Government Jobs

This is kind of random, but I just read a little write-up about a poll YouGov did in Britain about a variety of issues relating to poverty. One subject they asked about was unemployment benefits, and here's the line I found interesting:

80% agree with the idea that people who have been out of work for 12 months should be required to do community work in return for their benefits.

So, these people should be given the opportunity to do a form of work in the public interest determined by the government, and in return receive money from the government? To me, see, that sounds a whole lot like the government giving these people jobs. Maybe jobs with a fairly explicit agreement that the workers in question are hoping to get other jobs soon, but you have the basic wages-for-labor exchange going on here. I'm curious if 80% of Britons would agree that the government should offer jobs to people who've been out of work for a year, if you put it that way. Come to think of it, I wonder how these questions would play in this country.