Actually I'd rather be on benefits

[Spudulika]

... than have to work 40 hours a week in a boring minimum wage job.

Not doing either myself thankfully (working DH, I have well-paid p/t job), but thoroughly resenting the line that the conservatives are taking that the reason many people have a terrible quality of life is because they're not working, and that they'll invariably have a better quality of life if they're not on benefits, because going to work somehow always makes your life better.

I suspect that the majority of mp's have never done these sorts of jobs, and have never had to live on the minimum wage, otherwise they wouldn't be saying this.

IMO what makes people's live shit is being educationally and culturally impoverished, poor housing and poor mental and physical health, none of which are likely to be alleviated by spending 40 hours doing repetitive manual labour.

If work doesn't leave you significantly better off financially, is in itself not interesting, and results in you becoming time poor, so you have fewer hours to read, stroll in the park, meet with friends or watch interesting films on TV (all of which activities are free and accessible to the unemployed), how on earth can you be said to be better off doing it?

And then there's the option of enriching your life by doing voluntary work while unemployed, or studying.

So - if you were an MP and I was an unemployed person, how would you persuade me that I would be much happier cleaning out buses for 40 hours a week, than sitting at home reading the newspaper and listening to the radio?

stuckinthemiddle
It's crazy to say that you have all these problems with your job and therefore it could be better to go on benefits. There are jobs out there with career progression get searching.

No there are not. Not where I am and I'm not in a position to move.

Don't worry, I have no intention of quitting but there is a distinct possibility of mass redundancies soon and I'm not exactly terrified at the prospect.

Yes, I did see the Raymond Blanc series. Funnily enough, I didn't see him training up any forty-something's who'd been made redundant. It was all young people.

In many areas, employers don't want to hire Brits anyhow, they just want the foreign staff, often because they're not offering the 16-hours/week guaranteed that you need to claim tax credits. They're offering seasonal, temp, zero-hours contracts.

That's a huge barrier to work in low-paid industries and this problem is increasing.

It's a major problem if you're low-paid and do not have steady income/guaranteed hours.

Many companies now are not offering 16hr jobs which is what single parent families need to claim WTC and nursery fees.

I have had a job for ages for 10hrs. If i work it i wont get help with the nursery. I will be working for £20.

I have applied for 2 other jobs which are 10hrs so i would split 20hrs between 2 jobs if i get one of them to qualify for WTC. The jobs are aimed at graduates not single mothers.

I would say clean buses or nothing their would be no benefits for those who are able to work so their would be no other choice the government will remove peoples money for 3 years with no compliance but I would go further and just turn off the tap

Labour were using carrot that didn't work iys time for some stick

Maypole, so you would first sack the people who are currently paid a wage to clean buses?

Good idea Mary. Lets let all the kids live in poverty for their parents sins. Marvellous idea

Lets hope theres plenty of jobs about for you kids/grandkids

Yep Maypole...time to use that stick on Tax evaders!

Also Mary when your house gets burgled or your car gets twoced or you kids get mugged because Mary said stop the benefits and feed your family how you can

It pays to work, having been sick for seven years I have just secured a full time 40 hour week job, it pays enough including child tax credit/working tax credit for me to be able to pay full rent and I have a disposable income which was minimal on benefits.

For my head too working is much better as I have less time to think during the day, work cures depression. It makes you feel somebody and also encourages you to use your social skills.

No amount of beating me with a stick is going to magically get me a job. I am intending to go through my records and count just how many jobs I have gone though trying to get one. Sadly I only have records from this year so far as I didn't keep my application, job search data from the previous years. There is no room in a one bed flat when you are trying to bring up a family as well.

Lazy bitch that I am, when I was laid off I scrimped on savings for a few months until I managed to get the 12hr a week job I currently have. The job market has become a lot worse around here since then. I would have been much better off had I signed on but I tried to do the right thing. I hate my job as I get threatened regularly (with assault, threats against my family) yet I keep going and keep job hunting because it is the right thing to do. Yet smug people like you maypole think that gives you the right to talk down to me. My mum always used to say 'ther but for the grace of God go I' It doesn't matter if you believe in God or not the principle is the same you don't know what is around the corner, you don't know if you are going to be dumped upon from a great height, you hope you won't but sometimes no amount of hard work and doing the right thing prevents it.

They are bad at stopping benefits here too. The minority who have no intention of working seem to get away with it and genuine job hunters get penalised. My friend after a lot of hard work and job hunting eventually was offered an interview. The interview clashed with her being due to sign on. She called the job centre explaining about the interview and asked for a change of sign on appointment. They said no if you don't come you lose benefits. She said well I can't go to the interview then I can't be in 2 places 8miles apart at the same time. They told her she would lose her benefits if she didn't attend the interview. She risked it, went to the interview and they stopped her benefits. Luckily she had family so didn't completely starve but it is terrible behaviour from the one organisation who should be encouraging interview attendance not punishing it.

Let's turn off the tap, too, for everyone claiming a state pension who's fit for work and under 65. Yeah.

Agree with everything expat has said about zero hrs contracts. That is my experience as well.

Crazy nanna you dont make the poor rich by making the rich poor at leas these people pay tax granted its not always the correct amount but why dose it have to be always one or the other

I would like to see the benefits reduced so its near impossible to stay also I would like benefits to only cover one child if you want to have children when you know your not in a position to the good luck but were not paying for it

But I would also like to see the owners of the liberal lefty guardian paying their full tax too

I want every one to muck in put the work shy don't get a free pass because the rich hide from tax

No Maypole....but you sure do keep the poor poorer whilst allowing the rich to get richer.
Maybe we could treat our citizens on benefits like having a policy on par with China...one child only unless you get a job.
Then we may experience the horror of baby's dumped in orphanages,found in fields......but as long as we appease the right wing idealogy,well,that's ok then.

That's the thing about the right wing - it's pure ideology with zero practicality.

I'd like to answer the following:-

"Another question. People who are HUGELY wealthy, who pay very little tax in this country. What motivates them to avoid tax, knowing as they do that a) they can't get that much more pleasure from additional spending if they're already living a very lavish lifestyle b) that if they paid their taxes in the UK it would be used make life more bearable for people here who are much less advantaged than they are?

It must be sheer selfishness and a feeling of 'fuck it, it's legal and I don't have a responsibility to the country I call home'"

Not being a tax-avoider is in effect a decision to contribute voluntarily to British public spending. If you were going to give money away, do you really believe that HMRC is a more worthy cause than (say) third-world charities or medical reseach? I'm not saying that tax avoiders do contribute to these, my point is that if one were going to voluntarily give money away, then the British government is an odd choice of recipient.

I'm not at all inclined to 'muck in' with individuals who like to use 'these people' and 'those people', or people who, like DC's non-dom cronies, thinking 'mucking in' is something for the hoi polloi to do whilst they keep their earnings off-shore.

I AM FUCKING ASHAMED MAYPOLE so ashamed in fact that almost everyday I want to die. Gone as far as trying to plan it. I tried to cope with bringing up dd and job hunting for 2 years without claiming anything, became homeless in the process. It came to the point where the alternative was letting dd starve. I may be a fucked up, shitty excuse for a human being but that doesn't mean , my innocent dd deserves to starve to death.

IS THAT OK FOR YOU MAYPOLE? Or is the fact that I couldn't even kill myself properly offensive to you?

I have applied for all the jobs going that I am able to do up to those I am marginally under qualified for. What the fuck else do you want me to do?

How very dare you maypole
I'm not ashamed and guess what I'm on benefits. I'm not idle I'm not worksky I am ill, is that ok or should I hang my fucking head in shame.

xstitch, don't let knobs like Maypole make you feel ashamed. You work and you're looking for better work, whilst using benefits as a stop gap. Nothing to be ashamed of there.

If I was a proper human being though I would be employable. I was ashamed and suicidal before reading maypole's comments. It just relly hurts to be reminded of what a little shit I really am. NO wonder nobody will employ me if that's what everyone thinks of me. :(