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The Dole. Your opinion?

13

Comments

  • #62
    Victor
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 78,926 ✭✭✭✭Victor


    shakaman wrote:
    It was announced yesterday that Ireland has the lowest unemployment rate in the Euro Zone...4.3%. The UK is at 4.7%, convert in to numbers per capita and that's a huge difference.
    That seems like a very strong grasp of statistics there, all of a 10% difference.
    Rank			Country	Labor force	Date of Information
Labor force		UK	29,780,000	2004 est.
			Ireland	1,920,000	2004 est.
Unemployment rate	UK	4.7%		2005 est.
			Ireland	4.3%		2005 est.
Unemployed		UK	1,399,660	2004 est
			Ireland	82,560		2004 est.
Population:    		UK	60,441,457	July 2005 est.
			Ireland	4,015,676	July 2005 est.
Unemployed per capita	UK	 0.023 	
			Ireland	 0.021


  • #63
    Flukey
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,006 ✭✭✭✭Flukey


    It's pretty good for a small economy and when you consider where we have come from over the past 20 years. If you are old enough to remember, you'll know that the early to mid 80s was bad. We've come a long way since then, a very long way.


  • #64
    pickarooney
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 36,496 Mod ✭✭✭✭pickarooney


    ntlbell wrote:
    I don't need to inform myself of anything as I've spent some time in between jobs on the dole so I understans situation very well.

    It's keeping car payments and paying high insurance to keep the car on the road in order to get to work in the first place not mention the 700e a year in tolls that makes the dole that much more appealing.

    If you take an average wage.

    Take out tax
    prsi
    vhi
    Docs
    Medicine
    car
    insurance
    car tax
    rent
    bills
    petrol
    etc etc

    I would imagine there's not much difference in _spendable_ income from some one on the dole claiming all benifits.

    dole != poverty

    Hang on, why on earth would you pay PRSI and VHI and doctors (maybe that was documents) and medicine? That's paying 4 times for the same thing surely?


  • #65
    Flukey
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,006 ✭✭✭✭Flukey


    They may have some overlapping elements, but they are far from being the same thing. None of your VHI goes toward your pension, like the PRSI payment does for example.


  • #66
    Victor
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 78,926 ✭✭✭✭Victor


    Flukey wrote:
    It's pretty good for a small economy
    A lot of small economies have low unemployment because it makes worker migration easier.


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  • #67
    pickarooney
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 36,496 Mod ✭✭✭✭pickarooney


    What does VHI cover exactly? I've never had it but I thought it was something you paid every month in exchange for "free" medical cover, i.e. you don't have to pay doctors, pharmacies etc.


  • #68
    Flukey
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,006 ✭✭✭✭Flukey


    True Victor, but we are small in many ways and have many disadvantages that we have dealt with well. Our geographical position and the narrow range of industries that we can support would be amongst them.


  • #69
    gregos
    Closed Accounts Posts: 314 ✭✭gregos


    pickarooney wrote:
    What does VHI cover exactly? I've never had it but I thought it was something you paid every month in exchange for "free" medical cover, i.e. you don't have to pay doctors, pharmacies etc.

    No. You pay your GP whatever he demands. You pay for medicines, although admittedly there's a limit to the total cost every month. You pay PRSI, which, inter alia, covers you for some dental treatment, but not all. You pay to use the A&E department in a hospital. You pay your hospital consultant the extra money he wants after he's been paid by VHI. I won't go on.


  • #70
    Nukem
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,081 ✭✭✭Nukem


    people on the dole are just plain lazy


  • #71
    Patricide
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,658 ✭✭✭Patricide


    some people just cant get work cause all the immigrents have all the jobs they get paid 3 euro an hour so how are you meant to compete with that, take supermacs for example a sight saying 100% irish on the door and theres only 1 irish guy working in there and hes not even the manager, i went in to get lunch many times to be greeted with staff that dont understand you and cannot speak english. People may think im exagerating but the sad thing is im not.Another factor is the way noone will hire you if you have long hair(myself included)This made it actually impossible for me to get a summer job i mean everywhere its like cut your hair and well consider it but thats just total bollox i mean girls dont have to cut there hair just tie it up shouldt i be allowed to do the same thing, women have been fighting for equal rights for years now its the mens turn.
    Actually does anyone know if i can bring that up with the equality board?

    as for my views with people on the doll if they actually cant find a job i dont blame them but if there just lazy then they should go with nothing cause there just causeing the taxpayer cash.


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  • #72
    Sleepy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 25,000 ✭✭✭✭Sleepy


    Jeff_Lebowski wrote:
    I've been on the dole since last September.

    I have been writing scripts and trying to develop film projects since then as well as doing a part-time writing course.

    When I quit my last job I tried to get another but despite several interviews I couldn't get one. So, I decided to try and do what I wanted to do and so am on the dole while I try to do enough to enable me to get a job doing what I studied in college to do and that's make films.

    It has paid off to some extent, directing my first short in September. However it is not a great life. I have no disposable income to speak of but I know that I would not have the time to do the things I am doing to the level I'm trying to do them if I was in a full time minimum wage job.
    So my taxes are paying for you to attempt to land a dream job? Forgive me if I don't wish you luck with your movies.

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  • #73
    Karl Hungus
    Closed Accounts Posts: 29,130 ✭✭✭✭Karl Hungus


    Best of luck Jeff!


  • #74
    Ray777
    Closed Accounts Posts: 350 ✭✭Ray777


    Indeed. Best of luck, Jeff.

    Don't let begrudging tossers put you off :cool:


  • #75
    Sleepy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 25,000 ✭✭✭✭Sleepy


    Ray777 wrote:
    Jesus, it amazes me sometimes, how intolerant people can be. There seems to be an attitude of, "If I'm able to work 40 hours a week, I don't see why everybody else shouldn't do exactly the same." If only life was as simplistic as people seem to believe.

    Yes, there are many, many people out there claiming the dole for long periods of time, despite being clearly 100% physically capable of working. Of course, it's very easy for people to dismiss them as "Lazy bastards, who need a good kick up the arse". That's the problem with the right-wing school of thought - There isn't much thought required.

    I'd say that the majority of 'Long Term Unemployed' simply don't have the mental wherewithal to get and hold down a job. Yes, they're physically capable of working, but for whatever reason, they just can't cope with the pressures of the workplace. And of course, the Social Welfare people know this. That's why they allow these people to remain on the dole. Previous experience will have told them that, if they're forced out to work, they won't hold down a job for long, meaning that they'll be back on the dole within weeks, resulting in more paperwork and hassle.

    This might be somewhat hard to stomach, for those of a right-wing persuasion, but whether you like it or not, some people simply aren't cut out to work. This doesn't make them 'scroungers' or 'wasters' and it doesn't mean that they're an inferior type of person, who spends every waking hour trotting from the dole office to the pub, to the bookies. It just means that they're different from you. Is it really that difficult to understand and accept? :)
    What the hell are you talking about, not "cut out to work"? That's called having a disability and not grounds for claiming the dole.

    Anyone capable of working should be. Being "different" as you call it (or a lazy thieving bastard as I call it) is expecting others to pay your way in life and that imho is a despisable trait in a human being. If you have some condition that makes it impossible for you to work (and let's face it many disabilities do not prevent people from working as I'm sure the guys on this forum can tell you) nobody I know would deny you the right to disability and, in the situation you describe, treatment for that condition but once you've gotten over that condition I see no valid reason for you to expect me to finance your lifestyle.

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  • #76
    Sleepy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 25,000 ✭✭✭✭Sleepy


    Ray777 wrote:
    Indeed. Best of luck, Jeff.

    Don't let begrudging tossers put you off :cool:
    Ray, that post is personal abuse and against the rules of this forum.
    dictionary.com wrote:
    be·grudge Audio pronunciation of "begrudger" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (b-grj)
    tr.v. be·grudged, be·grudg·ing, be·grudg·es

    1. To envy the possession or enjoyment of: She begrudged him his youth. See Synonyms at envy.
    2. To give or expend with reluctance: begrudged every penny spent.
    1. I don't envy any dole bludger, I like being able to sleep with a clean consience.
    2. Maybe that's accurate, I pay my taxes begrudgingly because I know they're wasted in this fashion.

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  • #77
    Ray777
    Closed Accounts Posts: 350 ✭✭Ray777


    Sleepy wrote:
    Anyone capable of working should be.

    But why? Because you do (presuming that you do, of course)? You know, I'd personally love if I lived in a simplistic little world, where everybody subscribed to the same opinions and way of life as me. They don't though, and that's fair enough. Just as it's fair enough that a tiny, tiny, tiny percentage of my taxes go towards those who are unemployed.

    On a practical level, forcing some people out to work is a total waste of time. This might be an un-PC thing to say, but some people are clearly incompetant by nature and yes, not 'cut out for work'. If those people were to be forced out into workplaces around the country, I'm sure the economy would lose more than the €134.80(that's the most recent info I could find) that's doled out to them every week. More importantly, the department of Social Welfare would be even more weighed down than it presently is, as a result of the fact that people would be signing on and off every few weeks, as they inevitably get sacked for being unable to do their job properly.
    Ray, that post is personal abuse and against the rules of this forum

    It would be 'against the rules of this forum', if it was referring to a member of this forum. It is a well known fact however, that if somebody wishes to pursue a career, which deviates from 'the norm', there will be 'begrudging 9-5 tossers' out there, waiting for them to fall down at the first hurdle.

    Ray :cool:


  • #78
    Sleepy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 25,000 ✭✭✭✭Sleepy


    Ray777 wrote:
    But why? Because you do (presuming that you do, of course)? You know, I'd personally love if I lived in a simplistic little world, where everybody subscribed to the same opinions and way of life as me. They don't though, and that's fair enough. Just as it's fair enough that a tiny, tiny, tiny percentage of my taxes go towards those who are unemployed.
    Because it is wrong to expect you to pay that percentage of your taxes to support someone who's simply too lazy to support themselves.
    On a practical level, forcing some people out to work is a total waste of time. This might be an un-PC thing to say, but some people are clearly incompetant by nature and yes, not 'cut out for work'. If those people were to be forced out into workplaces around the country, I'm sure the economy would lose more than the €134.80(that's the most recent info I could find) that's doled out to them every week. More importantly, the department of Social Welfare would be even more weighed down than it presently is, as a result of the fact that people would be signing on and off every few weeks, as they inevitably get sacked for being unable to do their job properly.
    I think that the mentally retarded aside, you would be hard pressed to find an individual such as you describe. And even at that, Tesco's have had a lot of success with their employment program for those with lesser degrees of mental handicaps.
    It would be 'against the rules of this forum', if it was referring to a member of this forum. It is a well known fact however, that if somebody wishes to pursue a career, which deviates from 'the norm', there will be 'begrudging 9-5 tossers' out there, waiting for them to fall down at the first hurdle.

    Ray :cool:
    It was clearly directed at me. I don't begrudge anyone the right to pursue an unusual career, I do resent being expected to finance someone's pipe dream. If you're talented enough, you'll make it anyway. As an Irish citizen you're entitled to one free undergraduate course and if you choose to take the gamble of going for a career as a writer/actor/director/musician/whatever it is essential that you realise that you are the one taking that gamble and that you may end up having to accept a mac-job until you make your fortune in the arts. Expecting the rest of the country to take that gamble with you is frankly just arrogant.

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  • #79
    Karl Hungus
    Closed Accounts Posts: 29,130 ✭✭✭✭Karl Hungus


    If you're so adamant about not letting your tax money be squandered, why don't you go on the dole yourself Sleepy? That way you can claim back ALL that tax money, and then some. Seems like the thing to do, if you're a man of your principles. ;)


  • #80
    Kingsize
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,101 ✭✭✭Kingsize


    one thing that really gets to me is how people go on about "their" taxes
    they arent your taxes they are the government's you cannot pick & choose where they go.so whether its for someone on the dole,or for a nice fat TDs pay rise or whether they go towards making a suspension bridgde in leitrim its not up to you to choose.Tax is not just collected from income there is vat on a lot of products & services which also goes into the government coffers & is paid by everyone even worthless scroungers.
    you do however have the choice to move away, if it greives you so much go & find out about living in a tax haven or quit your job & claim back your income tax.
    im sure it woont be enough to live off but have a go.
    you dont have to claim the dole to apply for your tax back by the way .
    How much tax is wasted cleaning up the cities & countryside because people(not just immigrants & doleys) are TOO LAZY to wait till they find a rubbish bin??
    The dole is also taxed in some way, it has been for about 10 years now.


  • #81
    MorningStar
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,031 ✭✭✭MorningStar


    Kingsize wrote:
    one thing that really gets to me is how people go on about "their" taxes
    they arent your taxes they are the government's etc...
    #
    Just so you know the government own nothing! It belongs to the people the government are appointed management. TaX belong to you and me and government are ment to manage it according to the owners wishes/intent.

    My wife works in FAS. I can tell you there are people who choose not to work due to the losses of social welfare benifts. I don't blame the people as if you want to raise your child at home and can earn more by not working wouldn't you? You need to earn over €32K for it to be worth working as a single parent.

    Some of the people are incapabale of working on their own, with others or to any capable level no matter what training they are given. There are a lot of people who appear to be capable of work who aren't really. They could do jobs there just aren't jobs for their particular skill set or lack of skills. Many have social "issues" and the longer people remain unemplyoed they are likely to become like this or worse.

    When you were ins school rememebr the thick, smell and weird kids in your class. They have to go somewhere. I don't know if the eduction system is to blame but some family situations can be very damaging.

    I hate spongers but the system is going to create them just while caring for others.

    Tax dodgers are the same as these spongers.


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  • #82
    Sleepy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 25,000 ✭✭✭✭Sleepy


    MorningStar wrote:
    #
    Just so you know the government own nothing! It belongs to the people the government are appointed management. TaX belong to you and me and government are ment to manage it according to the owners wishes/intent.

    My wife works in FAS. I can tell you there are people who choose not to work due to the losses of social welfare benifts. I don't blame the people as if you want to raise your child at home and can earn more by not working wouldn't you? You need to earn over €32K for it to be worth working as a single parent.

    Some of the people are incapabale of working on their own, with others or to any capable level no matter what training they are given. There are a lot of people who appear to be capable of work who aren't really. They could do jobs there just aren't jobs for their particular skill set or lack of skills. Many have social "issues" and the longer people remain unemplyoed they are likely to become like this or worse.

    When you were ins school rememebr the thick, smell and weird kids in your class. They have to go somewhere. I don't know if the eduction system is to blame but some family situations can be very damaging.

    I hate spongers but the system is going to create them just while caring for others.

    Tax dodgers are the same as these spongers.
    Wow, a post from MorningStar that I almost agree with every word in :eek:

    Essentially, I think almost everyone is employable if they're provided with the right training and that's where institutions like FAS are essential in modern society. There are far more important issues for the government than removing every scrounger from the dole queues but is that an excuse for there to be no serious attempt to do it. Just think about it, if the government spent as much time sorting out all the small things as they did trying to put spin on their failures wouldn't we have a much better country?

    Like I said in a PM to another poster on this thread, my problem isn't with people claiming the dole because they can't find a job, it's with people who choose to stay on it because they believe society owes them a living and they just can't be arsed trying to find a job (or consider the jobs they can get to be beneath them)

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  • #83
    Kingsize
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,101 ✭✭✭Kingsize


    im well aware of who owns the taxes but in effect most paye workers never see "their" money
    my point was - we cant pick & choose where the taxes go, we can only hope that they are spent wisely by the govenment& vote them in/out every four /five years if the majority of us who turn up happen to vote the same way (ish).
    people will disagree with who is more deserving of tax revenue.
    However one thing that will need to change is the "take them for what theyve got" attitude in this country - what i would regard as a symptom of our "crony capitalist" economy.
    this country is corrupt from the bottom up or from the top down, whatever way you look at it the result is the same.
    brown envelopes full of wads of cash are no better or worse than somebody on the dole while working, or somebody working & paying tax but doing a bit of cash in hand on the side.
    tax is spent unwisely on a lot of things- but personally i believe that Ireland would be a lot worse off if there was no welfare state.
    before people start accusing others of "not being of any worth to society"
    they should take a look at themselves.
    I would never accuse anyone of being lazy, at least not lazier than me,i work for a living & ive been on the dole so what does that make me??
    please also bear in mind that a considerable amount of people (myself included :D )post here when they are being paid to be doing something else!!
    so i guess theres a bit of SPONGER in all of us.


  • #84
    Sleepy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 25,000 ✭✭✭✭Sleepy


    I suppose the difference comes Kingsize, when you're taking more from society than you're contributing. My boss knows I surf boards.ie a bit during the working day and accepts it because it's a stress valve for me. If she's no problem paying me for my posting and the government is getting tax on that salary, there's no problem at all.

    Someone that does nothing for society and merely dosses around in their bedsit instead of actively pursuing employment (which is what they're being paid to do) is being lazy and is leeching off the rest of us that are prepared to pay our way in society. True, tax rates are no-where near what they once were in this country but it is still a bit annoying when you get a raise knowing that you'll only see half of that figure whilst others are squandering the tax you're paying on it. This extends way beyond the money spent on the dole but that's another thread.

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  • #85
    Miguel_Sanchez
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,417 ✭✭✭Miguel_Sanchez


    Sleepy wrote:
    I don't begrudge anyone the right to pursue an unusual career, I do resent being expected to finance someone's pipe dream. If you're talented enough, you'll make it anyway. As an Irish citizen you're entitled to one free undergraduate course and if you choose to take the gamble of going for a career as a writer/actor/director/musician/whatever it is essential that you realise that you are the one taking that gamble and that you may end up having to accept a mac-job until you make your fortune in the arts. Expecting the rest of the country to take that gamble with you is frankly just arrogant.

    That's your opinion I suppose. However I think you will find that there are a wealth of Irish writers/artists/musicians who have spend at least some time on the dole while they tried to further their career.

    Also your description of my ambition as a 'pipe-dream' seems like you think there is no way that you can make a living from film in this country. This may very well be true but I resent the implication that I'm living in some sort of fantasy world by attempting to make a career for myself in the arts.

    What are your opinions on arts grants and film board grants then? If they come from the government and through them from the taxpayer do you still see that as you financing someone's 'pipe-dream'. Do you propose that all government arts and film grants be suspended immediately just as you want any artist/writer/musician/filmmaker on the dole to be kicked off and told to go find a mac-job?

    The film I'm directing next month is financed by RTE. RTE get money from licence fees so again you could argue that you are funding my film (also I am funding it through my TV licence).

    The people who work in FAS and the Social Welfare are fully aware that many people use the dole while they are trying to get themselves employment in their chosen field. In fact in a FAS interview some months I was congratulated by the woman for going after what I wanted and told to 'keep it up'.

    Also - I have no intention of staying on the dole full-time. I do not enjoy having little or no money to spend. I have chosen to live at this level for a short while so I can give my all to my career. It is a temporary thing.


  • #86
    Kingsize
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,101 ✭✭✭Kingsize


    Sleepy wrote:
    I suppose the difference comes Kingsize, when you're taking more from society than you're contributing.
    Someone that does nothing for society and merely dosses around in their bedsit instead of actively pursuing employment (which is what they're being paid to do) is being lazy and is leeching off the rest of us that are prepared to pay our way in society. .


    This is the crux of the arguement,but how it is measured of course is another thing,maybe society is better off keeping long term unemployed people out of the workforce,or maybe not-but as somebody else saideveryone has an opinion on what not to do with these people, but less of an idea of what should be done.
    I'm not aware of your work situation but has it ever occurred to you that by being on boards.ie,(regardless of wheter the boss knows or not)you might be seen by your co workers as leeching off them instead of doing what you are paid to do??
    in my opinion society would suffer more from long term industrial action by sanitation workers than it would from a similarly protracted dispute involving web designers, but does that mean that web designers contribute less to society ?or does it make the web designers spongers ??
    i also think that even at 0% unemployment somebody would have a complaint about where "their" money goes.when i see the amounts of cash wasted by consecutive governments on stupid sh--t i think the people on the dole are an easy target.


  • #87
    Flukey
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,006 ✭✭✭✭Flukey


    As I've intimated already, I work with people on the dole, as I teach FÁS courses. As I've said already, very few fit into the negative categories that some people in this thread are putting them into. Everyone's case is different. Yes, you do get a few who don't want to work, but they are very, very few.

    Someone also made the comment that people can't get work because of immigrants taking them. A nice handy one to blame, but not true. If they are working, they are accused of stealing our jobs and if they are not the same people will accuse them of being scroungers. A lot of those that are on the dole are there because they are not allowed to work, though they are highly qualified in many cases, and only too keen to work and make their contribution to society.


  • #88
    impr0v
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,652 ✭✭✭impr0v


    Best of luck Jeff.


  • #89
    MorningStar
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,031 ✭✭✭MorningStar


    Sleepy wrote:
    Wow, a post from MorningStar that I almost agree with every word in :eek:

    Essentially, I think almost everyone is employable if they're provided with the right training and that's where institutions like FAS are essential in modern society.
    Not really :)
    My major point was that some people aren't employable and the system is there to help them. As a result somepeople misuse the system. Some people are a financial drain on society that's that is doesn't mean they don't contribute. It may be negative contribution. It makes up society.
    THe CSE schemes were good at keeping certain people employed who would never be able to work in a "normal" job. THe govenrment basically hired people to do jobs of little or no economic value. Things like collecting Dublin folklore from the elderly. A great social value to the worker and the elderly but they were mostly closed down and put the people back on the dole. These people still can't work in the commercial world.
    There are a lot of misfits like this but short of kill them all what should be done with them? Training them is nearly iimpossible, you can spot them going into the FAS centres that have the course for long term unemployed. I think it is a 2 or 3 year course with limited "success".


  • #90
    Flukey
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,006 ✭✭✭✭Flukey


    We will always have unemployed people and we need them, so they have some good effects. It's a bit of a paradox, but if there were no unemployed people we'd have a lot of unemployed people, namely those that have jobs helping the unemployed. Also if there were no unemployed people it could actually slow down the growth of the economy because of the lack of additional staff.


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  • #91
    Sleepy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 25,000 ✭✭✭✭Sleepy


    Jeff_Lebowski wrote:
    That's your opinion I suppose. However I think you will find that there are a wealth of Irish writers/artists/musicians who have spend at least some time on the dole while they tried to further their career.
    Which is one of the reasons it annoys me so much that they're exempt from tax if they do make it (which as we all know only a small percentage of them will.
    Also your description of my ambition as a 'pipe-dream' seems like you think there is no way that you can make a living from film in this country. This may very well be true but I resent the implication that I'm living in some sort of fantasy world by attempting to make a career for myself in the arts.

    What are your opinions on arts grants and film board grants then? If they come from the government and through them from the taxpayer do you still see that as you financing someone's 'pipe-dream'. Do you propose that all government arts and film grants be suspended immediately just as you want any artist/writer/musician/filmmaker on the dole to be kicked off and told to go find a mac-job?
    I'd consider it fairer than expecting the taxpayer to bankroll their project on the double. Presumably all grants given to these projects have to be applied for through some form of system which checks the credentials of the individual concerned? If so, then I wouldn't see the money as wasted as only those with genuine talent get backed. If not, that grant money is being wasted.
    The film I'm directing next month is financed by RTE. RTE get money from licence fees so again you could argue that you are funding my film (also I am funding it through my TV licence).
    Sorry, I don't get this. If RTE are financing something you're making, surely you are then working and therefore shouldn't be entitled to social welfare? Maybe you're not receiving any income from your work at the moment but I presume you will should it become a financial success? (Congratulations on getting your film that far btw.) However, I think it's unfair for the taxpayer to be asked to pay social welfare for someone who's working on a project that can benefit them financially when that financial gain will not be taxed.
    The people who work in FAS and the Social Welfare are fully aware that many people use the dole while they are trying to get themselves employment in their chosen field. In fact in a FAS interview some months I was congratulated by the woman for going after what I wanted and told to 'keep it up'.

    Also - I have no intention of staying on the dole full-time. I do not enjoy having little or no money to spend. I have chosen to live at this level for a short while so I can give my all to my career. It is a temporary thing.

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