to think cutting benefits will increase crime

[everydaywonderful]

because people need money, you know, for food and rent and stuff. I'd be prepared to break the law before seeing my children without food, or homeless, wouldn't you?

So the OP is suggesting that her friends would go out and steal rather than looking for work. That's even worse.

My DC left college with qualifications and started looking for full time employment. They applied for every job going for months and literally got 2 responses. One interview resulted in being put on a waiting list for upcoming jobs and the other resulted in them being offered the job. It’s a zero hours contract and the hours vary a lot from week to week. It’s ok as they are living at home but if you had commitments it would be impossible to budget. Some weeks they are given very few hours so have very little income. Hours change and are given out weekly so no good for someone needing childcare.
I have also recently started looking for work. Haven’t been offered any interviews yet and one job I applied for had over 160 applicants!! It’s really NOT as easy as just get a job, there are loads out there. I think the people suggesting it is haven’t looked for work recently or maybe have very sought after skills.

It got sorted after 2 years, and things are OK for now.

Because I got it backdated I have been able to fund some therapies and also education for myself in the hope of getting a bit better and getting back to work of some description.

If they kept it as was I would have been stuck forever. I also wasn't eating properly which was making my health worse, I couldn't attend some appointments because I couldn't afford the travel (although I could have reclaimed it, I couldn't afford to pay out in the first place).

Such a stupid system.

The majority of people want to better themselves, but they are building a system around the very few who don't.

Sadly, you only have to look at some people on this thread- and yes - some people would vote for that.

Just putting the reality of this here.

Wouldn’t it be better to just get a job 🙄 A radical idea I know.

No, OP is suggesting that people would get desperate enough to steal. What do you think would happen to a person between the point where there benefits are cut and the point where they get a job? What would they live on, where would they live? There's be a massive increase in homelessness too.

Only thick and callous people would think this policy is a good idea.

The dependency in the Uk is unaffordable, thats the bottom line

That's not actually correct with the unemployment rate.
While this government has not prioritised our most vulnerable and has spent (given to their mates) the money elsewhere, they are choosing the poorest in societies to target, to make their lives even harder. It's a vote winner to people who don't care or can't see past the media drivel.

Doesn’t really matter which government it is, something has got to give

Yes, that's correct. Someone will have to come in and find a way to correct the current situation. They need to have their priorities in tact.

What about people like me?

Caught up in the mess of the NHS, physically unable to work, take 2 years to get an independent tribunal. There are many of us in this place, while the tories are fucking the NHS, cutting back on disability payments and the ability to claim them and now screwing us over on the minimum amount to live onnnn.

What are we supposed to do?

ArseInTheCoOpWindow
It's a shame the COVID fraud wasn't mentioned there too.
They managed to scratch off quite a high amount of fraud there too.

Yes, it is better.

They can't give custodial sentences for stealing because no jail cells free.

Also, for anyone who feels you should not use the internet if you commit the sin of “being poor” try living without the internet. See your children do their homework/GCSEs/Study without the internet.
You need it so you can go on your UC account and be made to feel continuously shit too.

For those who think it’s a doddle, and IC is easy, I read something the other day on a forum I’m on, where a woman’s baby had died at 6 months old and one of the things she was stressing about was whether she had taken her deceased baby off the claim quickly enough to not have fallen foul of the UC rules. Her baby had died and such is the fear over UC that she actually had to give headspace to this.

People are ground into poverty with this, and tbh, no, I don’t mind if some of the claimants are long term claimants, because I am a human being and I don’t want to see people starved into work and more to the point I don’t want to see children in that situation because of the way their parents are treated

Maybe not but It would pay the bills. Lots of people on zero contracts at one point later get employed. My employer used to do this. Start them off through zero contract through an agency then after 6 months if they prove themselves reliable they were taken on permanently. This happened to my younger son.

Re the comments on driving...

Obviously a driving licence is required for a delivery job or one that requires daily travel round multiple sites. But for a lot of jobs, even if a DL is a requirement in the ad you would still be able to do the job without driving. It would be a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act. My own job/workplace is a prime example.

I have a medical condition that is well managed but if it wasn't it could lead to me losing my licence. Obviously I don't take the risk of being a long distance lorry driver but when looking at jobs I use common sense and if I can tell the job is unlikely to really need it I would query it and apply.

I'm not saying this to be judgey...more to remind people that this shouldn't put them off applying.

I think quite a few places have those shifts to fit in with school hours now. There will be some who will still find excuses not to work though even when their kids are at school.

If you increase inequality and poverty you increase crime. They go hand in hand.

The solution is to reduce inequality and sometimes that means helping some people or groups more than others (including people you might think are undeserving).

But if, as you say, dependency is unaffordable the only logical course of action is to address the biggest costs. There's no point trimming 5%, 10% or even 90% off of the £2bn or £3bn spent on unemployment related benefits when you spend 10-50 times as much on family benefits, in-work benefits and pensions.

Funnily enough, I've found that whenever you suggest looking at those types of benefits the usual benfit bashers get quite agitated about the prospect of reduced state pensions or child benefits

It would NOT pay the bills where my DC works though as often there will be limited hours available. Also, the company works on a system where everyone doing their job is on zero hours so no hope of a permanent hours contract.

maybe i should have taken the advice of the member of staff at the council all those years ago who suggested i quit my job and just claimed benefits.

i think i'll quit on health grounds and just claim benefits cos it appears its ok

Many people travel far more than 10 miles to work. I used to drive 22 miles each way because I wanted the job.

Go for it, would be great if one of you would carry through with this childish threat for once.

Just remember to come back and tell us how you're getting on.

But how would widening the search help if you have 11 000 bits of spam to sort through from a narrower search?

All good if you can drive and own a car. Not everyone does.

Who looked after your children when you worked shifts?

i paid a childminder...

my neighbour trained as a childminder as she needed a job and i needed a childminder...

is that ok?