The Evolution of Unemployment Relief in Great Britain - Synthesis

The article “Evolution of Unemployment relief in Great Britain,” is about the unemployment insecurity of British workers during the nineteenth century. In Britain, business downturn was occurring every five to eight years, and not only was this affecting worker’s lives personally, but it also had a huge impact on the economy. Unemployment lasting longer than a few weeks lead to “acute financial” distress. This forced them to rely on other sources such as the government or charities as a form of income. The author focuses on Britain although this is happening too many of us in today’s society. Unemployment has been in existence and a big issue for a long time. It’s something the government is trying to fix, but it continues to occur. Do you think the problem of unemployment will ever diminish?

In this article, the main evaluation is that little has been written about unemployment relief during the period between the Poor Law Amendment Act in 1834 and the adoption of national unemployment insurance in 1911. Public assistance was more generous to the unemployed then they probably should have been. This was a huge problem, and in 1870 cities throughout Britain cut the payment of relief to able-bodied males, while many skilled workers received unemployed benefits from their trade union. This showed no improvement to those who didn’t work in the union or from preventing unemployment.

This lead to the adoption compulsory unemployment insurance in 1911, paid for by a government subsidy. The controversy remained between the Poor Law Amendment Act, and compulsory unemployment insurance. This is true because the Poor Law Act still remained an important income for those who were unemployed. It also had a way of deciding who would pay the unemployment rate. They can be divided into three groups: factory owners, workers, and the remaining ratepayers (merchants, shopkeepers, landlords, tradesmen, etc.). In total they would contribute twenty 20 to 46 percent. The Poor Law was able to cover most everyone, but the increases in the poor rate tended, causing further increases in the default rate. The good news is, both public and private charity would take a lead on the few turndowns the law could not afford. It had its “ups” and “downs,” but it helped. This information is key to understanding the main idea of the article as well as what the author is trying to come across.

This particular article related closely to the film “Roger & Me,” each author working to portray similar messages to the citizens as well as the world. Both authors use of persuasive research combined with relevant information proves their point and gains the respect they needed. The citizens of Flint, Michigan were going through extremely hard times, many being unemployed. It relates to the fact that in both places they were unemployed but they had the help of others. In Britain’s case it was the Poor Act being passed which was established by the government with the help of charity. In Flint’s case it was the support of the community and the help of those who were successful in the community such as Miss Michigan. Although, the authors posses the same subject matter they also have their differences. In the documentary “Roger & Me,” Moore leaves out the government while Boyer talks a lot about the governments support. Moore does this in order to distract his audience in order to focus more on the people. Boyer’s goal is to focus on the government, and the many laws passed. Each author takes a different approach allowing the audience to comprehend the two pieces differently. When you narrow your views, all of these factors come down to one thing and that is to preserve the place in which they live, and to protect their economy.