This week I heard Edwina Currie on the Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2. (I know I am being unreasonable for listening to proffessional shit stirrer JV but the radio is on at work)
There was a single mum (who's partner had been killed in a car crash.) She worked ft and had 2 kids but was going to struggle without the £20 uplift.
Edwina Currie said she sympathised as she remembered how it was when her kids were small juggling budgeting and childcare...
She was an MP and her husband was an accountant- I doubt they were struggling!
Then she said that people should tell their employer they're looking for a job elsewhere and the employer would probably want to keep them on and give them a payrise...
When challenged that a lot of the jobs available were not suitable for a single parent with childcare to sort out (eg shifts, overnight work in a warehouse etc) she said people needed to be "creative" (wtf does than mean in this instance?) and that most grandparents would love to help.
Then there was a pile on of callers telling people that they were scroungers and "to get a job".
Its literally like they're willfully not listening or sticking their fingers in their ears and saying "la la la la la not listening" and just coming out with patronising BS.
The original caller did work full time and was still struggling.
Not everyone has grandparents...at all ...or nearby, or maybe the GPS are working themselves...or don't want to do full time, or overnight childcare (not unreasonable). And where are all the employers falling over themselves to give people a payrise...? Some businesses pay NMW to cut costs, other businesses won't be able to afford payrises after covid and brexit.
And the assumption that people are sitting around waiting for handouts and that if they could just "upskill" or "better themselves" it would solve the problem....
How can they not hear what people are saying...?