To think pre-paid benefits cards are a stigmatizing, punitive scheme?

[ArsenicFaceCream]

Just announced at the Conservative Party conference.

They will initially be 'voluntary' for claimants with addiction issues, apparently.

But of course the intention is to roll it out.

Universal Credit is going national in February so this could get interesting, given that UC will be paid to working claimants as well as those not working.

I worked for a charity and it is slightly different as the charity was for disabled people some of which were asylum seekers who claimed certain benefits to employ someone to care for them so they were in effect the employer. A worthwhile and rewarding role. The majority of these people genuinely entilted to the benefits they had and were good employers and could not have worked. However, part of my role was to try and help them to become more independent and need less hours help. With this I met strong opposition and I felt some of them who could not speak English had no intention of learning and had no intention of trying to reduce the hours of care they had let alone then trying to find employment themselves. A few also abused this service and just spent the money on anything they wanted. In lots of cases the amount of benefits they were getting was more than my wage. I stress this was the minority but these people abused the system and had no intention of helping themselves to reduce or get off this benefit at all. These are the people who I think this card would be good for.

Lying Witch im going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you dont understand much about the cycle of abuse rather than accuse you of outright victim blaming.

I'm doing no such thing, Darkest and I understand a great deal about abuse. We're talking about judgements on this thread and 'categorising' people.

what I meant was that it is not right to shame anyone because you do not know why and no matter what the reason everyone would be treated the same. You could also add to the list people who have been made redundant, people who are unable to work due to any form of health issue. People who apply for every job going but don't have much luck. I very much doubt whether there are many people who actively choose this lifestyle why should every other decent person be shamed because of the few.

I think we're vigorously agreeing really, Jack. I don't think anybody would choose this lifestyle and I absolutely agree that there should be no shaming. People's perceptions need to change to accommodate that.

It would be both unusual and unfair to judge those working with a personal budget cleo one wonders why you met with resistance to change, in my fairly extensive experience, most people with disabilities would like the opportunity to work.

I didn't mean these people as an insult sorry. Bad turn of phrase but couldn't think of a better way of putting it. Words can taken out of context so easily. I simply meant people who do abuse the system and don't use their benefits responsibly.

One persons idea of responsibly may not be the same as another's and its so subjective.

And did You seriously just express such a negitive opinun about disabled people with actual care needs not being enthustic about reducing the carer support they had just because you felt they didn't need it?

I actually like the idea of it. I know one family who send their kids to school without breakfast in the morning because they apparently don't have enough money, but yet seem to be able to find the spare cash to smoke a packet a day and feed 3 dogs. Maybe cards for essentials might help them buy milk and cereals for their kids...

Obviously I realise not everyone is the same, but I think it would actually help some families.

I think addicts with children should have much closer supervision or have them taken away.

Shall we take it few steps further...

Why not sell them (the child/ren) to vetted, naice, rich, tory voting DM reading MC prospective parents & all paperwork is lost eg:- shredded (then the poor child is "Gaslighted" for the rest of their lives)?.

How about enforced or paid sterilisation for all "addict" parents as well?
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Im not sure you can complain about freezing benefits as recently, during this recession, workers wages have been frozen/capped. Surely they are freezing it because they think it has risen too high

While those in the h.o.c. get a 9%(?) wage increase whether they want it or not. So please show/inform us how that is fair?
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POSTED BY DAISYFLOWERCHAIN:- "Those that truly can't work won't care where their food and heat is paid for in cash or card as they know they need the welfare assistance".

ODFODTTFSOFOATFOSMADCB!

Obviously I realise not everyone is the same, but I think it would actually help some families.
So, as I said, I have to be humiliated because everyone has a tale to tell about those on benefits? How deeply unpleasant and judgemental.

"Those that truly can't work won't care where their food and heat is paid for in cash or card as they know they need the welfare assistance".

I CARE

I truly can't work.

Put out your hands and accept your welfare assistance humbly Dawn

Unbelievable patronising from Daisy as usual.

I have read TFT. I have heard people refer to a similar card scheme where the balance on the card is wiped if it exceeds 5 pounds.
I have heard that it may be proposed that water/gas/electric companies may be forced to accept payment from these cards if this goes through.

What happens to the people who are issued these cards and who pay those bills monthly or even quarterly if they can never build up enough credit on the card to pay monthly or quarterly?

Paying electric/gas/water monthly or quarterly rather than by prepayment meter is a cheaper way of paying those bills, but if the cards are wiped when the balance exceeds 5 pounds, those people will be forced to pay weekly, probably via prepayment meter through a pay point machine in a particular shop, and therefore end up paying more for their energy and water than they might previously have done.
Where's the sense in that?

Sorry if this doesn't make sense. I've not drunk my coffee yet.

Yes Lacks and then there is the problem that I can't always get to a shop weekly, dependent on what is going on in my house at the time.

Spot on lacks

So if everyone issued these cards has to operate on a week by week basis, knowing their balance is wiped every week once it exceeds 5 pounds, it will be impossible to pay anything monthly.
There are too many things to count that cannot be paid weekly and are not needed every week anyway.
Perhaps the govt are in cahoots with the likes of Brighthouse and again this will cost people even more in the long term.
How would you ever build up enough credit to pay your monthly bills? TV licence, car tax, phone, Internet, car insurance.
I suppose this govt feels poor people aren't deserving of those things, much like some people on this thread.

Doffs cap at Luis

out!

Tbh I don't think any of us can really comment on this with any authority because as usual it is a half-baked knee-jerk vote-sweetening badly thought out policy and nobody knows how on earth it would work.

A card to use in supermarkets? Which supermarkets?

To be used only for food? What about a self checkout purchase of vodka?

And what about the dodgy shop assistants, or even friends and family who can't refuse a request from their loved ones for a packet of fags?

And above all, how is it legal and enfoceable? Surely it cuts across laws about rights, about privacy? If someone commits the crime of purchasing alcohol on taxpayers money will they be fined? How will that help their undernourished and neglected children? Or imprisoned? Or benefits sanctioned? It's completely unworkable and I think most self respecting Tories probably think it's ridiculous.

These kinds of policy decisions are almost childish. Says everything about their voters.

I am now waiting for Boris Johnson to defect to the Labour party.

Ya know... I'm genuinely interested in this and have no axe to grind but I'm getting heartily sick of the posters who come up with tripe like, "Put out your hands and accept your welfare assistance humbly...". It's not helpful it's silencing of posters who have other views and is well, a bit stupid really.

Many people are affected by the proposal and are scared. Many other people are not currently affected and are still scared because who knows what's next with this pinball-style of government? We could use that unity of thought to good affect, no?

Instead of making trite comments about how your own personal circumstances wouldn't work with this for x, y, z reason, why not come up with some solutions that might just work. The government won't find them because they're not minded to. We are, aren't we? Or will we just bleat on a chatboard and be divisive, achieving nothing whatsoever?

If children are being neglected because their parents are addicts let's just try and help them, focus on the children. The greatest wake up call an addict can have is for their children to be taken into care. Yes that costs the state money, but that is where the money should go.

No doubt this card scheme will mean millions going to some croney's IT firm and involve all kinds of consultants and other highly paid professionals.

Lying calling someone's posting style 'stupid' really doesn't help.

yy Daughter. Best interests of the child and all that. We can't work with dual and conflicting priorities, somebody's interest has to be put first and that should be the child's.

It's not a 'style', *Daughter', it's a method of silencing and I'm fed up of it.