quick to pay the bills.
You can get a hardship lump sum from the Gov to help you pay your bills for a couple weeks, but you have to pay it back, which is fair enough.
As well as the dole, people on the dole get their rent paid half by the government.
So they get say, $150 a week from the dole (a single persons payment), plus half of whatever their rent is.
You have a couple living together on the dole you start talking $300 a week (approx the same in Canadian and USD), plus rental assistance..and then if they have kids, they get more for each child.
We had neighbours. A couple with a couple children, all on welfare, and they were pulling in something like $1200 a week, and their rent was half paid for by the gov as well. It is ridiculous! Neither of them wanted to work and had a lifetime of dole bludging under their belts..

[Margaret, Sherlockian Sheila]

Not half the rent. They get rental allowance, which sometimes doesn't even come close. One of my family members is unemployed. Her fortnightly rental allowance isn't anywhere near the amount needed to cover half her rent.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

It used to be half. In my early 20's when I was on the dole (out of necessity) it was half.
I guess as rents have gone up the rental allowance has gone down.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

I looked it up and rental assistant for a single person with no children is $60 a week.
If you are paying $150 a week rent (which is a reasonable price for small places in Brisbane out of the central city), that is fairly close to half the rent.

[Anne]

I worked for 19 years for the State. I was responsible for interviewing people who "Needed" welfare and food stamps. The abuses for the system back then (1975-1995) were monumental. I had one client who was 20 years old and had 6 children by 6 different men. another at age 13 was working on her 3rd. The favorite saying among the school kids was "get your self a baby and get some pocket money." As a single mother myself who never took a dime from the gov't. it made me rather bitter when i had to put my son in a used stroller while some of these women would come in with their babies in fancy strollers with all the bells and whistles on them. The system, which was originally intended for short time aid has turned into a lifestyle here in the US with two and three generations being raised on welfare. Many show absolutely no interest in finding a job, getting a GED, or going to college. Often they would get pregnant again to avoid having to sign up for the work programs. i could go on and on.

[Bobby]

Anne wrote: "I worked for 19 years for the State. I was responsible for interviewing people who "Needed" welfare and food stamps. The abuses for the system back then (1975-1995) were monumental. I had one clien..."

Amen Anne!!

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Anne wrote: "I worked for 19 years for the State. I was responsible for interviewing people who "Needed" welfare and food stamps. The abuses for the system back then (1975-1995) were monumental. I had one clien..."

It is just wrong.
At least you got your pram the honest way, Anne, even though it was used.

You hit on a key word there Anne. Lifestyle. For many who need the dole due to hardship, the dole is a temporary measure...or they hope it is. But for the dole bludger it is a lifestyle. They think government handouts are a right, and they take that into their everyday lives. Always expecting something for free or cheap and they get aggressive when they don't.

I am from a family of workers. No dole bludgers in my family and I am proud of that.
That's not to say the dole has not helped me survive when I came back from living overseas and could not find work for about a year.
I cried like a baby when I finally landed a job and could be proud of myself again. Not have to stand in line with all those 'lifestyle unemployed' to put my 'dole form' in. Erg. I would do it again if I had to, to survive, but here's hoping it never happens.

[Anne]

I know what you mean, Terri. My parents could well afford things, but my dad had me work for my money, babysitting when I was younger, weekends at a department store when I was in college and also teaching piano at home.
One of my supervisors told me I should just quit tryign to make ends meet and go on welfare myself. There just was no way I would have done it. I am still poor, but I have pride that I always did things on my own, even delivering newspapers mornings when I needed work. I am retired now, but it bugs me to no end seeing our country go down the tubes with the welfare mentality being pushed today.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Anne said it bugs me to no end seeing our country go down the tubes with the welfare mentality being pushed today.

It bugs me with my own country too, Anne.

[Margaret, Sherlockian Sheila]

Terri wrote: "I looked it up and rental assistant for a single person with no children is $60 a week.
If you are paying $150 a week rent (which is a reasonable price for small places in Brisbane out of the centr..."

In Melbourne, that doesn't even come close. :(

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Maybe this is why so many Victorians move to Queensland. :)

[Margaret, Sherlockian Sheila]

Anne wrote: "I know what you mean, Terri. My parents could well afford things, but my dad had me work for my money, babysitting when I was younger, weekends at a department store when I was in college and also ..."

It amuses me today to see so many young people aghast when I tell them I was working at 13. I cooked in a takeaway bar on Saturday mornings. I tried babysitting and decided I didn't like either the noise or the smell. So I cornered the local market in dog walking and pet sitting.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Growing up on a farm, I worked for free, or as my brother and I call now we are adults, slave labour. :/
But when we were bigger kids, we confronted Dad and insisted he start paying us. Which he grudgingly agreed to, although it wasn't much.
So I was working as soon as I could sling on a pair of gumboots, but I was working for money from about 12 years old thanks to my brother and our little union movement. :)

[Margaret, Sherlockian Sheila]

Terri wrote: "Growing up on a farm, I worked for free, or as my brother and I call now we are adults, slave labour. :/
But when we were bigger kids, we confronted Dad and insisted he start paying us. Which he gr..."

Of course, these days the Dept of Human Services would have a hissy fit at kids working before the "legal" age of 15. I was deep frying fish and cooking hamburgers, as well as cleaning the meat slicer and the fat vat at 13. WorkSafe would crap themselves as well. :D

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Margaret wrote: " WorkSafe would crap themselves as well. :D ..."


hahaha!! Yes they would!! :D

[Jim]

When I was 14 I was hired out to a farmer for $10 a week and all the food I could eat. I'm working 2 full time jobs now, 80 hours a week and have never had a cent of welfare or even unemployment insurance in my life. One of my jobs sometimes requires me to provide security at a welfare office where I see young men one-third my age, big strapping fellows, shower abuse on the social workers because they have to wait until 2 PM to get their cheque when they want it at 10 AM.

I daily see people 18 or 19 years old who are collecting pogey and who will never work a day in their lives because they are cranking out fatherless children like there is no such thing as birth control. It's no mystery why the taxes are so high.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Amen to that too.

Is the nickname for the dole 'pogey' in Canada?

As a kid...10 bucks a week and all the food I could eat would have made me one happy girl. :D

The one thing I do miss about working on the family farm growing up? Steak and onion gravy for breakfast.

[Jim]

Terri wrote: "Amen to that too.

Is the nickname for the dole 'pogey' in Canada?

As a kid...10 bucks a week and all the food I could eat would have made me one happy girl. :D

The one thing I do miss about wor..."

Mmmm! Steak and onion gravy! Sounds yummy.

The chap I worked for was a bachelor farmer who lived with his mother and that woman could cook! Even at 14 and ravenous I couldn't keep up with her. I say per week but nothing moved on a Sunday; you fed and watered the stock and took the day off.

[Jim]

And yes, pogey is slang for the dole, at least in this neck of the woods.

[Linda]

That dog just keeps on chasing his tail. No, wait, dogs stop chasing after awhile. Don't they?

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Sounds like a great job for a teen!

[Jim]

It was a good job, now that I think back on it. Trouble is, with him being a bachelor there was no farmer's daughter to provide any of that barnyard romance we used to hear so much about. I guess it's only the travelling salesmen who get that action.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Well I was a farmer's daughter and I was too busy eating steak for breakfast to bother checking out the farmhands. :)

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Linda wrote: "That dog just keeps on chasing his tail. No, wait, dogs stop chasing after awhile. Don't they?"

Yes they do, Linda.
One might also say...it is a vicious circle. ;)

[Linda]

Linda wrote: "That dog just keeps on chasing his tail. No, wait, dogs stop chasing after awhile. Don't they?"

I meant you can't win for losing. Child labor laws, Department of Human Services--all that government knows best stuff. Terri, because you worked on the farm and had to eat in order to work, your virtue remained intact from the travelling salesman.
I have been guardian ad litem for children under DHS jurisdiction and there are some really scary things that can happen there. Good things are done too if DHS workers, the court and guardians ad litem use common sense

[Jim]

If the system works like it should good things can happen. Sometimes a fellow will come in and get enough to buy a pair of workboots and the wherewithal to feed himself while attending a forklift course and be gainfully employed ever after.

[Terri, Wyrd bið ful aræd]

I like the new avi, Ms Dawn.

[Speesh]

Hoorah!
Amazon say that I have 'saved' £0.39 on Bernard Cornwell's 1356 by pre-ordering. Now, what CAN I spend that on...
Anyway, it'll be here Monday.
Jeg glæder mig!

[Speesh]

Oh and...for all things Medieval, try this really rather excellent group on Facebook, if you haven't already, that is:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mediev...

[Dawn]

Terri wrote: "I like the new avi, Ms Dawn."

Thank you, I do love a new avi. :)

It's taken in Bratislava.

[Dawn]

Speesh wrote: "Oh and...for all things Medieval, try this really rather excellent group on Facebook, if you haven't already, that is:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mediev..."

They post castles for sale, that is so awesome. :)

[Simona]

Speesh wrote: "...Jeg glæder mig!"

...can you see the large question mark hanging over the Northern part of Italy, Speesh?

[Dawn]

According to Google translate, it means 'I look forward'.

It sounds better if I translate it to Italian 'Non vedo l'ora' and then to English 'I can not wait'. Makes more sense in english anyway. :)

[Speesh]

Dawn wrote: "According to Google translate, it means 'I look forward'.

It sounds better if I translate it to Italian 'Non vedo l'ora' and then to English 'I can not wait'. Makes more sense in english anyway. :)"

That's near enough. Look forward with happiness, is nearer but unwieldy.