Upset by way govmt is managing disability benefits change

[Rosie8880]

The narrative government is sharing about disability benefits changes is upsetting. They speak about the ballooning of claims & how this is unsustainable. Isn’t this connected to the collapse of NHS, waiting times and people awaiting for diagnosis, unable to get treatment. The most vulnerable people in society are being impacted and there are other ways to bring in income // reduce spending (Tax wealth, and by wealth mean multi millionaires/ rather than poorest in society). This is not the way. Like to hear about those that are impacted.

I think because everyone is struggling with the cost of living and anyone who seems to get “free” money to pay for a cleaner, taxis, takeaways are never going to have the majority of sympathy.

The idea that money saved goes towards services more people will benefit from makes it more acceptable. Which you can argue it won’t but it is something they need to invest in anyway.

I don’t understand the “online everyday comment”

But this lady maybe able to type at a computer or use her brain to problem solve but may have limb issues where she can't do her garden or clean.
However if she were to lose her payment. The gardener and cleaner would be unemployed and be on the new higher rate JSA or whatever it will be. From an government spending point of view it may even cost more in this situation.

Threads like this always remind me of this meme.

I think this is a particularly interesting example because it highlights how benefits applications and use has changed over the years. Historically, someone who was working but maybe struggling to keep their house clean might well have employed a cleaner, whatever the reason for that struggle was (perhaps disability, perhaps an exceptionally long commute, perhaps a large number of children, or caring for an elderly parent…), but there wouldn’t have been a societal expectation that for just one of those situational factors (disability), the state should be stepping in to cover the costs. Instead, any of those hypothetical people would be expected to manage their own budget to pay for help they might need. For example, why choose to live in a house with a sizeable enough garden to require a gardener if you’re unable to pay for that out of your own wages?

I don’t think it’s necessarily unreasonable for the government not to want to subsidise people’s domestic help, when that help isn’t even at the level of personal care. I’m certainly not saying no one who works should receive PIP, as there are some very disabled people who do work and should receive it. But this example shows how it can sometimes be used to subsidise costs which may be related to disability, but for which a solid argument can be made that they ought to be met out of the person’s salary, as they would if the limiting factor was any other personal challenge.

Many disabilities involve limited energy....including m.s.

Look up spoon theory.

This might help you understand why someone might have the energy for work but literally nothing else. It's not necessarily a piss take. Having help at home might be the only way someone can work.

@Scaredofthesecuts Spoon theory unfortunately is completely tainted by how “spoonies” have conducted themselves online in the past ten years. But I’m very familiar with it as I’m severely disabled myself. This isn’t about how energy limiting disabilities work.

I wasn't addressing you but the person you were quoting as they seemed to be questioning how someone could work but need help with stuff at home.

Oh gosh yeah the “spoonie” community is fascinating and terrifying. Full of women who really are exaggerating their chronic illness symptoms (and in some cases I do suspect completely fabricating them), not for benefits but for attention/likes/pity.

Those people are extreme outliers though. I can’t say I’ve ever come across one of these spoonies in real life and most of them seem to be in america

I think the lady in question was an occupational therapist.

The second part of this post is the point I was making. It simply isn’t sustainable and there was a time where people cut their cloth accordingly and employing domestic help is a luxury. Carers and any help for the disabled is totally different and as I said I think these people should be given more but where do you draw the line with the example I have given.

Also given how hard it is where I am to find decent domestic help I’m pretty sure this lady letting her help go would necessarily push them onto benefits themselves.