Why do you benefit bash?

[greyblanket76]

My family and I are working class and always have been. My friends are too and so are the people that I tend to socialise with/meet in everyday life. I've only been on MN since last year but have seen so many comments bashing people who are on/depend on benefits and I'd really like to know why?

Is this because some people on here think everyone that's on benefits is lazy and doesn't want to work therefore claim benefits? Or is it something else?

I'll talk about my situation and will keep it as brief as possible as I already know people will come in the comments to try and shame me. I'm early 20s and a single mum (didn't start out that way but your whole life can literally change overnight and that's what happened to me). I have one DC and I'm expecting another so I've been on maternity leave back to back as I'll have 2 under 2.

I've worked full time since I was 17 right up until I went on my first maternity leave. Due to the rate of SMP, I'm entitled to benefits as SMP doesn't even cover my rent which is £1200. I'm entitled to £1670 of UC which covers my rent and all my bills. During the first 9 months of my maternity leave I was receiving around £1507 UC (due to deductions) + £638 SMP = £2145 a month.
Once I give birth to my second DC, my UC entitlement should go from £1670 to £1907. This isn't 100% accurate but due to receiving SMP, let's say the deductions would be due £1700 UC + £638 SMP = £2388 a month. That would be excluding child benefit for both children btw.

When I was working full time, I was earning £1383 a month. I do plan to go back to work after my maternity leave ends as I genuinely love my work and have my whole career in front of me. However can people see the huge jump in difference between the two amounts? Nearly a grand in total! When returning back to work, I would be entitled to some benefits however because I'd be working full time, it wouldn't be a lot. That's why it's advised that you drop hours to work part time in order to get the most help available.

I've read my post back and hope it isn't too confusing but I just wanted some people who benefit bash to understand that sometimes life on benefits seems better especially as you have kids because you get so much more help. My mum keeps telling me to consider not working for a year or two just because I need to consider the quality of life my DC and I will have. I wouldn't be able to pay for rent AND childcare so what would I do? There's a lot that comes into play when deciding if you should go back to work or just be on benefits and I hope some people got that from this post. Seeing as this is an anonymous forum, if you judge/bash people on benefits, I'd really be interested to hear why. Posting in AIBU because I'm prepared to be flamed and have learnt not to take nasty comments to heart

@MaryAndHerNet

OP's comment in reference to that and her refusal to apologise to that poster ("I don't know what you want from me but I'm definitely not apologising" or words to that effect), after being told that poster has autism, is in my view very telling about her attitude in general. In that situation I'd have instantly offered an apology, as I'm sure many others would. I stand by my comment. It doesn't reflect well on OP.

@Glitterygreen

I think it's just very hard for people who go out to work, still struggle to make ends meet AND miss time with their own children to hear about people who are capable of working but choose not to because their life is better on benefits.

Even though I think most would understand why they made that choice when looking at the numbers (as you've shown, many are financially much better off on benefits than they would be working). It's a bit of a trap.

People also have issues with those they know in real life. I have a friends who have recently had a baby. She was off on mat leave and now won't go back and he is signed off from work due to mental health but is secretly working through his own business on the side. They have a joint UC claim and he earns a couple of grand on top of that through his side hustle. Things like that make people annoyed.

@Glitterygreen yes definitely. A lot of people commented about missing out on their child growing up or they weren't able to stay home with them because they had to work full time and put their child in nursery. It had to be spelled out to me but it totally makes a lot of sense and seems unfair. The system is what's unfair, not the people who use the system (imo anyway)

The people who use the system but don’t actually need to because they should be making smarter decisions like not having two children back to back when they cannot afford the first one in the first place are one of the potential problems

@Sofiegiraffe

And it's not being annoyed that someone has £73 to last them the month, that makes no sense. The annoyance is aimed at the sense of entitlement that often (admittedly not always) comes with it. When some people are working 40 hour weeks to keep their families afloat, it stands to reasons that when they come across (able bodied and fit for work) people who made an active choice to take an easier route for the same amount of money... well yeah. It's annoying. It doesn't keep me awake at night. But it grates when I think about it, yes.

I've already said this in my summary of what I've learnt from this thread but yeah I get it

@greyblanket76

*Prove they have autism and that op.knows that they had autism before op called them slow

I'll wait.*

I was literally just going to say this. I'm not apologising because I didn't know the poster had autism when calling her slow. She said that after and then accused me of being ableist. How can I be ableist to someone when I didn't even know they had a disability? Come on now let's not go there

That's hardly the point. You know now why that comment is offensive. And you stubbornly refuse to apologise. Why? I'd have said sorry straight away. But that's just me.

@Newjourney2894

I bet OP wrote this post to goad people and whilst they may have plans to return from maternity from the 1st child.. I bet they certainly don’t have plans to return following the birth of the 2nd baby which hasn’t even been born yet.

The benefits and financial system in this country is screwed because so many people want to use their tax for useful things like the NHS and better social care but they aren’t because even a small fraction is going on paying someone not to work because they want to be at home with their children.

Have you been asked whether SMP and UC together was more than you were taking home before the children yet? Because I’d love to see those figures…

@Newjourney2894 it's quite literally in the opening post

This site is very upper/upper middle class, at least a lot of the most vocal are, they don't understand anything, they got the bank of mum and dad, they got a fancy school that looks really good on their CVs, and the better Uni's, they got all the extra clubs and things as kids which also look good on a CV, they got a network that can help them get work and parents that wont charge them rent to live at home etc.

so they float above all those without that leg up, they don't see it at all as that's just normal to them and they have no idea that something as simple as your home address written on a CV can make a difference to your chances of being offered an interview, so they assume everyone who didn't just float into a job, couldn't be arsed because life was easier for them but they will never see that.

This thread has definitely been an eye opener. As I've said, it may be easy to see why people benefit bash but I was clearly oblivious to why. The recent comments have gone a bit off course but I received loads and loads of comments yesterday which gave me an insight into people's minds. Especially those that don't actually know anyone on benefits but still has a perception of them and how they live their life. All very interesting stuff. As it's nearly reaching 1K comments I'll leave it there as I've learnt a lot.
Please feel free to contact MNHQ and I'm sure they'll happily confirm that this is a real account

@greyblanket76 interestingly those I know who are on benefits would hands down come up trumps for community spirit and generosity and are not so judgemental. I know for a fact that the estate I grew up on (where 99% of people claim benefits) would have my back if shit ever hit the fan in comparison to where I live now. When I speak to people about the estate I come from who are not from there, you can already see their eyes twitching and brows starting to raise. There is too much generalisation when it comes to benefit bashing people imo. I suppose my view is that if you need the benefits, that’s what they’re there for, but I would see it as a temp measure to help out in this moment but with a view that it would help facilitate a life without benefits one day. However the system makes that very hard and also there are plenty of people without that mindset.

I’m grateful that I can see it from both sides of the coin.

You take home more than me, I work my arse off as a full-time nurse, and a single parent.

I’m amazed you can’t see why that would piss people off. You get to spend time with your children while having everything paid for including medications etc.

After all my bills are paid I’m left with £200 a month for food and petrol. In fact seeing how much you are getting is really rather upsetting as I’m struggling and exhausted.

@VelvetChairGirl

This site is very upper/upper middle class, at least a lot of the most vocal are, they don't understand anything, they got the bank of mum and dad, they got a fancy school that looks really good on their CVs, and the better Uni's, they got all the extra clubs and things as kids which also look good on a CV, they got a network that can help them get work and parents that wont charge them rent to live at home etc.

so they float above all those without that leg up, they don't see it at all as that's just normal to them and they have no idea that something as simple as your home address written on a CV can make a difference to your chances of being offered an interview, so they assume everyone who didn't just float into a job, couldn't be arsed because life was easier for them but they will never see that.

Or... they are none of these things, and are actually just average working class people with a different opinion to the OP. 🤷‍♀️

Because it seems unfair to take home that much in benefits when others work hard (me included) and get nowhere near that amount.

Why are you turning your ire and rage towards those who have not control over the system instead of those who run it?

Pissed off that you're bursting your arse to earn minimum wage while Alice gets the same in UC? I get that could be annoying sure, but it's not Alice's fault.

Your anger should be turned towards the CEOs who hand out mega bonuses to senior management and pay record dividends to the shareholders instead of paying you a fair wage. It should be focused on the MPs who spend billions of taxpayers money on vanity projects and giving their mates obscene contracts while denying the public sector a pay rise. It should be screamed at the elite who have more wealth than they can ever spend and choose to play at being spacemen or sailors instead of putting that money back into the society they exploit.

The ONS showed that in the period leading up to financial year ending 2020 inequality steadily increased to 36.3%.This was the highest reported measure of income inequality in over 10 years. The gap between the richest in society (top 1%) and the rest of the population widened over that 10-year period from 7% to 8.3%.

Since the pandemic it has gotten even worse! While the plebs have all been suffering through the pandemic (socially and economically) The top 10% of households have seen an average increase in income of circa £51k per annum compared to only £99 per annum for everyone else (and those in the bottom 30% where 3 times more likely to see a fall in income). In the same period the UK has seen a record number of billionaires created while already established billionaires saw their wealth increase by 54% on average.

Yet here we are almost 40 pages in and still posters are moaning about Alice's 'underserved' benefits. It's so fucking depressing to see tha so many are either happy to fight among themselves over their master's crumbs or are still blind to the actual problem.

I haven't read the full thread but the fact your mother is encouraging you to stay on benefits and have a few years off, says everything about the attitudes you have been brought up with and not surprisingly you have no shame in claiming so much more than many people earn on a full time wage.

@Mouldyfeet

You take home more than me, I work my arse off as a full-time nurse, and a single parent.

I’m amazed you can’t see why that would piss people off. You get to spend time with your children while having everything paid for including medications etc.

After all my bills are paid I’m left with £200 a month for food and petrol. In fact seeing how much you are getting is really rather upsetting as I’m struggling and exhausted.

I'm sorry to hear this. This was exactly my point. Sending love

I don’t benefit bash but as someone who tries really hard to make responsible choices I find it hard when I see others making choices that I consider irresponsible even though I fundamentally believe they should have the right to make them and that the systems are flawed.

E.g when I can’t get a hospital appointment because the hospitals are overwhelmed with covid cases and people choose not to be vaccinated. This negatively affects me as I have chronic health conditions but I’m not dying any time soon so of course I’m not a priority even though I’m doing everything responsible.

Likewise, I believe the welfare system should be improved and that it’s messed up that wages aren’t enough to live on but I also am frustrated when I see people deciding to have children in their early 20s in new relationships and with unstable finances when I’ve saved for years and worked at my career to be in a position to do that.

I don’t wish anyone Ill will and I’m not jealous because I don’t think a life on benefits is easy and I’d prefer to do it my way but there is an element of frustration.

Why do people keep referring to people who "have no control" over the system as though benefits have been passively forced upon them, with no free will of their own to make a different choice?

(I exclude anyone unable to work due to disability here, this does not apply to them):

People don't create the system, true. But they make a conscious choice about whether or not to engage with it. Yes they do have control.

You are all free, by the way, to vote in a better government.

And before anyone accuses me of being "upper class" or "privileged". I grew up in abject poverty - my family didn't have two pennies to rub together. I distinctly recall the kitchen cupboards falling off, wallpaper peeling off, damp everywhere, wearing my eldest sibling's hand me downs, my dad putting things back at the supermarket checkout as he couldn't afford it all... etc. My mum died when I was very young in tragic circumstances, leaving my dad to raise my two sibling and I alone.

I have two DC and I work FT. I have no family support locally, no financial help from family whatsoever. I now earn almost 50k in a job I've busted my arse off for over the past 15 years, making multiple financial, practical and emotional sacrifices along the way. I pay a fortune in childcare every month, so I see little of my wage and this will be the reality for the next few years.

I'm not "privileged" or upper class. I just made different choices to others, despite coming from a shitty start in life. We all have choices, if we wish to take them.

You take home more than me

Then get on Entitled.To and run the calculation and see if you're entitled to help.

In the picture I did the following:

Someone working 40 hours earning £2000 a month.
Paying £40 a week child care.
Renting for £1000 a month.

Someone in that situation would get an extra £596 and they could claim a further 80% of childcare cost.

And once again - I make the important caveat that none of my post applies to those with a genuine disability who are unable to work. Only able bodied people who choose benefits because it's "easier".

OP
You won't get tax credits when you go back to work, it will be UC, if entitled.
You are and will always be subject to the LHA which restricts the amount of rent claimants will be entitled to.
You will be exempt from the benefit cap if you earn at least £617 per month for 9 months if you earnt at least £617 a month for 12 months.
Your £73 per month spare is £73 more than most people on out of work benefits. I'd guess that's because you're not subject to the benefit cap. If you do become subject to it then you will get a maximum of £1916.67 per month (£23K per year).

says everything about the attitudes you have been brought up with and not surprisingly you have no shame in claiming so much more than many people earn on a full time wage

What do you expect the OP to do? Not claim and live on the streets?

I think for me what stands out in this post is that you are entitled and getting more than I do a month and I work 40 hour weeks.
I think the problem is what is the incentive to go back to work if you get more money being out of it (in some cases!)

*edit

.
You will be exempt from the benefit cap if you earn at least £617 per month or for 9 months if you earnt at least £617 a month for the last 12 months.