Possible social welfare cuts in Ireland?

gombeen nation wrote: »

i can't believe the begrudging attitude of some people. the vast majority of people on the dole don't want to be on the dole. i look for work, yet there is none. i have to give up my old punto (having a car is a great thing even if it is an old banger) and the internet is next.

my only regret is getting sucked into the whole aspirational bull****, i owe alot on a credit card and i am angry with myself for thinking the good times would never end. still if the government offers me a job i would take it, there is plenty of potholes out there needing filling!

I think you've misunderstood what the new bill is. It's not to punish those who want to work, it's to punish those who don't want to work.

gombeen nation wrote: »

courses guarantee u nothing. i would rather work. i have done plenty of courses; soul destroying. i don't mind working for my dole, but then again alot of unions wouldn't like me under cutting their members. that's what is so charming about ireland so many vested interests, so many gombeens.

If you are determined to be successful you can be successful. Maybe stop blaming others for your problem and you might get somewhere...

jonsnow wrote: »

lets say for arguments sake i walked up to you and punched you in the face for no reason.If you experience some strong feelings- ie.fear anger.Dont try and blame me.After all they are YOUR feelings.Take some personal responsibility man;)

I'm trying to make you see the concept of personal responsibility is all encompassing. Once you understand this you can take full control of your life and stop blaming others for your failings.

It's an abstract concept; you either get it or you don't...

But to answer your question, it is a no brainer for me that I am responsible for how I react to the event. I could choose to get angry or scared or whatever. The final decision is mine. I am responsible.

You'll never meet a highly successful person who has a victim mentality.

irishh_bob wrote: »

im all for personal responsibility , unfortunatley , you seem to believe the onus is all on the victims side , you also seem to lump all grievances in together , i wouldnt equate the reduction in ones wellfare by the goverment to being brutally assaulted in ones home by a masked intruder , thier are degrees of victimhood to which the expected outcomes must be considered , your post is over simplistic and a tad smug

Note this is a long post, if you're only going to skim it or read one part, jump to the third last paragraph.

No, you're just not getting it. And you had to use an extreme example ("being brutally assaulted in ones home by a masked intruder") to make your point.

I'll try to explain futher.

Most people aren't victims. If you lose your job and can't find another job you aren't a victim; you are the result of a life of poor choices.

I'm going to use me as an example (not because I am "smug" but because I subscribe to the personal responsibility philosophy). I am highly qualified - I have a masters degree in computer science and I am a qualified accountant. I diversified my skills so I'd always have something to fall back on should I lose my job. I can work in nearly any area of IT (I made an effort of have experience as a programmer, tester, system admin and designer), and obviously I can work in finance. This was a conscious decisions so I would always be employable. I'm also constantly updating my skills so I am valuable to employers.

I run a business on the side so I have a second income should I ever need one.

I save about 2/3's of my wages every month so I have a massive rainy day fund and I will never have to worry about being in debt.

I have made an effort to have contacts in many companies and learnt how to play the game of office politics so I know what managers like and understand.

Basically I have done as much as I can be reasonably expected to do to make sure:

a) I will never be first on the redundancy list
b) I am the kind of employee who can walk into another job
c) I will never need to be in a position where I am worried about the dole being cut

I have taken total responsibility for my finances and career.

But it goes further. Now I'll use your extreme "brutally assaulted in ones home by a masked intruder" example.

I am aware the world is a ****ed place. It is literally full of selfish greedy scumbags who would screw you over if they could. Being aware of this, I have made an effort to reduce my chances of ever being assaulted (attackers choose their victims, there are ways you can avoid being selected).

I go to the gym, I do martial arts training, I am aware of my surroundings and who is around me at all times, and I never go to bed without making sure every door and window is locked. I also make an effort not to associate with the wrong people or get myself in a situation where I could be in danger.

IF someone came up from behind me and brutally assulted me I would consider myself a victim, but if I am any way responsible for the assault (walking up a dark alley on my own, getting myself involved in something I can't handle, being drunk on the street and giving someone a dirty look, etc.) then no way am I a victim. If I could and should have made a decision which would have prevented the incident than I am not a victim.

In any situation I am responsible for how I react to it both emotionally and physically. If we continue with your extreme example, if I am a hemophiliac and I am attacked, I will probably be in a physically worse shape after the assault. Who is responsible for that? Me of course. My condition is what's causing the extreme injuries, not the assault.

But I don't like extreme examples. Let's take a normal day to day argument. Let's say there are two girls: girl1 is easy going, girl2 is sensitive. A man makes a joke about fat girls being ugly. Girl1 laughs. Girl2 gets upset. Do you really think the man is responsible for creating their emotional response, or did each girl independently generate her own response?

Here's the best bit: as soon as girl2 realises she is responsible for how she feels, not the world, she can fix herself and stop being so sensitive. She is able to break her victim mentality and stop being a victim.

There are of course genuine situations where people can claim to genuinely be a victim, e.g. a car slaming into you from behind because they weren't watching the road, a tile landing on your head and killing you, etc.), but these are extreme situations and have nothing in common with the man who can't find a job because he has no skills due to a life of poor decisions.