AIBU to feel annoyed about discounted attractions for benefit claimants?

[Sheldonsheher]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15721199/Benefit-claiming-families-UK-attractions-working-Brits.html

I know I’ll get slated as the origin is the daily fail but, but this kind of annoys me too! I mean as a single parent I don’t want to pay £60 to go to the zoo either.

Ticket prices going up to account for NI increases is a different argument to ticket prices going up to account for UC discounted tickets.

DH and I worked our bones from literally nothing, moved to this country (from a developing nation) in the late 90s and just worked.

We've always paid our own way through life and not lived on handouts.

This post reeks of privilege. Honestly, spend a month on a sink council estate and might begin to understand the poverty trap. 🙄 You sound completely naive.

“God knows how children with an IQ of 90, who have grown up in abject poverty and never been supported to aspire to anything more than what they see around them every day (their ‘normal’), with 2 GCSEs, a strong regional accent and few or zero social skills, can’t all end up working for KPMG. I mean, there’s absolutely nothing stopping them other than laziness”.

congratulations - glad to hear neither you nor your DH had any life limiting conditions, nor a relative to care for that did. Your medal is in the post.

It really isn’t. You are conceding that only full price customers have to meet increased costs. This process then repeats constantly.

IQ of 90? They should stand for parliament!

I earn in excess of £30k and receive UC. Paid attention at school and university. Not sure the link between the two.

Regardless, you do understand that we do need people to do the jobs paying "piss poor" wages, do you? Or is your suggestion that we pay everyone in excess of £30k per year - I'm not clear from your post.

A discount for working and contributing is different than a discount for not working and being a burden.

And yet this thread is about discounts for UC claimants, who often are working and contributing as well as claiming.

Nice to know you think those medically unfit for work and their carers are a burden though. What should we do with those people? Euthanise them? Or only allow the rich to have disabilities?

Cut taxes for business. Cut taxes for individuals. Housing costs are high due to restrictive planning laws. Change the laws, make it super easy to build houses.

We might have to rethink energy policy and look again removing those green levies and work to bring our energy costs down.

I feel bad for them too. We were in that group and always used 2 for 1 vouchers, took picnics, had a couple of annual memberships over the years.

It doesn't mean I want to stop people on benefits from going though. And stopping them from going is not going to make the attractions significantly cheaper.

"There are 2.6m more disability claimants in the last six years,"

A pandemic, ageing population and increased pension age will be contributing to that.

They may not of used the words they ‘feel bad’ but I’ve obviously got that impression from some comments for me to say that.

I don’t believe I have made any suggestions that there should be no perks in life. However the system needs to change. Just look at the amount of working families not on benefits that’s can’t afford to go on these days out and they get no help yet working (and non working) families on benefits get to go.
Working for the services that allow someone a blue light card is fair, so no I wouldn’t suggest stopping that

I’m not saying I want to stop people from going, it’s a luxury so I do think if people want to go they should use the offers available to everyone. (2for1 etc) and save up for them.

this has nothing to do with ageing population. It's working age adults only.
Pandemic was six years ago. It can't be over 6% of working age population

Why is that fair in your opinion? Blue light card holders are paid for their work. My friend who's a consultant psychiatrist and earns in excess of £150k a year, has a blue light card. Does she deserve it more than someone working in Mcdonalds for NMW?

Well it does have something to do with the working population when people who would previously been pensioners at 60/65 are now ‘working population’ until they’re 67. This will obviously see a rise in that particular cohort.

Long Covid affects 3% of the population, mostly working age people.

My partner has two degrees and a Masters. He is in a job related to his field and is on just over £30k. He can't really go any further due to there being no further to go, and he would not be able to manage with more responsibility anyway. But he likes his job, and his employer is supportive of his disability (autism).

He is not entitled to any UC because he is a childless man living alone.

But DFOD with your naivety about how no grown adult should be on "just" £30k. Not everyone starts life on an equal footing.

if People didn’t do the low paid jobs the country would come to a standstill.

in an ideal world nobody working full time should need a top up to make a livable income. Sadly that’s not the case though

Out of what? Benefits don’t exactly leave anything over for savings.

Well yes your friend deserves that more because it’s given as a token of appreciation for the sector your friend works in.
The McDonalds worker will get their own perk which will be either discounted or free food (or both)

And yet people on low incomes that don’t qualify for UC and have nothing left over each month themselves are expected to save for the days out?

What does 'working poor.not eligible for benefits' look like in your opinion?

If your income is that low you will likely qualify if it's not you won't

Is the £180k salary not the gesture?