Is there a quick way to convey this meaning in western culture?

[Dominus]

It is sort of like golden handcuffs. I am just looking for a phrase that conveys this better. Let me explain.

In eastern culture, there's a saying: such and such is like chicken tendon, when you eat it it doesn't taste good but if you throw it away it is a waste.

Think welfare like disability. I know a guy that gets $750/month in ssdi. He tells me if he ever gets caught working, he will lose all of it. But $750 ain't much to live on in a month. Why doesn't he just get off it and work? Because he was on the waiting list for 7 years to get on it. So, such a situation would be like chicken tendon.

Or say you have the crappiest job in the world and the pay sucks. Like $7/hr. It barely covers rent. But if you quit you don't know if you can find another job at all. That's like chicken tendon.

I don't think golden handcuff fits what I'm trying to describe. When I hear golden handcuff, I think of like a high paying 6 figures corporate job that is also soul crushing.

Anyway, is there a quick and easy phrase that conveys what I am trying to say in western culture?

 

[Kahaih]

"A bird in the hand . . ."

Look it up.

 

[NotHardUp1]

"Aspire to low levels and you shall succeed."

Probably a majority of us began working at minimum wage. We learned about business, retail, and work. We progressed by working harder, getting training or education, or relocating to work and better wages / opportunities.

As for disability income, fraud is fraud. It is hard to get accurate data on the percentage of participants who abuse the systems, as it is a political fight, but it is clear from the handicapped parking abuse that the number is high. People simply have no shame in lying about the inability to work to support themselves. It's unfair, because it stigmatizes the system when there is a definite population that must receive aid, but the government is too lazy and too incompetent to police the system.

Disability payments are intentionally set at subsistence as a deterrence to more sloth and equivocation from those who will not work. So, if you know some deserving recipient, the best thing you can do is to help them directly and through private charities, as raising the public aid just raises the amount of fraud.

 

[BiBtm64]

"The devil you know": implies that it’s better to stick with an undesirable but familiar situation, rather than risk an unknown but possibly worse one.

"Between a rock and a hard place": being stuck between two bad options and not being able to choose a clear path forward.

"Stuck in a rut": feeling trapped in a situation that's not ideal but seems to be difficult to escape.

I'm not sure that either of these are an accurate fit for the situation you describe. Maybe look them up and see how they're interpreted by others, Google or whatever.

"Golden handcuffs" does not describe this situation, for me. To me it describes being stuck in a job or situation by attractive financial rewards, often high paying or with other attractive benefits. An example would be when a larger company buys a smaller one, and owners of the company being bought are paid for their shares of the company and in return are contracted to work for the buying company for a set period of time. If they were to leave, they would lose their financial reward. They have "golden handcuffs". It doesn't quite fit what you describe because the financial reward is low.

 

[unloadonme]

Think welfare like disability. I know a guy that gets $750/month in ssdi. He tells me if he ever gets caught working, he will lose all of it. But $750 ain't much to live on in a month. Why doesn't he just get off it and work? Because he was on the waiting list for 7 years to get on it.

I'd call that "benefits culture".

Or say you have the crappiest job in the world and the pay sucks. Like $7/hr. It barely covers rent. But if you quit you don't know if you can find another job at all.

Is that what they call "low salary syndrome"? The point is that if one has a low paid job, one looks for something better before resigning, not afterwards.