To think This Morning was wrong to shame this woman?

[MrsMattBomer]

www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/phillip-schofield-blasts-benefit-scounger--9561308

Sorry, but what business does he have to decide what someone spends their benefits on? So what if she bought a bottle of Prosecco?

He says he doesn't care about the Prosecco but it's so obvious that he does. This is a man worth £2million sitting in his ivory tower and shaming a woman for buying a £4.99 bottle of Prosecco.

Is this what this country has become? A country where we deny people any pleasure or fun because they are on benefits?

As a pp has said, many ppl on benefits are proud of having so many luxuries that they've not had to pay for.

And voluntarily put themselves forward for TV appearances and shows like "On Benefits". There is nobody twisting their arms and compelling them to appear on telly. They know what the shows are about and are happy to go on and try to justify their lifestyle choices.

Many others do this, why is it acceptable for those who pay tax, or work and not those receiving benefits

It's not really sensible to get into debt for Christmas presents if you will struggle to pay it off. Working or not working.

Sadly, the sign of our times is Divide and Conquer.

Everyone micro-analysing every last thing a benefits claimant says, rather than just stopping for a minute and thinking " that person's life isn't great whatever the hell they say". A lot of stuff said for effect, misreported, exaggerated whatever, and can't be taken seriously anyway ffs

But hey, if it wasn't for that, there wouldn't be these threads. What a shame

amis

I appreciate this and I have never got in debt for anything, except mortgage.
However, my question is why is it acceptable for someone who works but not for someone who doesn't.
The person working could struggle to pay it back if they lost their job.

I totally understand why the OP is so angry. A friend of mine once appeared on This Morning, saying that new mothers should stop being so hard on themselves and PS snapped: 'Why do you have children if you're not prepared to look after them!'

PS had TWO nannies at that point - the hypocritical little shit.

And as a few other posters have pointed out - IT WAS A TENNER.

I don't know how people survive on £53 a week. And then having to give 14% of that back if you have a spare room. Inflation is currently 2.7% so a raise of 1% in wages or benefits is, in fact, a cut.

It's ridiculous to rant about how much the poor tax payers are paying because of 'benefit scroungers' when we should be focusing our attention on the super rich, like Phillip Green who still hasn't paid back the £571 million pension deficit, made 11,000 people unemployed and paid tiny amounts of tax.

I really don't care if somebody on benefits buys prosecco and I hope their children have a good Christmas.

However, she was feeding him a line.

If nobody was prepared to claim to have 20 children and 100 TVs on benefits, the Daily Mail couldn't write articles about scroungers.

Some people want to be on television, some people want to be outraged and This Morning has hours of television to produce each week. It's a perfect match. It's what puts food on Katie Hopkin's table.

CannotEvenDeal

I'm not her friend. I'm irate because I volunteer at the local food bank and a local charity to help people with benefits and the constant media portrayal of claimants as scroungers and the divide/conquer techniques used by the Tories mean that people are genuinely terrified and ashamed to say they need help.

Somehow I don't think that when she was a teacher she cracked open a bottle to thank her headteacher/governing body/local authority.

This! ^^

"CannotEvenDeal

I think you need to go and make a cup tea and take a lie-down OP."

With a chill pill for good measure...
Wonder if I am allowed to say that ?

the silly woman should have said " look kids we are skint. Sorry but its going to be a frugal Christmas". Then she should lock herself in a shed and become the next JK Rowling.
Smarmy Scholfield and Dippy Davina should do one.

She home educates her kids and is a carer for her husband. All positive.

Wracking up huge credit card debts to fund xmas is such a shame though. Kids don't need thousands of pounds spent to enjoy xmas

Everyone micro-analysing every last thing a benefits claimant says,

Not the same thing at all - this isn't some random person picked off the street so that viewers can pick apart hre finances and lifestyle choices. This is someone who has VOLUNTARILY put stuff on social media or given interviews to the press to attempt some sort of self-promotion. People who put themselves out there in the media accept that criticism and discussion is part of the package. No different from talk about what Kim Kardashian was wearing or Katie Price's parenting style.

When I was on benefits for a short while , I wasn't ashamed but I certainly wasn't proud!

However, my question is why is it acceptable for someone who works but not for someone who doesn't

That's how the financial crisis happened. Banks lend money to people who will struggle to pay it back. £2800 on loans / credit cards to someone who relies on benefits seems a risky loan as benefits may well not be enough to meet repayments. Person is more likely to default on loans and credit cards.

But there are people out there who will lend to riskier people and they charge a lot of interest to do that - just making it more expensive.

Benefits should provide the bare minimum of food, shelter and heat. The very fact they fund so many luxuries shows they have become a joke at the expense of tax payers.
But they don't, Sheldon, do they. Are you including people with disabilities in this?

And voluntarily put themselves forward for TV appearances and shows like "On Benefits". There is nobody twisting their arms and compelling them to appear on telly. They know what the shows are about and are happy to go on and try to justify their lifestyle choices.

Just out of interest, when did you see a middle class, well educated, articulate person on one of these programmes?

JK Rowling had pride. And talent for the sort of children's she writes.

YABU, She's the twat!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A twat!!!!! She's a benefit claimant. Not a fucking criminal.

Did you not read any of the article. She'd been a teacher, but had to give up as her partner had a break down after being in the army!!!!. Serving this country. Whatever benefits she claims. She's paid her taxes.

CaraAspen

JK Rowling had pride. And talent for the sort of children's fiction she writes.

Can someone explain why she was on the programme?

Had some story come out elsewhere?

Unlike...

She is and was taking the piss, and PS was making the comment based on what the mass majority of taxpaying individuals would think.

Im sorry but a ten pound christmas bonus for being on benefits?
Why dont myself and the thousands of other nhs workers get a measley christmas bonus? Or even nicer a pay rise in line with inflation and other professions. The mind really does boggle

Benefits should provide the bare minimum of food, shelter and heat. The very fact they fund so many luxuries shows they have become a joke at the expense of tax payers.

I'd bloody well want a bottle of prosecco at Christmas if I had been living on benefits all year.

"Madbengalmum

She is and was taking the piss, and PS was making the comment based on what the mass majority of taxpaying individuals would think."

Correct.