You don't get paid directly through our welfare system. The state subsidizes your basic needs. With no income, an apartment in the projects is like $35 a month. Then you get a food stamp card for food, and the big one, a med card for free healthcare, which is still pretty decent because we don't give that to everyone, like in a universal healthcare system.
Stupidly, our welfare system punishes anyone who tries to work at all. If you have any income whatsoever, they start reducing benefits. Some people pay $500 for the $35 apartment if they have a job. Realistically what is going on is that people get various side hustles and hide their income. Re-selling pills the government gave you or your kids for free is a common one. The going rate to sell your food stamp money is 50 cents on the dollar. The seller takes the buyer shopping. That's how we manage to have schools with hungry kids in them. I'm sure there's lots of prostitution, too, whether online or in person.
Oh I see. We have a different system here in Ontario. Here they pay $ 733 / mo. Unemployment Benefits is 55% of your income for a period of time.
If I'm making about $ 2600-$2800/mo at call centre job, then obviously it's better than $ 733 / mo.
They let you make your own income, up to $ 200/mo, then they start clawing back like 50 cents on the dollar for any amount over.
I did the math, and if you make over $1666.67 in a month, you do not get a welfare payment, if you are in the welfare system.
When I was self-employed as an insurance agent, I was also on welfare. On the months I made little to no income, I got the full $ 733 payment. Normally when I was self-employed with insurance in 2022, I'd make like $ 1200/ mo give or take, and would get a smaller payment from the welfare office that would bump that $ 1200 to feel like I made $ 1500 for that month.
Occasionally I'd get a large commission cheque for $ 4500, in which case I'd get no payment from the welfare office. However, since the income was not reliable or stable, the next month you might make allot less and might trigger a small welfare payment.
The current job I'm doing, has a steady pay. There is no $ 4500 cheque coming in, but I'm making like $ 1200-$1300 every two weeks doing a "call center" version of selling insurance, which somehow looks better by the numbers compared to what I was making in the past.
I would not qualify for any welfare program with this job, but would still qualify for some low-income program benefits since the overall salary is small enough, in one person, to qualify for some programs.
Therefore, it would never make any sense to quit the job and end up in welfare and try to make it as a self-employed independent contractor full-time. While there is more freedom and flexibility of time being self-employed, not knowing how much your next paycheque will be, if a client cancels the insurance within 2 years you'll owe the commission back, and other uncertainties within the busienss itself, still makes what I'm doing sound better than what I was doing as a self-employed agent in the past.
Even in terms of going to the office, there is still some social life. Even if I'm not too close to anyone there, there are still a good amount of daily interactions. Whereas when I as self-employed, all in-person social interactions were with my folks and there was no social life.
This year, I visited a Blue Jays Game for baseball, Raptors Game for Basketball, and went to a Soccer game. I never been to these places before in the past. Also visited a Museum of Illusions, and had lunches with the group. Also you get recognition if you perform. Having a nice cold commission cheque is great...but there is also something about trophies, certificates, and being cheered on when you are doing particularly well. It's hard to say sometimes which is better. You tend to see things better in hindsight and nostaglia. Sure there is more freedom being self-employed, but is it really the best thing when everything is considered?
