I have been on unemployment insurance once. It was between jobs, and I only claimed it for about two weeks before I found another job. Since then, I have not claimed unemployment insurance, and it will most likely never happen again either.
While I was on unemployment insurance, I was thankful. It was a nice security blanket! Then, I started to think about the pitfalls of social security.
Canada is a really comfortable place. I can pretty much do nothing and still be okay. By okay, I mean - alive and healthy.
Suppose that I am unemployed, I can potentially qualify for about six months of unemployment insurance that pays me $1600.00 a month.
If I can prove that I do not have any skills, I can have the government pay for my education while being paid $1600.00 a month.
If this runs out, I can go on welfare indefinitely. Sure it doesn't pay very well, but at least I am not starving, especially if I can arrange to not pay rent.
Because of the availability of social housing, I can also pay rent that's proportionate to what I make. A friend of a friend was paying $89.00 per month for a 3 bedroom townhouse, because she only took home $800 from work.
If I have children, I can claim an additional amount per child.
I can get medicare, because if I don't have a job and on unemployment insurance or welfare, it's pretty much free.
All in all, it's not a bad deal.
If I compare this to a country like China, which has very little social security, I can see why people treat money differently. In North America, the worst case scenerio for spending way beyond your means is owing creditors and filing for bankruptcy. You will still be healthy because of medicare and still eat because of government support.
In China, you will pay for all your medical expenses before you see a doctor, and nothing is covered under any type of insurance. You will pay up front when you buy an apartment, because there is still no such thing as credit majority of the cities. You will also need to have money for your children's school, because while education is still free, corruption is rampant, and bribery still rules. If you are ever out of a job, the government does not pay you or fund your education; you are pretty much on your own. The bottom line is you take care of your own financial future, because no one else will do it for you.
I hate the comfort of living in this part of the world, the wastefulness, the hunger for all things material, and the blatant disregard for what other people would give for our opportunities.
I have a small weakness for luxury handbags; I look at them online, I fantasize about carrying a real Balenciaga bag, the soft distressed leather, almost like butter....but that's about as far as I go. There is something unsettling knowing that even the most inexpensive luxury purse can feed a family for a year elsewhere.
Having social security in place almost makes it okay for us to strive for mediocrecy, and it makes what most of the world consider to be sloth - "normal".
It's "normal" to be unemployed; it's "normal" to be on unemployment insurance for the sixth time. It's "normal" to owe $8000.00 on credit cards because that's the average, so there can't possibly to anything wrong with that. It's "normal" to live in social housing and get $450 from the government and another $800 for having children. It's "normal" to pay interest. It's also "normal" to not finish high school and justify it by saying that education is over-rated or "I just did not have that opportunity".
I want to be better than normal, and I don't think that's too high of a goal.
