Seriously the UK has gone to pot!

[HorseCrazy91]

I'm in exactly the same boat! Student finance is a joke which doesn't help the situation :/

 

[eulmh82]

My MIl works in a benefit office and has to go through claimants etc. She hates it she says people who have obviously worked all their life and have been made redundant in the recession have rung up and have been entitled to nothing one lad in particular was 19 and his mum had died or sth - don;t know exact details but his was left looking after his little brother and he wasn;t entitled to anything yet people who are lazy and don;t give a s...get awya with it - people are moaning they have no money to feed their kids and she can hear them lighting up on the phone - I have no problem with anybody;s right to smoke but I;d go without anything to feed my son! Others lie and say they couldn;t make an appointment as their grandma had died but everything is documented and she can see they';ve used that excuse 5 times. There are people who genuinely need to use the benefit system - my uncle for example is deaf blind and couldn't work - he can;t look after himself or anything - I like to think all my tax money goes to him.
However it wouldn;t sit right with my conscience if I did any of this. I just think I;m gonna work hard and get on with my life and enjoy it. These people who have child after child just for the money.......if it's your choice to have lots of children fair enough but looking after 1 child is hard enough I love him very much but I wouldn;t have anymore kjust for money I'll wait until I'm ready

 

[lilmissdanni]

I'm fully expecting you lot with "your work ethics" to shoot me down in flames but u lot all going on about them has made me quite angry. I too have a strong work ethic....but I also have a sense of fairness and the same sense that u all have of family coming first.

I quit my job last week knowing full well OH is still unemployed (not through want of trying) I did this for 3 reasons

1. I worked in a nursery. The nursery chain is losing money and decided that they were going to start opening our nursery on a Saturday as a drop in creche for 0-8. All staff members were required to work the Saturdays on a one week on one week off basis. All contracts were being changed to state this. We have my SD every week Fri-sat as she does 5 mornings at preschool. I got told that other ppl have commitments too. She would be going home before I'd finish work and dependant on my shift, I'd get to spend a max of 2 hours with her.

2. They tried to insist I did a mobile creche as a kit day despite the fact it would have meant having to get by off 2 hours sleep on the Sunday...not to mention what it

 

[lilmissdanni]

Would have done to rylan as he was havibg to come with me as OH was on a stag do!

3. I dont like the fact that I was told I wasn't able to work in the same room as my lo yet the room leader has her son in there (I was baby room) I'm a bit worried bout roo's care being compromised (when oh gets a job I have no choice but to send lo there)

I feel it is the best for my family and in May when my mat leave would have ended, I will look for something part time...however, if oh is still not working, working 16 hours pw on minimum wage leaves us £27 a week at least worse off than with us both not working.

I hate the system though. It pays out too much....and that's someone who is better off using it saying that!

 

[loving_life]

I must be doing something wrong then lol as I can't afford designer clothes, barely have enough petrol in my car to get me to the shop.
Literally just spent my last £10 on nappies lol. And I don't get paid again till NEXT Tuesday.
And I'm on benefits!!

Because I have to be. Not because I want to be. As explained in my previous post.

 

[holly2234]

A lot of these comments make me angry because there are some of us who make massive sacrifices to TRY to make things better for our families.

We dont smoke, drink or do drugs. We dont go out for fancy meals or to the pub or anything like that. Our money goes on rent, bills, food and essential clothes and we are still right up to the line every week. I cant afford to drive and i have no idea how people can on benefits. They either work under the table, get hand outs from other people or they simply dont pay their bills.

I have worked from the day i left school and did so until a few months after i had a baby and my boss could no longer provide any work for me. I went back to work at 3 weeks PP because i wasnt entitled to ANY maternity pay apart from Income Support which i didnt claim until i was left jobless, not through choice.

Im married to a "foreigner" and recently, they HAVE closed off the borders to families just like mine. I have to earn £18600 a year to keep our family together in the UK (plus roughly £2000 more because we have a baby) and i cant do that on minimum wage. So we are being forced out because we cant renew his visa. We will be gone within the next 6 weeks.

So yeah, we're a family of "lazy" "foreigners" and i am damn proud that we have stuck together through the times when others would have given up.

 

[sarahtia]

its a joke no wonder people take the p*ss tho but the only reason me and my oh work hard is so my dds know that is the right thing to do in life we get no help at all apart from child benefit.

this lad I work with only works 25 hours a week his wife does not work they have 5 kids so far and one on the way they bring in over £600 a week in child benefit, and tax credits and what ever else they get towards rent!!

it made my blood boil when he told me but like some one else said the only way to stop people being like this is to stop them making so much off benefits which wont happen

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

If they were given less than minimum wage, they'd be living below the poverty line! Not nice for the genuinely deserving or innocent kids, so not a great idea.

agreed but some families not all dnt shoot me down lol dont even spend the money on kids they spend on drugs alcohol fags etc :-/

if you are an alcoholic you get to claim DLA wich is over £100 per week also get your rent and council tax paid this is very very very unfair they are given money to blow on beer

DLA not that much a week!

 

[Pensivedore]

Sorry but I hate benefit bashing.

I hate this stigma that people who claim benefits and don't work sit on their backside all day and do nothing- some do yes but not everyone and you shouldn't tar those who don't with the brush of those who do.

A friend of mine gets a lot in benefits- she doesn't work but she has a severve anxiety disorder. She hasn't left her house in 8 months....people look at her like she is scum because she has iPads, can afford to run a car etc. I'm pretty sure she would exchange that money for a normal resemblance of a life in a heartbeat.

Maybe I feel differently because it used to be me and my OH. Didn't have two pennies to rub together when Benjamin was born- our parents helped out when they could but they expected us to stand on our own two feet.

We saved and saved for 2 years until we finally had enough money to open our own business- maybe we shouldn't of claimed money "we could of saved" but we went without luxuries. Up until 3 years ago- christmas was a present each and christmas dinner on the cheap. No iPads, no fancy computers. Me and OH probably spent about £20 on each other.

I can understand the stigma sometimes I really can- but until you have been in the position, please don't judge.

 

[Pensivedore]

If they were given less than minimum wage, they'd be living below the poverty line! Not nice for the genuinely deserving or innocent kids, so not a great idea.

agreed but some families not all dnt shoot me down lol dont even spend the money on kids they spend on drugs alcohol fags etc :-/

if you are an alcoholic you get to claim DLA wich is over £100 per week also get your rent and council tax paid this is very very very unfair they are given money to blow on beer

DLA not that much a week!

Depends what rate you are on and if you claim for the Motability scheme- full rates of both is £130 a week.

And sorry to whoever posted that about alcoholics- but that is the biggest load of shit I have heard in my life.

 

[TwilightAgain]

I feel your pain. I'm also a student and yet 'don't qualify for free dental or medical care'

I don't judge people on benefits. I judge the people who chose how they use their benefits rather unwisely. As i've said, I can't afford prescriptions and dental care because everything adds up and I don't qualify for help despite being a student. My mother on the other hand, is someone who is lazy and bigs up her 'issues' so she continues to be 'unfit' to work, what a load of rubbish, she's just lazy, plain lazy and who makes up excuses.......what does she spend her money on? (And she gets quite a bit), alcohol, take aways and drugs. There are lots of people within our society like this......

However there is difference between bashing this type of benefit claimant and the people who genuinely need the extra help and are trying to change their circumstance. I understand this is a sensitive issue but i'm pretty sure most of the time when people are judging those on benefits, they aren't attacking the claimant who is in genuine need.

 

[Piggywinkle]

The problem is the system though - it's set up all wrong. You can't really blame people for taking the piss when it's so easy.

One of DH's mates has a wife and five young kids. He was earning pretty good money and managed to get by without claiming any benefits apart from CB. Well he recently got made redundant and, like a lot of people, he can't find much and the stuff that's going is usually minimum wage. Basically, when he totted up his incomings and outgoings he would be worse off going to work with the few jobs available. So why should he bother when he's better off on benefits?

I wish I had the answers, I really do, but I just don't see a solution without depriving genuine people in need when they fall on hard times.

 

[rhdr9193..x]

Lets set the record straight!

Firstly, I was complaining about my situation, and how I would be better off doing nothing and how it is wrong! In no way did I say that everyone claiming benefits is the same, I know many families who deserve every penny they get, they are disabled, unable to work, but then again, I know of so many who take the piss out of the system!! X

 

[rhdr9193..x]

I'm going to become prime minister! That will solve every problem lmao! X

 

[Piggywinkle]

Lets set the record straight!

Firstly, I was complaining about my situation, and how I would be better off doing nothing and how it is wrong! In no way did I say that everyone claiming benefits is the same, I know many families who deserve every penny they get, they are disabled, unable to work, but then again, I know of so many who take the piss out of the system!! X

We know hun. I think it's just one of those things that people get really passionate about

 

[leahsbabybump]

If they were given less than minimum wage, they'd be living below the poverty line! Not nice for the genuinely deserving or innocent kids, so not a great idea.

agreed but some families not all dnt shoot me down lol dont even spend the money on kids they spend on drugs alcohol fags etc :-/

if you are an alcoholic you get to claim DLA wich is over £100 per week also get your rent and council tax paid this is very very very unfair they are given money to blow on beer

DLA not that much a week!

Depends what rate you are on and if you claim for the Motability scheme- full rates of both is £130 a week.

And sorry to whoever posted that about alcoholics- but that is the biggest load of shit I have heard in my life.

between me and my partner we just named quite a few people we know from old estates we lived on that are on over £100 per week as they are alcoholics perhaps its because the alcoholism has gone on to cause other health problems i dnt know or their fiddling the system god knows but there are on a right screw

 

[leahsbabybump]

Lets set the record straight!

Firstly, I was complaining about my situation, and how I would be better off doing nothing and how it is wrong! In no way did I say that everyone claiming benefits is the same, I know many families who deserve every penny they get, they are disabled, unable to work, but then again, I know of so many who take the piss out of the system!! X

We know hun. I think it's just one of those things that people get really passionate about

i feel the exact same as you hun i know out there there are millions of famalies that need benefits and i dont doubt them thats what the system is for people who genuinly need the help
but for ever 5 people honestly claiming there is probably 5 others who are basically to put it blunt taking the piss lol
ill be a cabinet member when you get in lol

 

[Mamoosca]

My OH works 6 days a week and im on mat leave. We still need to claim tax credits and child benefit because we can't afford to live otherwise. Not everyone who receives benefits is a sponger. We own our own house and if my OH was to lose his job we would have no home because there is no help whatsoever for home owners. I can see both points of view really but i don't think benefits should be lowered they should just be controlled properly to STOP people taking advantage.

 

[Amber4]

The system is set up wrong and personally I can see why people do it. Doesn't mean I would though. Like others have said our money wouldn't change that much if OH didn't work.

 

[Blah11]

tbh, you'll be getting a better job after your degree and earn more money so why should the gov pay for you to study? Yes its great that you are going out and doing it but if you worked in McDs you wouldnt be on benefits either and you dont need a degree for that.

Know what I mean?