Jamie’s Grumble – People Are Responsible… Sometimes
Not all things can be blamed on governments.
This week my little grumble is kind of controversial. Not because the topic is rude or inappropriate, but because I am turning the tables slightly. I am holding a mirror up to society as a whole.
Right now, when things go wrong, we often blame governments. We love getting angry with them and slagging them off but how often do we look at how the general public behave?
Is our society puppeted by governments or are we able to make sensible decisions without politicians telling us what to do?
Let’s Talk About Work
I will be the first to admit that there are days when I look at people who don’t have jobs with a little envy. I am mainly talking about retired people but also people on benefits, especially when they don’t need to be.
I know people who earn a pretty wholesome wage without ever having ever done a day’s work.
Controversial as it might be, the benefits system needs looking at. It really does. I know people who don’t want to work more than 12 hours a week as it affects their sizeable benefits. My question is:
Why don’t people want to earn their own money?
(Disclaimer: I know many people have genuine illnesses and disabilities which restrict their ability to work. I am not getting at them)
As awkward as it is to get out of bed daily and commute to work for at least eight hours of busy-ness, it just feels right.
I love the feeling of being tired at the end of the week but knowing that I have earned my salary and contributed to society without asking for anything in return.
I hear people talking about how going to work full time will damage their income and I frown. Society would be so much richer if people generally had a good work ethic. After all, work is so rewarding, even though it is not all sunshine and lollipops.
In A Nutshell
The government is looking at how benefits are distributed and trying to encourage those who can work to actually work. There are genuine reasons why some cannot but all of my disabled friends work and love it. In most cases, there is always a valuable contribution to be made, whether working flexibly or from home.
I don’t mean to sound harsh. In fact, I want to be positive about this. A good work-based culture would solve some of our socio-economic problems and uplift those who engage with it.
You may or may not agree with me but I would like to know your thoughts on this.