About the Benefits program on BBC1

[bimbabirba]

It has made my blood boil! Especially that judgmental bitch, Debbie, who was telling the single parent that she shouldn't buy a whole chicken on tax payers' money to feed her children! Then she went all judgy and bitchy because the kids eat two cooked meals a day and she asked if that was really necessary!
I think the world has gone mad!

And that's fab MrButtercat but if I served that up to my (tall, constantly growing 8year old ds1) as his.evening meal, he would be hungry again pretty soon.

shade

I was thinking wtf, surely its better value to buy a whole chicken then fillets

I was thinking wtf, surely its better value to buy a whole chicken then fillets

Surely the issues are that -

a) Over half the benefits cost is due to the Baby Boomers Pensioners and are not means tested and

b) The onus on the government should be to raise NMW to a living wage - not berate those who can't afford to come off benefits.

surely the biggest problem Is jobs do not pay enough

the government should make sure/force employers to pay more

That doesn't fit in too well with Capitalism white

How would feeding her dc a cold meal be any cheaper? She could have cooked the chicken and used it cold with a salad, so surely the cost would be about the same?

Debbie has infuriated me tbh . It's a sad time when someone resents children having a bloody cooked meal!!!

My dc have school dinners but they always choose the sandwich option, so just because the lady's dc have a school lunch doesn't necessarily mean they are having a cooked meal FFS!

Yes the woman should stop cooking meals for her children and throw them scraps left by the children of taxpayers.

In the best possible way, i know most schools have pulled up their socks on school dinner in terms of less salt and healthier, still, its eating out, you do not know exactly what they are eating so its irrelevant whether they have a hot meal at school. For all we know it could be the foulest most putrid chicken nuggets made from dog, but hey - its hot.

MrsButtercat with the greatest of respect, a sandwich of fat with a side of processed sugar is not a healthy meal. The only thing I'd feed my DS out of that is the carrot sticks. I'm sorry, I know that sounds really bitchy. But that is not a healthy meal.

A school lunch isn't a massive portion of food anyway. My DS is always starving when he comes out of school, as are all the other kids his childminder looks after. The first thing she does when she gets in is fix them all a (substantial) snack and indeed I do the same for him on days when I'm not working. Then he'll eat an evening meal as well. Going by conversations I've had with other parents, this is absolutely normal. If I were to feed him sandwiches he'd probably do what cats do and hang around neighbours' doors in the hopes they would feed him.

And whiteandyellowiris couldn't agree more. The problem is not benefits paying too much (£70 a week is too much to live on? Really?) but work not paying enough, for far too many people.

Its very common strategy in times of credit crisis to turn attention away from big business not paying taxes to persecute those at the bottom of the scale on benefits.

Talk about shaving off a few pounds from someone that poor - easier target than shaving off the billions being dodged by big business.

Wilson you said what I wanted to say, but I was worried it would come across wrong like most things I say

I haven't bought chicken fillets for years unless they're in the reduced section, a whole chicken is far more economical.
We get by on a household income of about 30k in London, it's hard, but doable. I don't begrudge anyone on benefits the small amount they're given.
Low paid workers bitching and sniping about people who are out of work whilst they're all exploited by the rich is sickening. Divide and conquer, that's what seems to be the way to rule this country at the moment.

I'm sick of the BBC trotting out more and more of this fascist shite and we have to pay for it through our license fees or not watch telly at all.

The problem is that some taxpayers can't stand seeing people who don't work having some of the things they have.
They don't understand the system, especially when it comes to tax credit.
It often makes me wonder what the next generation will be saying about our lifestyles or the choices we make.
I find it hard to believe that a hr taxpayer can't afford school meals.
What must they be doing with all that money

silly I couldn't agree more about the divide and conquer. As long as they can keep us arguing amongst ourselves we won't bother looking up at them.

'The problem is that some taxpayers can't stand seeing people who don't work having some of the things they have.'

The problem is that they have fallen for this Wag the Dog, divide and conquer spin the government vomits out. They are being exploited by the rich, as silly says, I mean, want to talk about getting something for nothing. But the sheeple are fed this televised diarrhea by the BBC and fall for it.

Expat, I agree with you. I think it's profoundly depressing that people will fall for this shit, and think that their enemy and agent of their downfall is their neighbour, rather than the politicians and all of their mates at the top, blithely passing around the billions between themselves, billions that belong to us as it is the wealth generated by the workers. Come the revolution, etc.

I agree too. In fact ive been having a disagreement with an older woman on fb who is putting single parents in the same category as bankers and businesses who pay low wages. I shit you not. Because she says so many "scroungers" have been in the news lately. Cant tell the difference between news and propaganda.

Is it really that simple though ? I mean some people will obviously fall for the divide and conquer propaganda, but why do the well educated professionals, some who earn 3x what those on benefit earn not see through gov spin.

Because people see what they want to see.

I think that Darkesteyes has it. It fits with a certain world-view, to blame the poor for their own misfortune and congratulate oneself on avoiding it. It's far easier to do that than attribute wealth to luck or accident of birth, and it's also easier than contemplating the notion that actually things are more than a bit skewed, because that would mean that one's position was based on a skewed system.

Maybe there should be a very sneery show about helping higher-rate tax payers learn to budget, with someone from super scrimpers pouring over everything they spend their money on and eye rolling.

Are you up for that Mrbuttercat?