To be agreeing with new conservative benefits proposal re alcohol etc

[Tigerthebreadroll]

They will cut benefits for people that haven't paid into the system and been unemployed for over 6 months (don't quote me on that number ) by 30 % and it will be given on a prepaid type card. Meaning it won't be accepted by betting shops, for alcohol or cigarettes. I feel that's right . Why should tax payers money be spent on funding cigarettes etc but I have no problem with funding the basics like food etc.
Thoughts?
Basically you will claim full benefits if you've worked and paid into the system. Should reduce generational unemployment hopefully

I see this a lot. Care work is something that you have to want to do. Just because someone was a carer for a family member does not mean that they would want to of enjoy providing care for someone they aren’t related to.
So many people on MN suggest care work for people struggling to find work. For many it’s just not appropriate.

Given that the government gets virtually the entire cost of a packet of fags back in tax, the state is doing very nicely out of tobacco addiction.

To be honest l think the only people who will be rushing back into the fold are those who have no idea what it’s like to be unemployed and think living off benefits is a picnic - and who would get off on seeing benefit claimants being effectively punished for being unemployed. What would bring people back into the fold is a coherent policy for job creation so that people could actually get off benefits and into work, rather than being punished - not to mention being humiliated every time they visit the supermarket.

You think benefit claimants are buying their fags legitimately?

I don't think all smokers on unemployment benefit are paying excise duty on their fag purchases somehow.....

I look at how popular Farage and his brand are right now, and I just can't see it. I read posts on here every day that drip with racism. The Great British Public are too far gone for her to have a chance of winning a GE. Even if she was a decent politician, which in my opinion, she certainly isn't.

£7.50 a day

You are celebrating that?

You’re naive if you think they’ll stop there. That would be the first step.

The Tories are rich people who are very skilled at making poor people think that other poor people are the problem. Poor people aren’t the problem. Obscenely rich people are the problem but poor people are like turkeys voting for Christmas.

Yep. Could be.

A blanket policy based on Daily Mail tropes of people on benefits is never going to work. It’s not the case that everyone on unemployment benefits is addicted to booze, fags or drugs. Providing a payment card with limited spend means not being able to buy cider to drink on a sunny day, or a bottle of cheap fizz to celebrate exam results. It’s easy to think people on benefits are somehow different to the “working” population but they’re not, they have the same aspirations but with many more barriers to achieving them.

By the time you remove working claimants, carers, people with disabilities that prevent them finding work and pensioners, and factor in transition and admin costs, how much of an actual saving would there be for all the stress and anxiety for individuals.

@EasternStandard TBF I have no idea who would win, but a general election is not happening for at least 2 to 3 years, and a lot can be happening in that time. Hopefully we will see the back of Trump. But in the meantime, the world economy (and the UK economy) could go even more pear-shaped.

Then there is global warming and climate change.

I don't think a policy tinkering more with benefits is going to cause a landslide victory for the Tories.

She can't get a job as a carer then? 5 years of looking - It is very hard to believe.

Some changes are needed but the 'hasn't paid into the system' shouldn't apply to young people and I think 6 months is too short. It's incredibly easy to be out of work in this economy for six months, even when doing everything to find one.
My partner's 20yo DS has only just managed to find a full time job after looking for over a year and he was applying for everything going. He was fortunate in that he was able to live with his dad and be financially supported for that period but not all young people have that support. It could mean incredible hardship

You've read the Jewish thread then, which is absolutely dripping with racism? Since you've introduced racism to a thread on benefits.

This is not how to break generational poverty.

All that would happen is people would find ways round it eg buy childrens clothes in the supermarket and sell them on for cash to buy what they want with it.
No point doing this.

The gov may as well keep that tax payer money rather than include a cigarette transaction for someone.

Especially since policy means it’s stopping over time anyway.

What is it for?

Agree 100%

What do you think?

Life is free?

what a sweeping generalisation awash with stereotypes!

The thing is that something needs to be done about the benefits culture. Of course we need a safety net for the vulnerable and the truly unemployed but it’s gone far beyond that. Burnham spending taxpayers money like a drunken sailor gives Kemi the space to float something equally extreme.

That's wrong, there should still be option to withdraw limited amounts in cash - children need money for mufti days and school discos and other school events

Can you evidence that?

What about care leavers? They often don’t have family like relationships or a social safety net, nor do they often have the life skills needed to navigate a very tight budget. They’re also at significantly higher risk of early death - but at least the benefits bill might come down.

But she might want to? My friend finds it a really fulfilling career and the acknowledgement of her life experience validated the years of care she'd provided