for being annoyed that our tax is paying for people to buy wallpaper.

[suzexxx]

I saw a post from a girl on facebook asking whether the social could help her buy things to do up her home e.g wallpaper and paint. Alot of people commented that she could get some vouchers to use on a certain paint brand and B&Q etc.

AIBU to think this girl should save some money or attempt to get a job for extra luxeries before expecting the social to foot the bill?

I'm moving house next month and the whole house will need decorating. However i am realistic in the fact i won't be able to afford to wallpaper the whole place at once, instead doing a bit at a time as and when i can afford it. My partner earns a moderate income and i'm currently on maternity leave, so money is tighter at the moment, but would never expect someone to pay for something i could manage without like wallpaper.

I completely understand people using the social to buy essential items such as a cooker or fridge, but not non essentials.

Well done Joanna, that is brilliant. What about those who didn't have your good fortune though, those from vey abusive homes, those with mental heath problems, those caring for sick relatives, those not bright enough to get the qualifications you got, those who work hard in a low paid job, those who suffered bereavements? what about them? Or don't they count in your narrow world?

Oh and I agree, magnolia walls are great but you need walls to be in a decent condition for paint (even simple magnolia). My house came with plaster falling off the walls, graffiti and dartboard markings (complete with "missed the board" holes), I moved in here with a disabled child and had to manage until it could be sorted.

The council (HA actually) gave me £80 in B&Q vouchers, I bought lining paper and paint which took most of it up and the rest has been done out of my money. I was working when I moved in here and it cost a fortune (well in MY terms it did) to get carpet down etc.

OK Joanna, I had a pretty damn tough life too. I'm only a few years older than you. I've also worked constantly since I was 15, including full time while I did my degree.

The difference is, I have the sense to realise that not everybody has the same capabilities. I also realise that we are in a recession and that there are far more people who are unemployed than there are jobs. Many of these are highly qualified, intelligent, experienced people. Being unemployed doesn't mean that they are unemployable - it means there isn't a job available for them.

Just because you have managed to do well doesn't give you the right to judge others.

you would think arisbottle. honestly, i think shes on a wind up.

so what happens if, after 10 years. you fall on your backside, which could happen to ANY ONE. you lose your house, your job. would you take out of the pot or would your pride and morals get in the way?

*Having a shite life is not a free ticket to being a nasty, rude and selfish twat.

Behave yourself.*

Ah Joanna. There are plenty of us here who have 'cracking jobs' (which both pay well and require many years of education, training and general hard work). Many of us almost certainly have far 'better' jobs than you (if we're judging purely on income and social status derived from one's occupation). It is absolutely possible to have done very well in the education system and to be well paid and still not begrudge someone a very small voucher to decorate a flat.

In fact, many posters have used their knowledge of economics to explain why it is much cheaper for a local authority or housing association to hand out vouchers than it is to make their properties fit for human habitation themselves. It actually saves money.

But of course, it's clearly unacceptable for anyone to get something you don't.

Your job does not provide SMP either. Your employer claims the SMP from the government (who pay for it out of taxation). Occupational maternity pay over an above SMP does come from your employer but I'm willing to bet that the 'cracking job' you got as a school leaver doesn't have a generous occupational maternity pay scheme.

Also, for the record, it's perfectly possible to have a baby young (and, I don't hate to tell you, but at 22 most of society consider you to be 'young' too), require assistance for public funds and still not live a 'Jeremy Kyle' life. As others will undoubtedly point out, child benefit and tax credits are both assistance from public funds (and not everyone is entitled to them) so watch out for calling kettles black.

Okay so you have had a similar childhood to my friend. She coped differently to you, the rapes she suffered as a chid has left her agoraphobic and scared of people. Her life is a mess and she struggles every single day.

Just because YOU managed to get out (well done because it must be hard) doesn't mean that everyone else can. An awful lot depends on other circumstances. You would judge my friend, she was pregnant at 16, has been on and off of benefits ever since and gets Budgeting Loans to help with the costs of being a single parent. She copes only because her friends know he well enough to give her support. She has weekly psychotherapy and is far from recovered.

Don't judge her, and don't judge others until you know their story.

MrsDeVere is again absolutely on the money with having a shite life not being an excuse for being a bitter, nasty person.

It's also interesting that Joanna thinks she's the only one in a position to judge anyone.

Her story doesn't stack up anyway. Anyone in a 'cracking job' who has £24k in the bank would not be 'struggling for money' on maternity leave.

There are lots of people who have been through difficult times and managed to escape . My husband and I have not experienced what you have outlined but have had to drag ourselves up .

However we recognise that we have built a good life not because we have worked harder than others or we are more virtuous , but because we are lucky.

Only just clicked on this, I must be bored. I thought it was about someone along the lines of the delightful Lord Irvine and his £650,000 wallpaper that I helped pay for.
But sadly not.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/politics/61665.stm

Nope, don't get subsidised, moved from home at 16 into a bedsit as mother was in another abusive relationship, worked my way up my profession because I was eager to learn and I put in the hours. Gets u to the top quite quickly if you are willing.

The decorating grant is not a benefit, Joanna.Did you miss that bit of the thread?

I eager to learn and put in the hours and it worked for me, but it doesn't for everyone . In fact many people work far harder than me and earn much less.

Well when you have ALL your bills to pay for money gets tight after that.

Ooops, yes it was MrsD with the cracking post.

Anyway if Joanna REALLY has that much mney she is not "struggling". May I be the first to shout "Under The Bridge Dweller?

See, I didn't say the "T" word MNHQ

£24 K?

Well when you have ALL your bills to pay for money gets tight after that with 24K in the bank? thought you had been paying all your own bills since you were 16?

I love the smell of bullshit in the mornings.

Yes Joanna, I know that as salary comes in so the bills get paid. I did the same, and I still do. Only difference is that these days I get benefits because I have a child with autism. Psst! If you want to be even more jealous....I get extra benefits BECAUSE my child has autism. Aren't I lucky?

Are you a prostitute? You could work your way to the top ( or the bottom) of that profession in 6 years and maybe save £24k.

I work in a supermarket, I am a store manager, worked my way from store assistant to deputy in 1 year, store managers salary starts at 38,000 with a pay increase each working year. So yes, it is quite incredible what someone can do with just gcses, can you please let everyone else know.