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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think its not that benefits are too HIGH, its that the minimum / average wage is too LOW.

275 replies

MistyMountainHop · 16/01/2012 14:20

inspired by a load of recent threads about benefits (which may or may not be bullshit a bit of a stretching of the truth) and lots of mnetters (and a lot of the general public) up in arms about people choosing to be on benefits rather than work and that benefits are too high

well i think that the average wage is too LOW and vastly disproportionate to the cost of living. when people can "earn" more for NOT going to work than they can working then something is badly wrong. and i have been on benefits (single parent) abou 5 years ago and its SHIT. me and dc were POOR. i certainly didnt have this fictitious daily-mail benefits lifestyle with lots of spare cash, luxuries etc. hell no. i had enough to cover my rent and bills with a bit of change to feed me and dc. but if i had have worked at that time i would have probably only managed to get a minimum wage job which would have been pretty much the same as what i was receiving anyway. so shoot me, i decided i didn't want to work because it just wasnt worth it. (disclaimer for any dm readers: i do work now and have done for a while and now married and dh works too so no benefits apart from a little bit of tcs)

i know people on min or very low wage get "topped up" with tax credits and all that shit etc but IMO there is something really wrong with the world when people can work full time and still need financial help from the government to pay their rent and bills.

so surely in the final analysis its not that benefits pay too much, its that employment pays too little?

i am not very good at getting my point across so i hope this makes sense! but this was just something me and my friends were having a drunken conversation about at the weekend. and thought i would put it to the aibu jury :o

OP posts:
issey6cats · 16/01/2012 19:12

maypole i have only been on benefits for 3 months and am looking for work but i am 55 so not exactly in the most desirable age range for work and so far have been offered not even one interview in work that i did for over 20 years when i was with ex husband (he was in control of finances and the hotel i worked at shut down) so what am i supposed to do workplaces dont want me at the moment and i have even applied for cleaning jobs so judgy pants off please

LineRunner · 16/01/2012 19:14

I'd rather that lesley than the state spending a fortune subsidising Tesco and Poundland.

Having a job and earning money feels good, like posters point out, and shows children a good pattern and a good future. Why shouldn't we all have paying work and the social benefits that come from it?

Why should work still equal poverty for people such as many lone parents?

thefroggy · 16/01/2012 19:15

Kitchenroll, the fact that I have to rely on public transport really limits the jobs I can apply for. I would have to leave the house at around 6am latest to get dd to a childminder near to her school for 6.45am latest to allow me to get to work at around 7.50am for 8.00am start (which is what most of the companies around here offer for Admin work). Or I could do some cleaning, (I'm not proud) which is an even earlier start. There are few Ofsted registered childminders who drop off to/collect from dd's school. Most of those that do are fully booked and none start before 7am. (I know, because I have a list of all Ofsted registered childcare in our area).

Now, if I had a car I would be working. Dd could be dropped off at 7.30am with a childminder, i'd be able to get to work for 7.45am. This is just where I live of course, most of the jobs are in town, 3 miles away from my home and in the opposite direction to dd's school. Most require 8.00am start at the latest.

Regarding the pets, should I have tried to rehome them all when I was made redundant? I didn't think of that.

I dont know how many more times I have to say this. I had both of my children when I was WORKING, I had my pets when I was WORKING. I WORKED, oh yes, I WORKED my arse off for many years for shit pay and no thanks. I will again no doubt if some bugger will employ me.

I do have a flat screen though...it was a gift Grin

itspeanutbutterjellytime · 16/01/2012 19:19

Er maypole I wasn't swearing at you. I simply said SAHM's are fucking heroines. Because they are. They really, really are.

LineRunner · 16/01/2012 19:20

thefroggy, I agree that childcare does not even fit on with shifts offered to many parents, especially lone parents.

I was told to do a late shift once. I booked a babysitter till 11pm. I was then told to stay till after 2am. I just couldn't, and had to walk out. I was regarded as unprofessional. I'd been there since 2pm.

itspeanutbutterjellytime · 16/01/2012 19:21

Bloody hell linerunner that's awful Sad

IUseTooMuchKitchenRoll · 16/01/2012 19:23

And if you were working you could have a car. It should be your responsibility to to the hard work of transporting yourself around at stupid o clock in the morning to get to the position where you can get a car and don't have to do it anymore. Maybe they should give out starting work loans or something to get you through the first few weeks until your first wage packet.

If you want to have pets then that's up to you, but I don't believe you should be give enough money to keep them now that you aren't working. If you can afford them, then IMO you are being given too much money for doing nothing.

molly3478 · 16/01/2012 19:24

froggy why ont you do childminding? Then you could do childcare from very early on/unsociable hours and I bet you will be fully booked.

itspeanutbutterjellytime · 16/01/2012 19:25

I work shifts and every other day work until 11:30pm. Thank God DH and I are together; otherwise I'd probably have to give up my job.

GoingForGoalWeight · 16/01/2012 19:25

I'm English and looking for a job in school hours. They seem to be non-existant. I'd scrub toilets too, I do not care I WANT TO WORK. I also applied to voluntary work and there are no vacancies for school hours. i will keep trying.

Feminine · 16/01/2012 19:25

Iuse that idea of yours sounds so simplistic...impossible.

and the pet bit ...well that just sounds cruel.

LineRunner · 16/01/2012 19:28

Oh it was classic, peanut, with the boss doing his best, 'These lads will be working all through the fucking night while you swan off home to your fucking kids,' rant and rave.

IUseTooMuchKitchenRoll · 16/01/2012 19:28

It's not cruel at all. I really can't understand why so many people think its a good idea to hand out so much money that people who don't contribute to the system can have pets.

Feminine · 16/01/2012 19:30

Iuse but most of the recipients once worked, or had a partner who did.

Life happens.

Pets have been proven to give help/love to those under stress...lets not kick the rug out eh?

thefroggy · 16/01/2012 19:31

I know linerunner. I've experience and qualifications in Admin but long gone are the days when a 9am start was the norm. I look at all jobs in my area, not just admin, cleaning, packing, bar work, retail etc and its all shifts that I cant get childcare for. I know I could get 70% in help but the childcare just isn't available. I'm close to tears about it because i'm a bloody hard worker and sitting looking at these four walls is doing me no good at all. these threads are doing me no good at all

thekidsrule · 16/01/2012 19:32

kitchen roll

have you ever been on benefit income support ,jsa,child tax credit etc

just out of intrest ?

LineRunner · 16/01/2012 19:35

I no longer do the job that I love and have a PhD in. I work at something else now that has do-able hours to bring in some income, but it is crap money.

I can't do the job I have a PhD in because the ExH who will only see his DCs once a month has me locked down by court order to a particular regional location.

And no I won't walk out on my children like he did.

droves · 16/01/2012 19:36

Froggy , I'm with you on that ...I worked all the time ,when i married my exh. I even went back to work 3 weeks after having my third baby .

I had a stint at being a lone parent , have no family to ask for childcare and ex h refused to look after the children so I could work, then he said he would and wouldn't turn up ect .The git even told the babbysitter had found that he was taking the kids , then once she had gone left the children alone and came to my workplace to tell me what he'd done. They were 7 ,4 and 2years old. ...I got sacked for being unreliable...:-( .

No way could I find childcare to suit hours I worked ( in hotel , at times up to 3am).
Neither could I find a job with better hours.

Now I can't find a childminder who's willing to take my asd dd .

itspeanutbutterjellytime · 16/01/2012 19:36

Oh my God linerunner do you work in the same place I do? I'm serious! DH and I take turns with DS when he's ill and everytime I get the barely concealed sigh and 'how long are you going to be off?' coupled with this bloody attitude. Just because their wives deal with the illness! Well, I am a wife and mother too!

itspeanutbutterjellytime · 16/01/2012 19:38

Next time actually, I've sworn to DH I'll bring my screaming DS into work with me when he's ill. Through the moaning and crying, I'll clear my desk and change his runny nappy and then ask if they prefer it that way Hmm

thefroggy · 16/01/2012 19:39

"And if you were working you could have a car. It should be your responsibility to to the hard work of transporting yourself around at stupid o clock in the morning to get to the position where you can get a car and don't have to do it anymore. Maybe they should give out starting work loans or something to get you through the first few weeks until your first wage packet.

If you want to have pets then that's up to you, but I don't believe you should be give enough money to keep them now that you aren't working. If you can afford them, then IMO you are being given too much money for doing nothing"

Kitchenroll, you cheeky effing....have you not READ my post? Let me spell it out for you, i'll do it slowly:

I have worked all my adult life. I was made R-E-D-U-N-D-A-N-T.
BECAUSE I dont have a car, I can't get to work for 8am, which most jobs in my area require. That would mean childcare before 7am. THERE IS NO CHILDCARE before 7am in my area. Are you getting this?

LineRunner · 16/01/2012 19:42

Is it normal on MN for posters who can't get childcare to be told they ought to become childcarers?

I'm crap with kids.

molly3478 · 16/01/2012 19:42

Froggy honestly why dont you get in to childcare? That way you could fill in the gaps and look after your own kids at same time?

molly3478 · 16/01/2012 19:43

x post sorry just a suggestion

LineRunner · 16/01/2012 19:43

Prescient X-Post of the day!! Grin

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