All you poor people are lazy

[SunWukong]

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/08/17/tories-say-british-workers-lazy_n_1796576.html?1345215460&utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false

So here is the Tories proving what we all ready know, that are fools who think the poor are that way because they are lazy, unlike them.

And they said this while on their very long extended summer break. Fucking laughable hypocrisy.
British people have the longest working hours in Europe.

Depending on your perspective though.

I came from a poor background, outside toilet, tin bath etc etc and through education and grabbing every opportunity I was given, I am where I am today, not mega rich by the way, just happy with what I have got.

Like it or not, everything has to be paid for and I have done the sums and when I was made redundan a while ago, it was not in my financial interest to get a job but my upbringing kicked in, plus my pride and I got a job, not exactly what I wanted but it brought money in to the house to help pay the bills.

The system is wrong where it pays more NOT to get a job than get one, change the system

A lot of the poorest people actually do work but their pay doesnt cover the basics.

That's rich of people currently on a 12-week holiday, with a 3-week one at Xmas, a fortnight at Easter, term breaks.

Oh, generous expenses, time to take on lucrative consultancy jobs in addition to being an MP, and a golden pension.

And what kind of leaders are these, that they have time to write a book rather than doing their job and finding solutions to the problems?

"The system is wrong where it pays more NOT to get a job than get one, change the system "

As unemployment benefit is £71 per week it seems unlikely than anyone is going to be better off not having a job.

Eng Tech there are people IN work having to use food banks. There is an article about this very subject in this months Marie Claire.
As part of ITVs Tonight documentary series The Food We Eat the first episode The Hunger Shame was shown on ITV1 last Friday (10th August) and that featured the wife of an army officer having to use a food bank because his basic training pay wasnt enough to pay all the bills AND buy food.
And this is happening to many people in many low paid jobs.

The government does need to reflrm benefits, fair enough. But it also needs to look at the sheer amount of taxes we are paying.

They may be raising personal allowances. But tax on petrol and diesel is extortionate. Its not a luxury. Its a necessity for businesses and workers a like.

TV Licence. It is another unnecessary tax. Now with the digital switchover I know a lot of people who are going to have to get a sky subscription just to watch tv as the freeview signals are crap. (Us included.) I would rather have adverts on BBC than pay twice for the priviledge of watching tv.

Heating and utility bills are going up and up even when oil and gas prices are falling.

Rents are rising because people cannot get mortgages so they have no choice but to pay the high rents.

There is more in this country that needs addressing than just the minority who choose the benefits lifestyle. And to call poor people lazy is just disgraceful. Most poor people work harder and longer than politicians do, but for less pay.

The Government will not look at taxes or anything else I firmly believe that as long as the landed gentry are in control this country will go down the toilet.

Purely because they don't understand anything and I don't think it's ever possible for them to ever understand, they where born into privileged life with a mountain of connections, those connections are why I think they call others lazy, can't get a job? why not I just asked my daddy if any of his mates needed anyone why don't you ask around? you are just lazy. They can't comprehend how the other half live, if you are poor they think it's because you are stupid and or lazy.

As for tax well someone has to make up the shortfall left by all those offshore accounts, you can't possibly expect big business to pay it's way if they where ordered to do that why they would just all leave on mass.

The system is wrong where it pays more NOT to get a job than get one, change the system

You're right. Raise the minimum wage. Increase the tax threshold. The dole is already barely enough on which to survive. Don't believe me? Try it.

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The report highlights the fact that of the children currently living in poverty, 1.7 million live in working households, compared to 1.1 million in unemployed households, with the former figure on the rise.

The thinktank stated that "poverty is not simply the result of worklessness".

www.politics.co.uk/news/2010/9/13/rise-in-working-poor

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Instead, Crisy and Richard are one among thousands of couples who, without attracting much attention, live daily on a precarious and crumbling financial cliff edge. They are the working poor, frequently self-employed, paying dearly and disproportionately simply because they want to stay in jobs, no matter how low the pay. For months now, the Rowleys have been hanging on to their home and their dreams of a better future by a hair's breadth. They have done so by drawing on their own reserves of resilience; Crisy's financial acumen ? "If I can't afford it, I can't afford the interest on the credit card either," she says flatly ? and significant support from their own, equally cash-strapped families.

"A year ago, Richard could have gone on jobseeker's allowance and the family would have had more money in their pocket," says Amanda Storie, outreach worker at the Seesaw children's centre in Braintree, run by the charity 4Children. She has known the family for five years. "But both Richard and Crisy want to work. They are trying to do the right thing ? but they are paying a high price."

From next month, "doing the right thing" could become even more difficult for more than 200,000 of the poorest working families. Changes to working tax credit mean that the Rowleys could be facing the most difficult two years of their lives until universal credit ? a single, simplified benefit system ? comes into force.

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/mar/17/life-britain-working-poor

I live in Braintree ttosca. Have done all my life and i can well believe it.

And Mary Portas is suppossed to be coming here to help our High Street. They seem to think that this is the answer. God help us.

Oh and can I just add, that sometimes, having the security of benefits is better than the unknown of working in temporary jobs or for small businesses which run the risk of going under.

At the min DP has a reasonably well paid job, we are not in debt, we live within our means. Yet we find ourselves today seriously worrying how we are going to eat tonight. We are also behind with the rent.

This is due to an unreliable bank and a boss as flakey as pastry.

Atleast on benefits we would know when the money was coming. There is more to consider when having a job than just not wanting to seem lazy. People need to live and they have to put their families first.

I wonder what % of Tory MPs have ever had a min wage job?

Margerykemp I would imagine it's a very small percentage, and those who have probably only did so when they were still living at home and had daddy's money to fall back on.

Love your user name btw :)

I thjink the problem is (if you're left wing and see it as a problem) that Tory MPs HAVE been able to work for nothing. It's those who can work for nothing sometimes for years these days who get graduate jobs.

On the issues on the thread, yes we are massively taxed and the squeezed middle suffer. I am getting a new boiler, the VAT alone is £800. One of the older children may buy a one bed first flat - VAT £10k. Every where you turn there are taxes, taxes, taxes. Thankfully I don't drink and hardly drive the car and don't smoke and don't gamble so can avoid taxes in those areas.

We need massively more incentives to work and workfare. We need a flat tax everyone pays and no tax allowances, no pension tax relief, no child tax credits no child benefit, just plain simple flat tax for all. We shoudl probably also then apply VAT to everything including food and children's clothes which would make it affordable. So we have a really simple system. We might also combine it with £200 a week for every adult in the UK including your housing benefit and if that's too little - tough, get a job, move or live with your 3 relatives on their floor. The £200 would be in place of every benefit including state pension and you would get it whether you worked or not so all benefits cheats are outwitted. The new flat tax would merge tax and VAT. We would abolish inheritance tax, capital gains tax and stamp duty at the same time.

So flat tax for all, no tax allowances, no ISAs etc, no distortions, pure, simplicity. That would encourage people to the UK and generate the business income we need. Only Boris J seems to understand these issues in the UK at the moment. Nigel Lawson woudl be good to get back too as he started this so well when he brought a myriad of tax rates down to 40 and 20.

Are the poor lazy? Well I do here benefits claimants on here sayign I couldn't possibly work I'm pregnant. I got a job when 5 mnoths pregnant and with 2 chidlren under 4. I took 2 weeks holiday from work to have a baby in and went back after 2 weeks. there aer things that those of us who have been succesful do which many others just cannot contemplate as they need their evenings slumped in front of the tel;evision with wine and donuts.

Pregnant women cant drink wine

It is hard enough to get a job when you arent pregnant. Never mind when you are. Employers just dont want the hassle.

And if it was perfectly ok to go back to work two weeks after your body goes through major trauma then I doubt the government would keep extending maternity leave.

The point is that we shouldnt have to work ourselves into the ground just to stay afloat. Wheres the quality of life?

I think that the comments have probably been taken out of context for political gain.

My understanding is that the 'lazy worker' comment refers to the fact that British workers work fewer hours and are less productive per hour compared with comparable EU economies.

The Guardian looked at some ONS statistics on this last December here

The Guardian looked at some ONS statistics on this last December here

Which says that... UK workers work the third highest number of hours in europe, and have productivity rates around the median.

So... not really lazy. And Tory contempt for working people is shown once again.

we keep hearing this mantra trotted out on MN that the British 'work the lonegst hours in Europe' - where is the evidence?

BBC report on hours worked
www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17155304

Xenia the last thing we need is a flat rate of tax. I suppose you're suggesting this because of the discredited theory of 'trickledown', which we were promised would make us all richer. We are now seeing lower wages than 20 years ago for the same jobs, and I mean in real terms. In 1992 I was in a job that paid £7.42 ph, the same job at the same company today pays £6.17ph. It's only the rich that benefit a flat rate of tax. Us poor types will suffer even more.

Take Mitt the shit Romney: paid 13% tax last year, on his billions. This is the utter cunt of a man that shut down umpteen businesses and sent well paid jobs overseas, just like so many have been lost here since Thatcherism came in.

The current economic model only benefits a tiny minority. This model has taken over in the past 30 years. Until then there was proper social mobility, more wage equality. We need a revolution to get that back. Under this bunch of useless entitle twats we might just see one. I hope.

Ttosca, the figures show that British workers work about an hour less per week than the EU average, it is only when part time work is removed from the equation completely that we move into third place.

Also, look at how our working hours have reduced over the past 20 years.

In terms of productivity i agree that we are at the median but look how comparable economies perform.

I just think that it is a debate worth having, get fed up reading knee jerk reactions from people who read a headline.

"Eng Tech there are people IN work having to use food banks"

I agree that this is wrong, what I was trying to say that those that can work, know the system inside out and have figured out it is not worth working as they are better off on Welfare, that to me is wrong as the system was never designed to be a "life choice"