What is considered on the bread line in England?

[MrsWho]

Just wondering

Colditz - To decide not to go on benefits may be 'hubris', but many people have more pride than standing in a dole queue and not recieving a penny at the end of it when they have worked a 40 hr week since they were age 16 and at age 19 discover that they can't get any help - not a single penny, nope nothing, nothing at all. To then leave the dole office to have a big issue seller ask you to buy one - er, what with, shirt buttons!

I would rather get a job and support myself!
And 2 fingers to this government who is supposed to support it's workers!

It's difficult to balance the perceived needs of the have-nots with the wants of the haves. Certainly hard work should be rewarded. The point Xenia makes is a good one. If you choose not to work throughout your life, why should you be supported by those who have chosen to work hard?

Equally society should have safety nets and no-one should complain about funding those safety nets. I personally do not believe that anyone in England starves - so I don't believe that anyone is below the breadline.

Yes I think I agree Quattrocento. I know some might say that people who aren't working don't necessarily have a choice about it (lack of jobs, affordable childcare etc) but the bottom line is, people have different standards of what is acceptable. I've known people who turn down low paid, low status work because they think it's beneath them. Other people are grateful to have a job. I also know some mothers who won't go out to work because they'll be spending half their income on child care, yet I know others who DO work who spend two thirds of their income on childcare. There will always be some people who have a good work ethic and others who expect everyone else to support them. Sad, but true.

Firstly i just wonder why you think it is so great for kids to be brought up by strangers, and secondly why you think it is a good thing to work in a soul destroying environment away from your family doing a crappy job, if it is not 100% necessary?
I know too many people who have been through this, ended up depressed, or split up from their partner/spouse, all because they felt so pressured to work nights, or drudge away in a factory for 12 hours a day.
Why the hell should anyone have to do that?
My dh and i are not afraid of hard work, but when it's at the sacrifice of our family then i have to draw the line.
At least i can honestly say i am not like the scum who spend all their benefits on drugs, and we are not joining the many who commit benefit fraud every day.

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I think there are people who go hungry in this country. Pensioners, children whose parents are incompetent in some way. There is more hardship than many of us are aware of.

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essbee -the boot sales/charity shop thing all depends on the area you live in. This area is very poor and unles you travel 15 miles ish to the Lakes you can't get much decent stuff.

i find the clothes in charity shops,especially childrens clothes,are more expensive than those in asda and tesco.

i always found not eating meat to be very expensive

Don't think anyone mentioned anything about it being 'great' for children to be 'brought up' by 'strangers'. My children are brought up by myself and their father, and we paid, at various times, a nursery and an excellent childminder to play a role in their care. I also don't think there's anything great about working miles away from home in a low status job. But you do need to ask yourself why so many eastern europeans are doing exactly that - the reason being that we have it bloody good here compared to many other countries. Why is it acceptable to criticize people who aren't afraid to work hard and who don't expect to live on hand outs?
I know what it's like to not have much money, and for what it's worth, i've worked all my life as being a one-income family is something we've never been able to afford. I'm simply making the point that people have different standards of what is acceptable to them. Probably some people in my position would have divorced their husband and lived on benefits to be able to stay at home with their kids. I happen to aspire to more than that and thats why i work

theres a difference between being afraid to work hard,and not wanting to work all the hours god sends,never have any time with your children and your dh/p,to be worse off finacially than you would be on benefits.

you can easily fall into the benefit trap,and i thing most people are not afraid of hard work,but are afraid of going months with practically nothing to live on,falling behind with rent and bills,maybe not even having enough to feed your children,while you wait for your first wages and working tax credits to come through,and when they do come through you will probably be worse off then you were on benefits(i was told many times when i was a single parent that i would actually end up with less money if i went to work,by the people at the jobcentre).

most people who are on benefits arent afraid of hard work,they are afraid of not knowing where the next meal is coming from,or if they are going to be chucked out of their home.

Thankyou divastrop, for making the point much better (and calmer) than i did! I wasn't intending on criticizing anybody, just getting defensive as i have a fair few money-related issues at the moment. Well, okay, only one, but as it is affecting every aspect of my life at the mo it SEEMS to be more than it is!

Thanks Diva for the back up on charity shops, ours are awful for clothes !

Also - if you'd ever seen (most of) the clothes you get at bootsales and charity shops in my town you wouldn't even be suggesting someone might seriously kit themselves out from them!!! OMG it's no surprise the stuff been got rid of - i've seen better taste at a dog show
I do realise beggars can't be choosers but really!!
Btw i am not entirely serious with this post, as Diva said - Tesco/Asda are just as cheap, but clothes in better nick. Also Primark and Matalan are great for us cheapies.

we dont have a primark...

seriously,have you seen the prices some of the charity shops charge?worn-out baby clothes for about £2.50 a piece,and last week i bought a video(that i'd been looking for for ages)for £2.99

I always give my dds clothes to charity tho, only if they are in good condition - so i don't know who gives all the junk in but they should stop it! And some of the prices are a bit silly for summat they got free!