Hutton's Hard Core
The Cabinet's very own job vacancy will be giving the Institute for Public Policy Research a lesson in logic tomorrow. To begin with, it appears that some Labour MPs are complaining that "the influx of eastern Europeans following EU expansion two years ago has undercut wages and cost jobs among British-born workers". Ministers say in private that "there is no evidence that recent rises in unemployment are directly linked to the arrival of eastern Europeans"; therefore, the vacancy will argue that "homegrown benefit claimants who are reluctant to work will be left behind by foreigners eager for jobs". It comes to something when Britons can be left behind by those who are not even competing with them.
The vacancy will note that, during the bad old days before New Labour came to power, the main cause of unemployment was, as might be expected, "lack of jobs"; however, given our present position "in the middle of the longest period of economic growth for hundreds of years", matters are no longer so simple. There are about 600,000 jobs available across the country, but "there are still 900,000 people on jobseekers' allowance, and more than two thirds of claims are made by people who have claimed before". It follows, then, that since there are 600,000 jobs and more than 600,000 benefits claimants, "there should be jobs for most of those who want them"; much as, given that two-thirds of the world's surface is water, nobody ever dies of thirst.
"Two thirds of claims are made by people who have claimed before": these, of course, are the real enemy, the long-term unemployed, whose only purpose in life is to lounge around the country making the Department of Work and Pensions Crisis look bad. Fortunately, it appears that there are about 600,000 of them, which seems a convenient solution to the problem of those 600,000 job vacancies now howling to be filled. Consequently, the Government plans to focus on a "hard core of 'can work but won't work' benefit claimants", who constitute an unspecified portion of some 72,000 people who have "spent six of the past seven years on benefits".
The Department of Work and Pensions Crisis also intends to "examine how getting more people into work could contribute to government targets to reduce child poverty" without raising wages, cutting the birth rate, providing child care or offending the CBI. I can hardly wait.
The vacancy will note that, during the bad old days before New Labour came to power, the main cause of unemployment was, as might be expected, "lack of jobs"; however, given our present position "in the middle of the longest period of economic growth for hundreds of years", matters are no longer so simple. There are about 600,000 jobs available across the country, but "there are still 900,000 people on jobseekers' allowance, and more than two thirds of claims are made by people who have claimed before". It follows, then, that since there are 600,000 jobs and more than 600,000 benefits claimants, "there should be jobs for most of those who want them"; much as, given that two-thirds of the world's surface is water, nobody ever dies of thirst.
"Two thirds of claims are made by people who have claimed before": these, of course, are the real enemy, the long-term unemployed, whose only purpose in life is to lounge around the country making the Department of Work and Pensions Crisis look bad. Fortunately, it appears that there are about 600,000 of them, which seems a convenient solution to the problem of those 600,000 job vacancies now howling to be filled. Consequently, the Government plans to focus on a "hard core of 'can work but won't work' benefit claimants", who constitute an unspecified portion of some 72,000 people who have "spent six of the past seven years on benefits".
The Department of Work and Pensions Crisis also intends to "examine how getting more people into work could contribute to government targets to reduce child poverty" without raising wages, cutting the birth rate, providing child care or offending the CBI. I can hardly wait.
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