But Steve was not like that. A good man, devoted to his family, he was determined to find another job as soon as possible - & by the end of the programme, he had. The pleasure in his voice did one good – that & the way he said: Lots of new things to learn
What was striking, not just about Steve but about some of his sacked colleagues also heard on the programme, was their determination never to sign on the dole: I’ll clean floors if I have to
I had almost believed that such attitudes had disappeared long ago, what with all the campaigns to encourage everybody to claim everything to which they are entitled (that is of course, when we are not calling them scroungers)
Another hole in the economic theories which postulate the importance of purely financial incentives: It may not be all that much, but hey, here it is, have some. You’ve paid your contributions - somehow is not enough
I would not wish to speak for Steve, but feelings such as pride, self reliance & self respect, & yes maybe a dim remembrance of the kind of fear of the workhouse or the means test which my grandparents had, plus a strong desire to tell the government busybodies down the dole office to keep their nose out of my business, are sometimes even more important than mere cash
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