[Jack_]

The concept of meritocracy is a myth and has many flaws. It's not as simple as 'working your way up' as some people like to make out.

Regardless, these schemes that force the unemployed to work unpaid in return for their benefits is nothing other than disguised slave labour. And no one can live adequately off unemployment benefits alone, so anyone suggesting that is a fool. If you do an honest days work, you should be paid for it - I think it's that simple myself. It's sad that the unemployed are constantly scapegoated for a problem which isn't always theirs, and wasn't their fault. Not all of them are benefit scroungers, and lumping them all into the same category is ludicrous.