To think that working people should get help too

[cantthinkofabetterusername]

I read today about another COL payment next year for people on benefits, pensioners etc. Now I completely agree that the most vulnerable in society need help and i don't begrudge them a penny. My AIBU is working people are struggling too! I work 30 hours a week, dp does 50 therefore we get no government help as we apparantley earn too much. In reality we're scraping by most months due to increasing bills and general cost of living, I'm aware I may come across as jealous, I'm not im just bloody frustrated that working people who don't get government help are seen by the government as not struggling

Isn't there also a universal element here ie energy costs are still going to be capped/subsidised (though higher than the current subsidy)?

Is there a reason you only work part time if you're only scraping by? Unless it's a childcare thing or disability most people would up their hours to get more money

Of course people on higher incomes may struggle too however the fact remains the people who are being helped are on the lowest incomes either entirely on benefits which I believe are a pittance or through top up benefits because their income from work is so low . If you earn above this then no you aren't entitled the lone must be drawn somewhere surely ??

Could honestly smash my head against a wall at the constant Facebook comments saying " what about people who work " most people on benefits are in work

No they can't just get a better job and
That job will still be there with its low pay for someone else to fill even if they did anyway

Middle earners with nicer cars and bigger homes may well find them self's now struggling with these things and it's unfortunate and annoying to have your back but some people really cannot cut back any more they are in the cheapest homes possible can't afford cars etc etc what do you propose they do ?? Sick of hearing it

Line not lone

The energy increase in October was so unaffordable for households that the Government gave everybody £400 to help. In April energy will go up by another 20%, yet this time anyone not receiving benefits will get no help at all. This doesn’t make sense. How could we all need help in October but not in April, when it’s going to cost even more?

@IDontWantToBeAPie 30 hours is just under full time? But yes I work 30 hours so I can do the school pick up on an afternoon

Exactly

There has to be a cut off point where someone earns too much to claim any benefits.
You earn too much for help now, and are feeling the pinch due to the cost of living crisis... that was how people on benefits were living long before the crisis hit. And that is why they are getting the help now.

But People on benefits / top up benefits have to manage on X amount and that's deemed liveable that's what the benefits amounts are based on so if you earn above that why can't you manage ? It might mean changing you lifestyle / home but why would the government have to subsidize anything above what people expect benefits claimants to live on ?

But People on benefits / top up benefits have to manage on X amount and that's deemed liveable that's what the benefits amounts are based on so if you earn above that why can't you manage ?

Maybe because those solely reliant on benefits (for whatever reason) are not paying around £400 p/m in travel costs to work.

Where will the money come from to help everyone though?

to help people who despise you for doing well and begrudge you not liking the fact you have to pay for them

Really @fernfen? You think people who have to shame and humble themselves by going cap in hand to become a benefit claimant are really wasting their energies on despising honest, hard-working people? Yeah, maybe the disabled and long-term unwell may be a little envious that they don't have the chance to pursue their longed for careers. And yeah, the single parents who were suddenly widowed or abandoned and found that working full-time just totally impossible, maybe having to leave a comfortable home, go into shelters, suffered DV are a little bit pissed off that their lives didn't turn into their '2.4 family happily ever after'. And just maybe all those service men and women who come home from war, having maybe lost limbs, friends, their stable mental health, and found that there is no counselling or housing or stable jobs available all kinda regret dedicating a huge part of their lives to protect us and must grumble a bit that they find themselves living in a grotty studio flat with no hope of anything except a zero hour contract. But I'm sure none of them are hating themselves or their lives more than they hate you. It's all about you, of course

Also on MN if you graft hard and work your fingers to the bone for a not half decent salary you should take a second job (already work full time) done better at school (have a degree) get a similar job that pays more (never heard of NHS pay bands then) or move to a cheaper part of the country (somewhere cheaper than where I am?)

I’m a single parent. I work full time, and part time, and seasonally as well. I am still entitled to tax credits, still referred to as a ‘scrounger’ and other unpleasantries. Having a disabled child or dementia ridden parent means sod all to MN if you’re single. I can’t stand the whining about being in full time work and how that should be enough. Get out there and find some back up side-hustle to help pay the bills, like the rest of us living in poverty have to do. If you’re part of a couple, work around each other. Do some minimum wage work and see how the rest of the world lives!

I have an old family friend who has a bit of a local reputation for being a benefits scrounger that could be in work if she wanted to.

Anyone who knows her more closely knows the more specific details of her very debilitating physical condition. She doesn't care one jot if people think she's a scrounger, so she makes no attempt to correct people's judgement. Sometimes she enjoys winding people up tbh. But if you knew what her actual day-to-day life is like, you'd understand why she physically can't work.

I always think of her when people claim to know loads of people cheating the system. Her neighbours probably use her as an example in these conversations.

As an aside, she's hardly living the life of Riley. She barely scrapes by.

@happyinherts get a new job then that's closer , should be easy since that's everyone solution to those without a job ??

Obviously I don't actually think people should do this but it saddens me how angry people seem to get about this . I was worried during COVID about losing my job and had a look at what I'd be entitled to if I did to make sure I'd still be able to pay the mortgage etc and it was an absolute pittance can't believe anyone would begrudge the poorest people getting help, society are angry at the wrong people

Yep. I'm single, no children and worked all my life. Other than a 25% council tax discount - which should be 50% - I get fuck all.

Was just about to say exactly that. I loathe the Tories but let's have our facts straight. It might not be a lot, but it's not insignificant either. It cut my bills this winter, and although I think the country is terribly mismanaged, I still appreciate that money.

@Changemaname1 At no point have I benefit bashed - just pointing out anomalies.

So - what's the point of taking a job nearer home? The money is less and therefore you'd make yourself reliant on top up benefit!!! It's just not taken into account that people do pay a lot of money in fares or petrol just to get to work.

I do agree we're all getting. Screwed by our employers though. If so many working people need benefits and even the people with professional jobs etc that would once have been fine can't afford heating and eating then employers are scamming us all through the nose by not paying enough for a comfortable life.

If I am feeling hard done by at all, I remember when I worked on a charity helpline and a father who was struggling after his sick pay ended (from a work related injury that he might, in many years, be compensated for) cried with relief when I said he would qualify to get a food parcel from a food bank. He had only been eating cereal for the last 2 weeks so the kids could eat proper meals.

Yabu Many people on benefits work.

Sick of these threads. Get your facts right before spouting off.

Insane isn't it. Why not do the same again, £400 for each household, it's only fair.

This is such a big problem, surely the government should be able to intervene in some way, to regulate that financial institutions have to take this into account. I can't understand why they don't? Surely ability to pay debt is based on 6/12 months income/ outgoings etc?

Love your username btw🤣

@happyinherts I didn't particularly mean you were doing that to be fair just generally it's what I read /hear