I'm currently reading a lot about the Working Class in Victorian times - you know, when if you had a lazy husband who didn't work, you had to live in buildings condemned as unfit for human habitation with a different family in each room, lived on a diet of black bread and weak tea and watched your children slowly die of starvation. Or you worked in the mills (or similar), and you had to choose between pulling your children out of school as soon as they were old enough to work to get the meagre income that they would bring to the household or letting them get some kind of an education.
If you are unemployed now - you get your rent paid, council tax paid plus an amount of money given to you to buy food and other luxuries.
I'm so bored of having the conversation with people about how difficult it is to manage on £70 per week - even with Tax Credits, Child Benefit etc. Yeah, try telling our grandparents that 
AIBU?
To really hate the "JSA is a pittance" opinion
sezamcgregor · 07/07/2014 10:52
Violet, have you considered areas where there is a lack of public transport or where homes might be miles from anywhere?
It's just that I have been in the situation where I was on benefits. I lived at the time in the middle of nowhere. Without a car I would have been stuck there. So I would argue that a car is not an essential in some cases.
I now live in an urban area bit if I were in that situation again I would still need a car as an essential item. My child is autistic and cannot travel easily on public transport. ...unless you want us to sit next to you 
I guarantee you would rapidly deduce that in our case a car was an essential. We are far from alone in that. There are thousands of people in the same difficult situation.
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I'm always amazed at "taxpayers" whinging about some unfortunate people on benefits, but never even half of that rage directed at let's say war in Afghanistan or nuclear weapons.
I wouldn't call it whinging, and it's a sweeping generalisation. People will tend to be more affected by things that have an impact on their own lives. For example, a friend calling to say they haven't eaten in a few days because they can't afford to.
It's easier to forget other issues, such as nuclear weapons and war, due to work, personal issues, family, etc.... Plus there is only so much people can do. It's another issue altogether, but that's why I support Scottish independence - no more Trident (hopefully), a small defence force (no more getting involved in wars, again hopefully) and a better benefits system.
I've never referred to myself as a "taxpayer" in that sense, there is a moment of 
and 
when I see my payslip and the tax deductions, but that's it. 
(I don't begrudge taxes that much, honestly!)
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