This is also a problem of badly organised businesses...
This is also a problem of badly organised businesses. They are mostly set up as little fascist dictatorships.
In all the jobs I've had I've *never* been rewarded for working hard or showing initiative - managers have just seen me as a threat to themselves.
So ditch digging is all well and good - provided you're prepared to do it forever and get paid shit no matter how hard you try. Not all those laying around on welfare are stupid - some are very intelligent. But unless they get rewarded for working hard then they're not going to be taken for fools. Best claim welfare and make cash on the side (for which the g'mint gets no tax obviously).
Co-operative type businesses have proved time and again to be much better places for workers - government should arrange the tax system to encourage these types of enterprises.
In the meantime - don't be surprised when large businesses are as corrupt and inefficient as Enron, Microsoft, GM,Goldman Sachs etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc.
For one example - out of all banks hardly any has come out blameless for the current stupidity - except one, the Co-operative Bank.
To labour my point - say I was on welfare - I could go and get a job at a supermarket. But since most businesses have absolutely no idea how to identify hard-working, intelligent staff I would be under the usual type of manager who would do their best to make my life a misery.
The only way to get promoted is to play the ass-lick game. I.e. to pretend to be as dumb as your manager is - but to laugh at all his jokes and pretend to be his friend. Make out your like him and not one of 'them'. Sickening those this behaviour is I've seen it plenty of times - and guess what? it works.
So you end up with management which is full of dumb, lying, SOB's with no backbone, no moral backbone who are all more interested is ass-licking to the ones above than actually trying to be good at their job.
I don't know how the Chinese are organised - but it won't take much to out perform western corporations.
Britain is in it's own world of pain - but the US has a couple of other problems creeping up. Hollywood films are becoming dull, and porn is now free.