Why do people think the country owes them something? [Bit of a rant about councils!]

[lola291]

OMG! could have written the op myself! I have a friend who also has a baby the same age as mine whereas i am going to have to go back to work at 6 or 9 months to afford our mortgage etc my friend is claiming all of the benefits under the sun! I would love to stay at hme and am dreading leaving my gorgeous baby to go back to work

 

[Harveysmum369]

This country wont help the people who need it,My husband lost his job in Jan 2009 when I was 21 weeks pregnant,He had worked his whole working life and had only been without a job for 2 weeks since he was 16(he was 30 when he lost his job) he got JSA but they stopped paying it in July 2009 because he hadnt earnt enough!!!
Last year we sat in a freezing cold house because we couldnt afford the electric etc whilst all around us people who had sat on their backsides all there lives were having a great time!
Donna
xxx

 

[cherryglitter]

Drives me crazy!!
Can't believe I would be 'better off' without my OH.
I don't understand why this society doesn't support nuclear families! I hate that it is so out of our hands too. I think I should get a job in the benefits office haha!
When my Dad lost his job, they basically told him to not bother looking for another job because he would be better off without one. How awful is that! Luckily my Dad has too much pride and also has the same attitude as me.

Where is the incentive for those of us who are doing things legally!? x

 

[cherryglitter]

Also - my OP was NOT a dig at people who GENUINELY need benefits - I have no problem with this! Like I said, My Dad has been there.
But what pee's me off, is the people who turn it into a lifestyle! Girls I went to school with had no intention of ever working and pissed about at school and did nothing. Then decided to get pregnant and have a free house, free money, etc!

Like it has been said before, every woman would love to stay at home with their babies and not work, but it's not suitable, so why is it that some of them can sit on their arse and do sweet FA all the time, and have a better lifestyle than those who go out and work 30 odd hours a week. My OH does 50 hours a week - and we still struggle! It takes the mick.

I would love to give up my job after my 6 months maternity leave, but I just can't seem to find a way that i'm going to be able to do that! So instead im going to work on the days OH is off and never spend any time with him and our baby. Instead we will just live seperate lives.

Great!

 

[Lexx]

I have reported people before and I know they are doing wrong but nothing has been done. It makes me so angry because its those people who genuinely need help and don't know their way round their system. I was flabagasted to learn a mother who put her serverly disabled son into a home then made her older son apply to an angentcy that to the youngest one out for day trips etc so he would get paid for taking his brother to sit in their house, they also kept all his benefits etc and claimed a car for when they took hi out twice a year., then theres other people strugling to get their children the basics!

 

[cheeselover]

All sorts of people cheat the system.
I live overseas and have done for the last 12 years. I am not cheating the system as I don't pay tax (I still pay tax here though) but I don't claim anything either.
I know people here however who are earning a good income (with housing, gratuity, medical on top) and can afford maids/nannies, frequent overseas holidays, champagne brunches every Sunday etc. and are still claiming benefits in their home country.
For example, I work with one Australian lady who goes home over the summer holidays and teaches a few weeks here and there then files a tax return each year using her parents Australian address (she used to live there so has a licence with this address etc.) and her Australian bank account details (she has an account here for her wages also plus an offshore account for savings).
She lives with her partner here overseas and they have a 4 month old baby (he earns a lot more than her) but they are not 'married' but on paper it looks like she is a single mother with a very low income so she claims quite a bit.This financial year she also got the $5000 'baby bonus' and the $1000 'stimulus bonus'. She told me just before the holidays she was 'going to see what free vaccinations she was entitled to' when she was back at home for Christmas.
She lives in a beautiful apartment with a pool and a live in maid.
Not f***ing fair is it??!!
BTW her partner is a financial advisor....
I have known alot of ex pats who do this and think it is funny.

 

[hopeandpray]

ahhhhhhhhhh! im so mad! my OHs sister is working teaching music and making ok money, she could be working more and has been offered another job.BUT .. she's claiming unemployment benefit!!!! i have so many friends and family relying on this because they are genuinely unemployed. as if this wasnt bad enough she called over a few days ago to show off her new 300 euro leather jacket!!

 

[hopeandpray]

double post

 

[AppleBlossom]

As someone who is on benefits atm even I get annoyed at the people who give the rest of us a bad name. In hindsight, the idea of the benefit system in this country it is a good idea. If I didn't get financial help I would barely be able to live. However the government go about it all wrong. It's 100% true that those who don't bother working their whole life will get a hell of a lot more money than those who work hard. I fully intend to work because if I'm honest as much as I love looking after Grace, staring at these 4 walls drives me insane and I want to one day be able to pay for things myself and say that I bought it with money I earned. I don't understand why anybody would want to sit on their arse every day and let other people pay for them... annoys me no end!

 

[nievesmama]

Im on benefits at the moment, but i cant wait to be able to go back to work.
I did a Yt course when i left school, but fell preg at 19. I had no choice but to claim then, but i started work at Sainsburys when my daughter was 3. My ex husband stayed at home while i worked my butt off. That marriage ended when he tried to kill me, i was placed in a refuge so i was on authorised unpaid leave, so had to claim for a couple of mths, until i got back on my feet. I went back to work. I met a new man and we both worked, but i had to give work up when i fell pregnant for medical reasons, so we had WTC as he was low earner.
What i didnt know is that he had alcohol and drug probs that he had hidden well, at 7 mths preg we lost the house due to him drinking rent money away. I stayed with friends and was put in a homeless hostel.
Yes because i was pregnant with one child already i was given council accomodation, and i claimed benefits again. Not proud as i thought id left those days behind.
I was planning on going back to work once my son started full time nursery, but after a brief relationship i fell preg ( contraception failed).
Judge me if you want, but it is not a lifestyle choice for me. I WILL be going back to work. But at the moment its not feasible. My daughter is 1, and im looking at having to flee my house again as my ex was harrassing and threatening. Once i am settled i will be going back to work. I hate being on benefits, but it keeps my and my kids fed and clothed.
I know people who work and claim and it annoys the hell out of me to. IMO its bloody greedy and they never seem to be caught.
Sorry for the long post , but i just wanted to put my story out there , as not all of us are bad .

 

[DizzyMoo]

Ok i'm a mum on benefits.. I was working when i fell pregnant with josh & was fired straight away.. so was on jsa from the word go basically anyhoo was on income support & january 09 he started nursery so i was hoping to return to work now that childcare was somewhat easier to arrange. I found a job & planned a baby with the now ex.. we'd already spoke about me moving to be with him live with him & he would provide for us.. so we wouldnt of been claiming benefits but as it happened the tosser left me ... so what was i to do? I informed job centre & was rudely questioned why i had another baby on the way when i wasnt working! Downright rude as she didnt know he would of been providing for us.

Anyway im still on income support & intend on being a sahm til jax is 3 & going to nursery then ill be going back to work, I am not ill so yes am physically capable of working does this mean i am a " bum " for not putting jaxon straight into childcare?

Believe me the benefits i recieve are spent as best i can on what we NEED, food, clothing etc. I do not have no plasma, no car, i dont get new shoes for myself i dont buy new clothes for me. I dont smoke & VERY VERY rarely go on nights out. once a year maybe?.. I dont pay for my virgin tele or internet (mum does).

On about the bums who do sit around all day spitting out kids, yep i know someone like that .. 1 of my brothers he now has 5 kids & wont work at all claiming his epilepsy stops him . Sorry thats bollox , ok so hes not allowed to drive no more but taking his medication there are jobs he could do but he puts on his epilepsy is severe so he dont have to work . Its ppl like him who dont deserve benefits!!

My oldest sons dad wont pay csa , & i found out he was working & still claiming jsa so i grassed on him TWICE !!! Twice he got caught & still dont pay anything, hes also a bum & would rather avoid paying csa by either job hopping or staying on jsa & claiming it for beer money....

The other ppl who annoy me are like my cousin... she is in my situ .. single, 2 kids so i know what benefits she gets but yet she goes out 2/3 nights a week, buys herself new clothes constantly redecorates , has the latest mobile, tele etc .. how on earth! She is obviously being paid to much !!!

I cant afford those things & it grinds on me she flaunts it.

I buy myself what i need once a year with an interest free budget loan from income support & even then i begrudge spending on meself

 

[Foogirl]

Anyway im still on income support & intend on being a sahm til jax is 3 & going to nursery then ill be going back to work, I am not ill so yes am physically capable of working does this mean i am a " bum " for not putting jaxon straight into childcare?

It doesn't make you a bum, but it does make it very unfair for those of us who
would love to have the option of staying at home with our children, but for whom the government won't pay us to do it because we have been working or our husbands / partners earn too much money.

 

[cherryglitter]

As Foogirl said. The whole system is unfair.
If one person is entitled to benefits because they have children, then why on earth aren't the rest of us? We're all exactly the same. We all got pregnant the same way and we more then likely all pushed the babies out the same way! So why is it that the government favours most over others? I just can't understand it.

When my baby is born, I would LOVE to be a SAHM but there's no way I could do it. My family wouldn't want me to do it.

Im intending on going back to work and doing night shifts, whilst OH works the days.
It would be so much easier for me to just pack in my job and kick OH out and everything would be peachy.


Even then I could still get a council house and he could come and live with me and no one would be none the wiser Don't you just LOVE the government and the benefits system.

Urgh. x

 

[stephx]

Hmm I dont want to start anything here but I don't think the girls who are on benefits have an easy life at all! From my experience being on benefits is rubbish... and yes there are a few people that manage to get a nice council house and a plasma TV on there wall but most of it is poverty.

My mum used the sickness card- she said she had depression (who knows if she did or not, my guess is probally not) and was on benefits and had the interest on her mortage paid for 18 years!! From when I was 1 untill... well now. So yeah she had an 'easy life' not going to work- but we had to live on £70 a week as a family. How is that right? By the time I moved out (when I was 15) we had no running water and no heating... she had a thousands of pounds worth of debt and for what- an easy life??

My point is... Its all very well looking at the system and saying it's wrong but it's definatly not an easy ride and not everything is handed to everyone on a plate. It's a massive over generalisation to see a few people doing ok for themselves on benefits and thinking everyone is rinsing the system for all it's worth!

(And before I get slated, I work 40 hours a week and pay all my taxes )

xx

 

[kit603]

Ok i'm a mum on benefits.. I was working when i fell pregnant with josh & was fired straight away.. so was on jsa from the word go basically anyhoo was on income support & january 09 he started nursery so i was hoping to return to work now that childcare was somewhat easier to arrange. I found a job & planned a baby with the now ex.. we'd already spoke about me moving to be with him live with him & he would provide for us.. so we wouldnt of been claiming benefits but as it happened the tosser left me ... so what was i to do? I informed job centre & was rudely questioned why i had another baby on the way when i wasnt working! Downright rude as she didnt know he would of been providing for us.

Anyway im still on income support & intend on being a sahm til jax is 3 & going to nursery then ill be going back to work, I am not ill so yes am physically capable of working does this mean i am a " bum " for not putting jaxon straight into childcare?

Believe me the benefits i recieve are spent as best i can on what we NEED, food, clothing etc. I do not have no plasma, no car, i dont get new shoes for myself i dont buy new clothes for me. I dont smoke & VERY VERY rarely go on nights out. once a year maybe?.. I dont pay for my virgin tele or internet (mum does).

On about the bums who do sit around all day spitting out kids, yep i know someone like that .. 1 of my brothers he now has 5 kids & wont work at all claiming his epilepsy stops him . Sorry thats bollox , ok so hes not allowed to drive no more but taking his medication there are jobs he could do but he puts on his epilepsy is severe so he dont have to work . Its ppl like him who dont deserve benefits!!

My oldest sons dad wont pay csa , & i found out he was working & still claiming jsa so i grassed on him TWICE !!! Twice he got caught & still dont pay anything, hes also a bum & would rather avoid paying csa by either job hopping or staying on jsa & claiming it for beer money....

The other ppl who annoy me are like my cousin... she is in my situ .. single, 2 kids so i know what benefits she gets but yet she goes out 2/3 nights a week, buys herself new clothes constantly redecorates , has the latest mobile, tele etc .. how on earth! She is obviously being paid to much !!!

I cant afford those things & it grinds on me she flaunts it.

I buy myself what i need once a year with an interest free budget loan from income support & even then i begrudge spending on meself

I'm sure that no one was accusing you of being a bum hun I do think that the system is unfair because some people get benefits and other people in very similar situations don't get benefits but that's the Government's fault, not yours!

Also, you didn't deliberately go out and get pregnant so that you didn't have to work. You claim benefits because you can in your situation but you don't deliberately stay in your situation just to claim the benefits - if that makes sense? I think the people that are getting moaned about are the people who are perfectly capable of working but choose not to because its 'easier' to live on benefits - the people who've NEVER worked.

Like you said, you were working and you're fully intending to go back to work when your LO is old enough to go to school. Staying at home for a little while isn't the problem at all, its the people who have children so they have an excuse to stay at home that are the problem. Yes, you could go back to work now and put Jaxon in childcare but I think that's a very personal decision and I, for one, would like to take a little time to be a SAHM when I finally get my LO.

 

[Foogirl]

Yes, you could go back to work now and put Jaxon in childcare but I think that's a very personal decision and I, for one, would like to take some time to be a SAHM when I finally get my LO.

A personal decision that the taxpayer has to pay for, that's what I find is unfair. For many of us, that personal decision is hugely affected by how much money we earn as a family. The government doesn't give us any help at all so we have to return to work. It doesn't seem right that we are penalised for working hard and building a career.

 

[cherryglitter]

Again, what foogirl said!
Some people have no choice but to go back to work!! Otherwise we simply couldn't afford to bring our children up. Which is awful!
You think the Government would wake up to why the unemployment rates are so high - because they offer people who can't be bothered to go to work, everything on a plate! And those that work their arses off and pay 22% or more of their wages to them, bugger all!

It drives me crazy! [Kit603 don't take that as a personal attack!! That's not what I mean't it as!]x

 

[kit603]

A personal decision that the taxpayer has to pay for, that's what I find is unfair. For many of us, that personal decision is hugely affected by how much money we earn as a family. The government doesn't give us any help at all so we have to return to work. It doesn't seem right that we are penalised for working hard and building a career.

I completely agree that the system is flawed and its definitely unfair, but that's the Government's fault and not our own and yes, the taxpayer does have to pay for that 'personal' decision but I for one have paid my fair share of taxes and national insurance contributions and if I can claim once I have a child for a year or so then i'd really like to take the time to do that so I can watch my LO grow up. Since i've been legally old enough to work i've had as many as 2/3 jobs at a time whilst still studying for my GCSEs because I come from a very low income background and wanted to help my family so I know all about hardship and being unable to claim adequate benefits due to circumstances.

After I take a break from work (if I can afford to), then I will definitely go back and continue paying my taxes and national insurance contributions. I completely agree with you that its unfair that some people can't afford to take the time off work to spend more time with their child but its not fair to judge the people who do get that time off because it doesn't make them a 'bum'.

The thing that i'm unhappy with is the fact that so many people manage to claim (usually long-term) without ever having made a contribution to the pot and with no intention of going to work in the future so that they can. It is unfair, but its not our fault that its unfair - its the Government's fault and if you could afford to stay off work for a little longer than standard maternity leave then i'm sure you would as well.

Again, what foogirl said!
Some people have no choice but to go back to work!! Otherwise we simply couldn't afford to bring our children up. Which is awful!
You think the Government would wake up to why the unemployment rates are so high - because they offer people who can't be bothered to go to work, everything on a plate! And those that work their arses off and pay 22% or more of their wages to them, bugger all!

It drives me crazy! [Kit603 don't take that as a personal attack!! That's not what I mean't it as!]x

It's fine and i'm not taking it as a personal attack at all. I completely agree that one of this country's biggest problems is that there is no incentive to work, and that the people who do go to work are often worse off than the people who don't.

As mentionned above... i've worked really hard since before I even left school yet when I was made redundant in March 2009 the only benefit my OH and I were able to claim was £15 a week housing benefit for about 2 and a half months. I couldn't claim anything else because I was also a student with a working partner, yet the Government didn't take into account the fact that we still had bills to pay and that OHs wages did not cover the bills. I also think its really bad that if OH had been a couple of years older we'd have been entitled to Working Tax Credits, which might have really helped us out. We've got just as much to pay for and work just as hard as an older couple. However, I can sort of see why they put a mimimum age on it because if somebody who'd just left school could claim WTC they'd never have an incentive to get more than a part-time job and that's only IF they hadn't already decided to live their life on benefits such as JSA.

At the end of the day, I have no problem with people claiming benefits who genuinely need the help but I feel that there are too many people in this country are claiming benefits illegally (i.e. not declaring a partner, working on the side etc) or claiming things like job seeker's allowance when they're not actually trying to get a job.

When I actually have a baby, i've always said to my OH that i'd like to go back to work part-time once my maternity leave has ended and then go back to work full-time once child is of school age. However, when we actually looked into it (whilst trying to budget) we found that we'd probably be slightly better off financially if I don't work at all because our household income would be lower and would qualify us for extra benefits and that's the problem with society.... i'd be better off staying at home for 5 years than working part-time and by that stage it would be harder to get another job and it'd be only too easy to convince yourself to never go back to work...

I'll probably go back to work part-time after the first year, because i'd like to keep up the experience and i'm building a career for myself so that I can provide more than the bare minimum for my family but... not everyone would do that if it was easier to just stay at home and too many people have children for the sole reason that they need an excuse not to work.

 

[Foogirl]

I completely agree that the system is flawed and its definitely unfair, but that's the Government's fault and not our own and yes, the taxpayer does have to pay for that 'personal' decision but I for one have paid my fair share of taxes and national insurance contributions and if I can claim once I have a child for a year or so then i'd really like to take the time to do that so I can watch my LO grow up. Since i've been legally old enough to work i've had as many as 2/3 jobs at a time whilst still studying for my GCSEs because I come from a very low income background and wanted to help my family so I know all about hardship and being unable to claim adequate benefits due to circumstances.

I too have worked since I was 14, working several jobs at a time. I have paid my fair share of taxes and NI, probably a bigger share given my profession, so I'm not sure that's any kind of justification for making that choice and expecting the taxpayer to subsidise it.

The system is flawed, does that mean it is right to take advantage of that? To decide not to work and earn money because you are "slightly" better off financially? That's not really in the spirit of the system is it?

The MPs who made thousands of pounds of expenses claims by flipping homes and claiming for duck bridges made the same argument. "what we did was within the rules" It's safe to say that didn't go down well.

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

Can I just ask what you all define as needing benifits and abusing them?

xx