should people who have been out of work for more than 6 months be made to do...

[John O]

...community service?
gervaise... i dont see it as punishment, i see it as earning the money they receive and doing something usefull at the same time. i belive it would inspire some of them to get a job

[coguy]

If they are receiving unemployment benefits and are able to work than yes I think they should. I don't like freeloaders!

[Shannon A]

Mo. Some of us have REAL reasons why we have been out of work. I myself was a full time student looking for work, but no one was willing to work with my schedule. In fact many of the companies I applied with asked me to drop the majority of my classes, just so I could work 4hrs. a week. To me that just seemed ridiculous...4hrs. a week at the rate of $6/hr. And often times, because when I was a full time student community service was hard to find and hard to fit into my schedule...my classes were from 8AM-10PM...Mon-Fri.
factor in an hour drive time each way, and time getting ready in the morning(for me on average 10 minutes.)and having to eat, study and sleep somewhere in between classes...you try that for about two years straight and tell me you're willing and able to do community service.
I think that all students should be able to work within a company willing to hire students...not to ask students to not be goal oriented and try to get a better education for a better way of life.
I am now a part time student, still seeking work...I take one class, but still no employer wants to work with me schedule. So basically, the only option I have right now is to drop out of school and build up a resume based on community service.

[BRAD]

Why not simply end unemployment payments instead? Unemployment benefits reduce the incentive to become employed by providing financial compensation for not being employed.

However, I do think that eliminating corporate welfare should be a higher priority than eliminating regular welfare because corporate welfare is a much larger amount of the government's budget and its recipients clearly have absolutely no need for the money.

[Squirrel]

Don't tar everybody with the same brush; it may be your turn one day and you may have a genuine reason why you cannot work.

[gervaisemcnabb]

In the UK Community Service is a punishment reserved for people convicted of a criminal offence.
I don' think the unemployed should be punished just for being out of work.
Trying to live on Job Seekers Allowance might be seen as punishment enough.

[bunny]

yes they should

not only will this give them a reason to feel they are contributing to society but it will also set a good example to their children.

Shannon - obviously this is not referring to full time students!! its referring to people out of work - completely different. Full time students should be supported. I found it hard to work when i went back to Uni aged 30 so i did not work in term time but worked in holidays and at weekends and supported myself that way.

Gervias - community service is not a punishment - may many 1000's of people do community service every day except it is called volunteering - no need to split hairs over what it is called.

If some people are spikey about it lets say then that they should do this after 1 year and if they do not turn up and work hard then they should lose their benifits - just like workers would lost their wage!

Great idea - genuine people will still be safe but spongers should not be allowed to live off me and other hard workers

[?infiniti?]

Yes, if they are able to work and still need public assistance to support themselves.

[denco26]

i was made redundant by the nhs due to a disability, so instead of sitting there with no work i got off my arse and got a degree and got some form of work,and i know people who were signing on years ago and are still at it so yes make them do some form of community work,even litter picking

[rugratshd]

yes, providing they are a) getting benefit and b) are not genuinely disabled