If you want to find out the “real” level of poverty in this country, let’s give the German Workfare System a try. Under this system, if you can fog a mirror and are collecting any type of gov’t transfer payments, you show up at 7AM for work M-F at a gov’t job. That might be cleaning toilets, washing the street...something that makes you work 8 hours each day. Evidently, people would rather find a “real” job than put up with the kind of jobs the gov’t offers under this system. Sounds like a plan to me.
The local government where I live tried to implement something along these lines. Anyone living in public housing who was not disabled and not employed was to be required to put in 20 hours a MONTH doing routine maintenance type work around the community, such a planting flowers, mowing lawns, cleaning up trash, etc. The plan was defeated by local liberals. Their “logic”? It was discriminatory to force people to work in order to have housing. Now, I don’t know what anyone’s housing situation is on here, but I guess I have been discriminated against without even realizing it! If I quit working, I won’t be able to pay my mortgage and I’ll lose my house. I am being forced to work in order to maintain my housing — that’s discrimination!
The last thing we want is everyone having a government job.