Itzik, I agree that the services are there in times to help us out. And I don’t have a problem with people taking services to get through tough times. But I do have a problem when people won’t take jobs that “are below them.” Someone I know used to make $500k a year, got fired and recently turned down a job that pays $100k. It wasn’t enough for him. I don’t know of any social services that equal $100k for a family of 4. Granted his case might be a bit extreme…but I’ve heard of a few cases like this.
BS”D
Someone like that probably has considerable savings even to the point that he can take advantage of his time off to learn a new skill or try to open a new business. He also can use those savings (and severance pay) to wait until he gets something closer to his pay range which he may want also because it would be a black mark on his resume if he takes a job beneath him (unless it is with a non profit and that is why the salary is lower). That is not someone who ends up on welfare or depending on tzedoko.