Lose Weight or Lose Benefits

[Mandlegrot]

The Tories are awful. Really awful. I'd rather vote in a dog than Cameron. As for Boris Johnson !!!

 

[littlemiss]

Yesterday - I went to Sainsburys, I got an apple for myself for a snack it cost 40p for a single apple, I also got OH a bar of cheap Sainsburys dark chocolate, which was 30p. Disgusting that chocolate was more than the fruit.

 

[huwiesmummy]

I'm from the other side if this I'm an American living in the UK. It took me a lot of money and stress to get. My residency. My husband is disabled. He cannot walk and has severe scoliosis. He dose need care as he cannot do normal everyday things. I am his carer after a lot of arguments withy mil who kept telling me to claim. I felt bad claiming money that I hadn't worked for. In the end with having a child we needed those extra few pounds a week. So I applied. I cannot get a job as taking care of my family is my job. Maybe once my son is in school ill look at something part time but what worries us is that when I get a job we both lose out on so much money that I doubt I could make enough to cover that. If that's the case ill work for free in charity shops or do volunteer work at the school. I want to do my bit. But my family being able to have the heating on is more important then a job.

On the gym note, I ho to a council gym that gives 50% people on certain types of benefits and its nice to have that or else I'd never beable to afford it

 

[Mandlegrot]

@Hewiesmummy - your family are exactly who our benefits system is for. Those that struggle, those that are unwell, with young kids and caring obligations...You work hard to provide support for your family and there is no dishonour in claiming benefits in order to do that, else we'd have an even bigger problem on our hands with you all down on money, your husbands health worse and your child being neglected if you were forced to do full time work. Don't feel guilty, and best of luck to you all! Voluntary work is a great idea but be careful about what you do and who you tell...the job centre can be very crafty especially with the new government in, you must do all you can to protect your family so I understand and I fully support my taxes supporting people like yourselves have a chance at life

ps great losses!! amazing!

The government has always sucked up to the rich (labour included) sadly the 'rich' own everything, and control everything...and even at times when you think there would be a conflict of interests, the rich come out on top, every time. Us workers are left to pick up the pieces that the rich don't want. Its a sad, sad way to run a country but sadly we are not controlled only by our own rich, but by the european, arab, asian and american rich too as they all have fingers in each others pies. Call me idealistic, or call me a hippy, but I'd much rather the abulution of money and instead a trade based economy, no one controlling you when you sleep and no untruths. There is a festival in the US called burning man, goes on for a week, and there is no money - everything is trade - so you take resources, skills, whatever with you, and you swap. Its great and wouldn't it be nice if things were even a little bit as alturistic as that in the real world /pipe dream anyway. so we all slog on, earning and spending, earning and spending instead at the insistance of the government who tells us to save money for worse times while bombarding us with adverts for new cars, toys, clothes and rising food costs.

 

[Calamity]

I'm from the other side if this I'm an American living in the UK. It took me a lot of money and stress to get. My residency. My husband is disabled. He cannot walk and has severe scoliosis. He dose need care as he cannot do normal everyday things. I am his carer after a lot of arguments withy mil who kept telling me to claim. I felt bad claiming money that I hadn't worked for. In the end with having a child we needed those extra few pounds a week. So I applied. I cannot get a job as taking care of my family is my job. Maybe once my son is in school ill look at something part time but what worries us is that when I get a job we both lose out on so much money that I doubt I could make enough to cover that. If that's the case ill work for free in charity shops or do volunteer work at the school. I want to do my bit. But my family being able to have the heating on is more important then a job.

On the gym note, I ho to a council gym that gives 50% people on certain types of benefits and its nice to have that or else I'd never beable to afford it

See the problem there with not feeling able to get a job is not that benefits are too generous, it's that work doesn't pay enough. And so many benefits could be better means tested rather than linked to employment or set at ridiculously low levels so that anyone who gets even part time work will lose them.
And if they closed tax loopholes on big corporations, implemented some of the suggested financial taxes and brought back higher taxes for the very richest, it would not be a problem. But, against all of history and basic economic sense, we have a government who think you can not only cut your way out of a recession, but that you should do it by cutting the things most needed by the most vulnerable.