Benefits Street: the vote

73% said yes

27% said no

We know some people need help. We know some people ‘work’ the system. We don’t want to abandon those who need help; we don’t want to indulge those who don’t want to work.

I don’t have any answers. But going by the Channel 4 poll last week, the country thinks the current system discourages people from working. So, the majority possibly think it’s not working in the way it should.

But I have some questions of my own.

If you make people take any job, where does that really leave the country? A qualified linguist working as a receptionist? An experienced musician working as a warehouse assistant… There are the psychological and moral elements to these situations.

And if these educated people have a CV full of jobs they’re clearly overqualified for, what are their chances of finding jobs they’re actually suited to?

I’ve seen it in Spain. Supremely qualified individuals either taking jobs which are not using their skills or those individuals emigrating. A mass exodus of talent.

One of the issues that is always raised is the incentive to work. If an array of benefits can keep families/individuals at a reasonable level of dignity and income, is there a reason to find work?

The other side is the working population which brings in the same as a family on benefits. The resentment those people will feel is natural.

All these elements create an atmosphere in the country, or in specific areas. And how does that impact on the way the country functions? Cameron’s dreamy ‘One Society’ is shot to pieces (if it ever was intact.)

Should we ask those on benefits to work as volunteers? Where would that lead?

But the poll results keep ringing in my head. 73% of voters think the system discourages work. Does that mean that 73% of us resent those on benefits, any kind of benefits? (We seem to have lost sight of disability benefits.) Maybe so.

Do other European countries have this problem? How do they deal with it?

The Benefits Street I did watch was oddly uplifting and also frustrating.

There was a distinct and real community (one which most of us – working or not – don’t have) and there was the sadness of children raised on benefits and maybe having no knowledge of work and what it entails.

I don’t have any answers. But I know this issue is going to be subject to a lot of focus by government and decision-makers. Let’s hope they know what they’re doing…

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