Following another thread I made the mistake of watching Benefits Britain.....or at least as much as I could stand before turning it off.
We met a large family with 14 kids....yep....huge family but one of very few such families nationally.
The voiceover says that the programme makers worked out the family's benefits at £70k per annum. And added "two of the children have disabilities so that means they can also claim Carers Allowance" as if that was such a crime ffs. They live in an 8 bedroom "benefits house" apparently and the cameraman was careful to ensure they got all the things like flat screens, games consoles etc into shot.
Then there was Sarah from Essex, a woman unemployed and probably unemployable. She is divorcing and planning to marry her new boyfriend she has known all of two weeks.(does she sound stable and employable to you?). She lives in a "benefits house" with her two adult children who the programme makers couldn't wait to tell us had never worked. From the short bit I saw of Sarah she came across as Dysfuntional ...and yes I did mean to put in a capital D! I would put money on her having had a crappy life right from birth with poor parenting which she has repeated with her own kids. I've seen other similar families....in all cases the families were know. To social services from when the parents were small children the,selves.
The last one was a 60 year old man who has been unable to work for the last two years due to degenerative arthritis of the spine, he walks with a frame and lives in a "benefits flat". But hey...who cares if he walks with a farm and is in constant pain as long as you get that footage of him playing his XBox eh? Judgemental and nasty.
I just wanted to scream FUCK OFF very five mins at the screen. Wtf IS a "benefits house"? Am I in a "benefits house" because it's social housing and I claim housing benefit (and Carers Allowance too), or if I pay my own rent does it cease to be "a benefits house" Is the private let a "benefits house" of the tenant claims housing benefit?
Seriously....these programmes are awful.....and I was so angry at the comment about Carers Allowance as they made it sound almost an "extra perk" for the family with 14 kids. Do you know what it's like to support a child with autism or ADHD or anything else which is severe enough to warrant middle rate care for DLA? It's bloody exhausting and non-stop, if my DS doesn't sleep then neither do I ....and its a regular occurrence too. How dare anyone think it is some kind of fucking perk. Live my bloody life for a week and then see if you still think it's a good deal! This week has been very difficult as its half term and my son has been full on in his tics and activity levels...day AND night!
These programmes just turn people against the most vulnerable....and they managed to pick three families with circumstances which were frankly not usual. Most families on benefits DONT have 14 kids (would like to see the stats for how many families nationally are both that large and on benefits), most families on benefits are far more stable and functional than Sarah from Essex whose new boyfriend was a homeless Polish man she met on the steps of her local Morrisons.
The poor man with the severe spine problem was almost flagged up as "deserving"...until the filmmaker spotted his XBox I assume.
Horrible and judgemental, I won't be watching any more of them. They need taking off air.