Dispatches- Britain’s Benefit scandal

[Sunnywalker]

Anybody watched this? It’s made me so angry. Some highlights include a company that can’t recruit an apprentice on 26k because sickness benefits would amount to 24k so it wouldn’t be worth it. 500,000, 25-34 years old on long term sick, a woman who has never had a FT job and claims 35k in benefits, this lady would like to work but says will never achieve the same income if she worked.

This country is bankrupt, public services crumbling! What is going on? Why isn’t there an overhaul!

Ha, what you have described is how the vast majority feel about their jobs. If people want more, then they need to take personal responsibility for themselves.

I had v poor parents growing up, it want what I wanted. I worked very hard at school (often to the disdain of my mother who actively encouraged me not to do home work). When I applied to university, my history teacher told me I’d never get in (totally shit school), no help from parents at Uni, no family friend to discuss careers with - I had no idea what careers were - to the point I didn’t attend careers fairs at uni as I had no idea really what they were and all my course mates were busy with work experience and training contracts sorted by family/friends. I ended up sending hand written letters to companies I’d never heard of from addresses in phone books in the library.

I get so pissed off with the “oh poor me, I need someone to spoon feed me narrative”. No- get off your arse and work it out!

catzrulz · Today 15:22
Universal Credit then, same sh@t, different name.
Tell me why someone on UC and PIP and all the hidden benefits (free bus pass, dentist etc) should have an income more than someone working FT on minimum wage....

Wow do I get free dentist on pip and where is my bus pass- bloody educate yourself.

also feel free to have my epilepsy and narcolepsy and your parter the progressive MS he has just been diagnosed with. Or you can fuck off get on with your life and keep your delusions on what perks people on disability benefit get to yourself. My husband will end up on a wheelchair and your really begrudge us help.

Disability can happen to anyone even to you, I would not wish it on anyone but if it does happens to you or loved one please remember this thread and what you said.

There comes a time where life choices come into it. In other, similar, western countries - people wouldn’t have multiple children in your circumstances and the state won’t fund it

Only just spotted this gem.
You think having disabled children is a ‘life choice’?
You think the PP, or anyone else, knows/can predict future disabilities?
Or do you just think disabled people shouldn’t be allowed to have children?

I see this on here a lot. I have no comment to make about whether people should be taxed more but I used to work in fund management where there were a lot of people who, with annual bonus, would earn enough completely lose their personal allowance but in the main these weren’t people who could just pick up their life and find a job abroad - there aren’t many of those.

I wonder the same thing- what is the £400 allowance actually for, if the child doesn’t need additional help? Two kids with ADHD- quids in!

I get UC and pip so surely I should definitely be entitled to a plasma TV and government funded goat? .
I also work bloody hard in a full time nhs role. My take home total including benefits is less than 30k which not only keep me and my 14 year old son it also has to pay for the added costs associated with my disability.. I'm hardly rolling in it but not living in poverty either...

oyou pay a surcharge for each room if you receive housing benefits.

you don't have to be poor forever to live in a council house. it is a life time tenancy.

Oh, I see. You're suggesting I should be more grateful for my fantastic benefits, I get it now.

You could be in my enviable position too. All you need is a partner to have a couple of massive strokes and become severely disabled as a result, and then you can be forced to give up your long-term job and spend your days wiping his arse, and sinking into poverty on generous benefits whilst reading on mumsnet how much of an immoral scumbag you are. Give it a whirl!

Not necessarily, this is the sort of simplistic thinking that fucks Labour up every time. There’s a fine balance with taxation not to disincentivise those creating wealth.

You have absolutely no understanding of mental health conditions.

I think they're a bit like opinions. Most people will develop one at some point in their lives. but nobody wants to hear about anyone else's.

some of you and here will be eating your words if it happens to you. Just remember please what you put on this thread and how you must have made people feel.

Yet people on minimum wage get topped up by benefits.

Love it. So opinionated on other people’s situations but don’t like answering questions about your own. 😉

Oh for sure, I know about that, my husband has one. Unfortunately he is so disabled he can't use the bus without me, so I could do with getting my own free bus pass that a previous poster mentioned.

the benefits bill in this country would massively decrease if we built social housing and stopped propping up the BTL market.

The Tories already tried this. It was called workfare. It involved lots of people being made unemployed and tax revenue falling.

As was a surprise to nobody that had thought about it, those companies that were more concerned about shareholders or profits thought getting people to do for free what they were paying people to do was a brilliant idea.

So you hit them with more tax, so their take home pay is sufficiently reduced to make them think, hang on, why am I doing such a stressful job? One that I have to do lots of testing for, give up weekends and evenings? Fuck that, I’m highly intelligent I’ll do something else. It’s happened a lot in law and accounting where salaries have stagnated for a low period.

Absolutely, but if you're on PIP and are working on min wage you don't get all the associated benefits that UC provide.

I’m thinking more about work that would benefit society, eg cleaning public spaces, fixing roads etc where there are lots of gaps in recruitment- matching people to job vacancies. There could also be the option of studying to gain qualifications in areas where we need more workers eg care

Sort out the social housing crisis with genuine social rents of all sizes of homes and you will find many somehow miraculously are able to work - as it is the sheer cost of private rents mean that many 'do their sums' and realise they are not much better off working, particularly if they rent, have kids , don't have great earning prospects and in many cases get to keep all their child maintenance - and please don't say they will be hassled to work once child is 3 - that isn't always the case. It also encourages 'pretending you are single and have no other income coming in ' when that isn't always the case

@Plopandflop bloody well said!!
@catzrulz can also have my incurable metastic BC and pelvic sarcoma, along with my partners Parkinson's disease too ( which will take his driving license).

That family are different don't cha know? They are worth every penny

Any excuse to slag of LL's. LL's often have other jobs too and pay tax on both their job income and 40 percent tax on any profit from btl income. Most LL's pay interest only mortgages so the myth that tenants are buying the house for the LL is just that a myth. However as mortgages have gone up there is little profit after paying for maintenance and repairs, gas certificates, insurance, accountancy fees etc. Most of my benefit comes from house prices going up in value over time.

@Enigma52 I am so sorry , that's what annoys me , people who do take the piss when people like yourself really need all the help they can get .

@Gwenhwyfar I don’t know, the only first hand knowledge I have is my DP’s mum who has been on benefits for 2+ years now with no end in sight - she’s also in social housing but never there, it’s quite literally an empty home that could be placed to house someone in need.

I’m sure there’s meant to be tight supervision but maybe some cases just fall through the cracks, who knows.