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See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

I think this benefit family need to take a long hard look at themselves

277 replies

HungryHelga · 01/02/2012 18:21

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16812185

£20 a week in the pub

£15 a week for Sky

£32 a week on mobile phones.

A large pouch of tobacco AND 200 fags, plus 24 cans of lager.

£30,284.80 a year in benefits

And this family thinks they are hard done by?

Ridiculous. The benefits system in this country is totally out of control.

OP posts:
londonone · 01/02/2012 19:54

sorry DANjar not DAR!

yellowraincoat · 01/02/2012 19:54

No I don't have a solution, but then I'm not the one whining about it, am I?

kelly2000 · 01/02/2012 19:54

lapsed,
they can spend it on what they want so long as they do not claim to be hard done to if they cannot afford luxuries, and do not threaten to not feed their children, but make no mention of cutting down on cigerettes and alcohol, if the benefits are capped especially when the father has been unemployed for over a decade and blames the fact there are no jobs in his field, and does not seem to think he should look in another field.

catgirl1976 · 01/02/2012 19:55

So if someone gets made redundant they should be stigmatised?

If someone claims Child Tax Credit, they should be stigmatised?

If someone cares for a disabled child, they should be stigmatised?

Really london?

yellowraincoat · 01/02/2012 19:55

How do any of you know he could have got a job?

His wife is ill. Imagine he takes time off to look after her. His skills become outdated. There are younger people being hired. He lives in North Wales where unemployment is high.

It's not that hard to end up without a job.

NinkyNonker · 01/02/2012 19:55

It is the typical tosh being churned out by the govt at the mo, you can almost see their little press officers beavering away on it. Either the chap has been seriously misrepresented or was just very niave when speaking to whomever he spoke.

yellowraincoat · 01/02/2012 19:56

Stigmatise the poor.

I suggest a bell round their neck.

Polly2211 · 01/02/2012 19:56

The issue here is not what the family are spending their money on, it is the mentality that given the choice they would rather let their children go without food or heating rather than give up any of the items which are seen as luxuries.

bumbleymummy · 01/02/2012 19:57

Catgirl - why the Hmm. Do you disagree with my point? Do you think that the family couldn't get by on 26k?

countessbabycham · 01/02/2012 19:58

londonone would you find it helpful in your quest to stigmatise people on benefits if they wore a symbol of some sort so you could identify them?Like a yellow star or something?

NormanTebbit · 01/02/2012 19:58

It's the classic British response - blame the poor and vulnerable, now and scrape to the rich and greedy with their £1.4m bonuses because they've earned it or allow huge corporations to use our skilled work force and infrastructure to make massive profits while not paying tax in this country.

Obviously it's families on benefits, disabled people, young people and single parents who are to blame, they are the ones who got us into this mess...oh no, hang on...

londonone · 01/02/2012 19:59

Oh well at least we got to 150+ posts before good old Godwin's Law!

Dillydaydreaming · 01/02/2012 19:59

I am so fucking tired of all these "benefit scroungers" threads.

DO IT FOLKS!

If it's so fucking cushy then you do it too. I am about to (not by choice) and I can tell you right now I am scared about how we will manage without my income.

I am prepared, Sky is going, gas & electric are being cut back and I won't have a car either. It's hardly going to be luxury around here and I certainly getting no pay rise when I lose my £14k job, I will be worse off a month (have already worked it out). Be grateful you've got a job and remember that one day YOU might need the benefits that this fucking scumbag Govt are slowly eroding away.

yellowraincoat · 01/02/2012 20:00

OK, Polly2211. Now I know not everyone can understand simple concepts, so I'll try to explain this carefully.

Now when a newspaper man writes an article, he asks the man some questions and the man gives an answer. But then the paper or website doesn't want all the answers just some, for reasons of space or a thing called a political agenda that many people on MN seem to be unaware of.

So then maybe do you think that maybe the man said "we're already trying to cut down on the fags and booze, and if it gets worse we may have to even cut down on food and heating".

Now I'm not saying that is what has happened, but let's face it, it seems likely that the majority of people in this country would put food and heating before fags. Yes, even scumbags on benefits.

diabolo · 01/02/2012 20:00

I have to whine about it. Dealing with neglect is my job!

I find that the people who are really in need, (with MS, other disabilities, mental health problems) are the ones who are trying the very best for their families.

kelly2000 · 01/02/2012 20:01

yellowrain, so you never went to school?
At the end of the day the average family gets £26k after tax, so it is perfectly fair that benefits are equal to this. the idea that workers should have to provide more than the average wage for the long term unemployed is just unfair.

londonone · 01/02/2012 20:01

CATGIRL - look again, I have already said I think the disabled and carers should get a wage, which wouldn't be stigmatising.

Dillydaydreaming · 01/02/2012 20:01

IT'S CALLED POVERTY FOLKS AND THAT HAS FUCK ALL TO FO WITH MONEY AS THIS FAMILY SHOWS.

yellowraincoat · 01/02/2012 20:02

I did go to school, you're right, kelly2000.

So what, should his children starve? Is it his fault he lost his job?

bumbleymummy · 01/02/2012 20:06

I don't think his children are likely to starve if they are spending over £200 a week on food....

DevonLodger · 01/02/2012 20:06

It is nonsense to say just because you don't have children you have no need for schools. Children need to be educated well in order for them to be able to contribute to societies needs and requirements, including paying taxes which in due course will fund the NHS and state pension that you will require in years to come.

yellowraincoat · 01/02/2012 20:07

And it's ridiculous DevonLodger, to say that just cos you don't need benefits, others shouldn't have them.

That was sort of my point.

diabolo · 01/02/2012 20:08

yellow - there is no harm in admitting that some people on benefits take the piss, but you seem resolutely against accepting this.

Just like some bankers take the piss.

Some people are only out for what they can get. Rich or poor. Educated or not. Posh or not. It happens everywhere, every day.

Polly2211 · 01/02/2012 20:08

There is no need to try and be condescending yellowraincoat. I am just commenting on the facts given in the article. I haven't said that I believe every word written in a news article have I?

I have never associated the word scumbag with benefits. It just seems that you like to put words in anyone's mouth that chooses to have an alternative opinion to you.

Maybe the Man said that maybe not...neither you nor I will ever know, I was just pointing out that this was the issue that was getting people so riled up. Myself not being one of them.

yellowraincoat · 01/02/2012 20:10

I'm not against it at all diabolo. But let's face it, it's a rather over-stated stereotype isn't it? How often do you read positive articles about people on benefits?