In the United States, federal long-term unemployment benefit that was instigated by president Bush is to be stopped this Saturday. It is a generous welfare benefit and stopping it will severely affect about 1.3 million Americans initially. The numbers will climb. In California alone half-million people will lose payments by June.
When I read what the people in receipt of this unemployment payment are saying it makes me think of cats and dogs. People are talking about having to move home and pawn possessions etc. to get by. For some people this is a very big deal. We know that keeping a cat properly is not cheap. It all adds up.
We also know that the cost of keeping a cat and moving home are two of the most common reasons for relinquishing a cat.
Add up all these factors and there would appear to be the sad prospect of a lot more cat reliquishments over the forthcoming months.
About 46% of Americans keep a cat. That means that almost 600,000 of the people who are about to lose benefits have a cat. If just 10% relinquish their cat there will 60,000 more cats in shelters.
I just wanted to make the point, speak out on behalf of the cat that this federal government policy, amongst other things, will probably indirectly result in cats being PTS.
The difficulty is that the federal government can’t afford to keep running this welfare scheme to support the long term unemployed, plus the crisis is meant to almost over.
No it’s part time but not only was there no full time jobs for Babz after she was widowed after caring for her disabled husband for 5 years, we decided we would cut our cloth to manage with her 20 hours and my pension. She had to go out to work just 3 months into her bereavement or live on £44 a week bereavement benefit for a year then nothing because she has no children. That job came along and she applied and got it, she’s very good at it having been bereaved herself but it’s hard physically and emotionally on her.
Is 20 hours/week considered fulltime?
Our fulltime here is 36-40 hour per week.
Most jobs are (5) 8 hourr days; but, some jobs are (3) 12 hour days.
Depressing isn’t it? UKIP will do well next election. No question. David Milliband should have been elected leader and if he had Labour would be a much bigger force. A lot of people have given up on politicians.
Some people here who have always voted labour are talking about voting UKIP, I hope not as that will split the votes and Nigel Farage is as bloodthirsty as Cameron and co, they all want the fox hunting ban lifted and the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer!
I wish David Miliband was labour leader rather than Ed, but it’s not the present labours fault that Blair got hated and Brown was left with his mess.
The coalition blame labour but labour didn’t cause the mess in other countries and they are in a bad way like us.
It’s getting worse here 🙁
The trouble is that Brown did a poor job of leading the Labour Party and the country. That has put people off voting Labour. The Lib Dems are fairly ineffective. The leaves the Conservatives. I think you’ll find that there will be another coalition at the next election.
Yes 7 years ago Labour were in power. This Conservative led coalition government want rid of our NHS, our hospitals are bad enough here already, poor people have no chance if the Conservatives get in on their own in 2015.