"Benefits are a lifestyle choice for so many these days"

[Bellerina2]

I'm on the bus and two women behind me are having a long conversation about perceived benefit cheats and one of them just said the above phrase. WIBU to hit her over the head with a rolled up copy of the Guardian??

But seriously, it's so depressing that people think this. Well done to the government and likes of the Sun and Daily Mail for convincing people that those on benefits are leading some sort of charmed life

www.theguardian.com/society/2015/mar/16/poorer-children-obese-decade-ago

Poverty does not cause obesity. My mother's family lived in poverty in the 1930s - my grandfather lost his job and took quite a while to find another. My mother and her siblings were painfully thin, as evidenced by a few photos that exist.

Many things cause obesity. One factor is that, say, a bag of doughnuts can cost less than a couple of apples. But the poor can't only afford doughnuts. It's really that it's an easier option, as are takeaways.

I have made a lentil shepherds pie for dinner [halo emoticon] . It was cheap to make but a bit of a faff. Would have been even cheaper and much more convenient to buy doughnuts.

Friend of mine teaches cooking and budgeting skills to young mothers. She laughed when one pointed out that friend's budget was no good because it did not include cider and cigarettes.

Justanother I was being sarcastic. The point was that they said they were going to reduce benefits and the causes of benefits, eg. People claiming, when in fact the claimant numbers have increased.

Brenda i said a LOT of the obesity problems are caused by poverty. Theres a lot of selective reading going on on this thread.

Brenda

It's not just about the cost of food but the cost of cooking it. How long does your lentil shepherds pie take to cook in the oven? Think of the cost in electricity and gas if you're on a pre-payment meter.

Does your friend not allow for fun expenditure in her budget skills course?

It would actually be far more beneficial to the rest of us to simply give poor people more money. The whole 'citizen's income' concept appears to work well in the cities where it's been tested - it can be funded by getting rid of the army of snoopers and assessors as well as chasing the tax-dodging corporations (and individuals). More money for the poor means more money in circulation. People with a bit of spare cash are llikely to spend it locally - so the cafe and the pub and the shoe shop increase their profits, and they spend a bit more money, maybe take on another employee or two, and so it goes on, making things a bit better for everyone. 'Trickle down' economics is a total failure, it has never worked, but 'trickel up' seems far more effective.

And the majority of people do, actually, want to work - just as long asthey are paid a fair wage and treated with respect. In early trials of 'citizens' income' a lot of those who got the money proceeded to spend it on setting up small businesses. Yes, there are a few people who really don't want to work but a healthy society can afford to keep that minority, and at least (unlike a lot of politicains) they are not bothering anyone else.

I am tired of people saying they desperately want to work but cannot find anything. What they really mean is on MY terms, they dont want to move house, they dont want to put themselves out when often benefits for poorly educated are there or thereabouts what they would get claiming benefits, especailly if they are claiming as a single parent, have a number of kids etc. Nothing that will allow a cushy life unless they are also doing a cash in hand job but they dont have to bother to get up for anything, parties all night and lazing about during the day (yes I am looking at my ex neighbour). Children arent delivered to school because its too much effort to get them ready. I sadly used to see the little one try and get to school her self a number of times.

Someone up thread asked how you would get more benefits. Have another child, make poor choices in men, blame others for your plight and lot in life. Mess around at school. Of course others will come onto this thread and claim they didnt have proper role models or it wasnt under their control. Anything than rather than look closer to home.

Brenda is right - it is easier to grab a bag of doughnuts, however some people are very poor at priortising what they need to buy and fund first.

My DS age 17 had NO experience of working until last year when he did a mailshot to some local companies. He proved himself and never missed a day of his summer job. There is little in the way of public transport so when neither DH or us could drop him off he literally got on his bike....

He has now asked whether he can go back again this summer (and given them a list of his holidays he is trying to fit in before university!) and they have said yes.

How has he managed to get something and others claim there is nothing around. I do honestly think its people entitlement of what they should get and actually for SOME it is easier to laze around on benefits.

To pretend its not true or claim the amount of fraud is very low misses the point. If they really knew the amount of benefit fraud wouldnt they would battering down the doors?

Hillingdon are you Norman bloody Tebbitt?
Your son was lucky. There are not enough jobs. Zero hours contracts haven't helped.
Benefit fraud figures are low. Your little fantasy because you had an unfortunate experience is just that.

Oh, and neither you nor Brenda seem to have pictured the scenario in which cooking facilities are not available, also adding to obesity among the poor because there are no choices available to them.

Hillingdon

Bully for him
so have many other dc done what yours have.
Maybe, without mummy or daddy to drive them.
Those on benefits can't really afford to keep dc when they leave/left compulsory schooling and their dc have to work full time and pay themselves through college and uni. No time for summer jobs and mail shots for pocket money in addition to the thousands of handouts given by working parents.

Well it doesn't matter that some people on this thread don['t think many deliberately choose not to work, the Government and indeed Labour too are all planning to make it harder not to work and most people in the UK are behind that. They are all pushing to ensure part time work does not pay and full time does so the change is happening whether people like it or not so all teenagers ought now to know that a life on benefits is a non starter and just like most of our ancestors they will have to go where the work is as indeed I did.

Anyone else notice the victim blaming in Hillingdons post.

A lot of abusive men dont show their true colours until AFTER their partner has become pregnant.

I agree with Hillingdon. There is always work available, provided you are not too fussy or too lazy to move areas/travel/look for it. Eg care-homes are crying out for staff, as are healthcare agencies who want locum carers, cleaners etc. As a student this type of work was how I supported myself for years.

Do you really think ppl on benefits should be allowed to spend taxpayers money on 'cigarettes and cider'?! If people want luxuries they should get jobs.

Helena, poverty is not the cause of obesity. Nor is bread if you eat it in moderation and follow a healthy diet! Obesity is caused by excessive consumption of high-calorie food combined with inadequate exercise. I agree lack of education about nutrition, cooking skills etc is a contributing factor, but ppl need to educate themselves and raise their children to eat healthily. It's ludicrous to claim ppl can't afford the electricity to cook healthy meals! How about making a salad, or wholemeal pasta with healthy sauce, or cous-cous with tinned tuna? How much time and electricity do those use?

Taking responsibility for yourself, saying I failed because of me and I will succeed because of me and I control my fate and being given a big kick up the bottom to get out there and sell yourself does people a lot more good than a load of useless sympathy in life.

Helena, leaving an abusive relationship doesn't necessarily make you dependent on benefits. 2 of my friends are single-mums who left abusive partners when they were pregnant. Both are now in full-time employment and neither claimed benefits (one has her child in nursery, the other works from home). Neither has played the 'victim' card or claimed they can't work because they are a single parent! They both established their careers BEFORE starting a family, which IMO is very logical and sensible.

I'm with Jilly and Hillingdon.

Get off your arse, get a job and get living.

Or don't but the free for all is OVER. Be very assured of that!

theboat are you for real?
You haven't a clue how hard life can be for some on benefits, anecdote after anecdote doesn't make you right. Some people who leave abusive partners are in dire straits. How dare you accuse some women in that position of playing the victim card. That is disgusting.

I agree lack of education about nutrition, cooking skills etc is a contributing factor, but ppl need to educate themselves and raise their children to eat healthily.

Some people do not, and this is a social problem. It's not about blaming or shaming individuals and assuming they just can't be bothered. It is more complex and deep-rooted than that.

It's ludicrous to claim ppl can't afford the electricity to cook healthy meals! How about making a salad, or wholemeal pasta with healthy sauce, or cous-cous with tinned tuna?

See above. Some people, and you'll possibly find it hard to imagine this, do not have the wherewithal to put together a tuna salad or pasta dish. Lack of education, lack of being taught how to by parents/family, lack of confidence, a general sense of 'What does it matter?', which is only too easy to imagine IMO if you have no job and spend all your time trying to negotiate the paperwork required not to be sanctioned, or a shitty zero-hours job where you are consistently made to feel unworthy and undervalued.

Do you really think ppl on benefits should be allowed to spend taxpayers money on 'cigarettes and cider'?! If people want luxuries they should get jobs.

If you had a shitty life on benefits, being judged and tutted at and sanctioned, might you not want the odd fag/drink/whatever it is that makes you feel a bit less rubbish about things?

Some of the attitudes on this thread are a fucking disgrace. Heaven forfend any of the 'just get a job and pull your weight' brigade find itself in the position of needing state support. You'd have a nasty shock.

theboat do NOT tell me about diet and weight Ive lost 10 stone. Whenever i ate bread.....even a small amount i gain. Because.....shock ...horror we are not all the same. I dont eat bread at all anymore.

And Dawn is right .....your comments about "playing the victim" are disgusting.

I think the choosing is coming to an end. Choosing to live in an expensive area on HB, choosing not to work, choosing your lifestyle which means you are supported by the state. Choosing to have a large family if you can't support them. Why should the tax payer step in and provide for these people.

I am tired of people saying they desperately want to work but cannot find anything. What they really mean is on MY terms, they dont want to move house, they dont want to put themselves out when often benefits for poorly educated are there or thereabouts what they would get claiming benefits, especailly if they are claiming as a single parent

I'm a single parent. I am also a teacher. And I work part-time. Whilst it is (just about) financially viable for me to do so when you add in the hours I put in during the weekends and evenings (and ignore my children whilst doing so), the fact I miss their performances, parents evenings and other stuff...it really isnt' worth it. In fact, I would go as far as to say that other's people's children have become far more important in my life than mine.

Please don't stereotype or presume you know something about everyone's life who needs to claim some kind of benefit. Moving house is e

expensive and impossible if in negative equity, not everyone who struggles to work is poorly educated, childcare can be very patchy and if you do a job that requires you to work late twice a week, or very early, impossible to find. Whilst I am financially better off, I don't think my children honestly reap the benefits of my working and I frequently toy with the idea of giving up. We would be worse off, but my children would have a parent in a position able to put them first.

Yeah cos a minimum wage cleaning job are going to wait months for you to take up the position while you bid on a social housing flat or bedsit.

sits and waits for someone to say "well you can always sofa surf"

sorry - should have said I work full-time. Part-time, I wish!

I'm with dawn it's bloody scary the number the government have done.

Unless you are independently wealthy none of us should look down from our lofty perches watching the welfare state being decimated before our eyes and think it's a good thing and 'serves them right '.

None of us know what is around the next corner. Wake up man.

You do know all you 'no more free ride' zealots are STILL making life shit for disabled people and carers?