£53 a week

[Charl91]

Yes, however basically - I pay the government £X, the government then is supposed to use it for the good of the country - which includes giving those in need of help, the help they need. Person Y needs £Z to be able to afford the basic food/electricity etc. that he needs to keep his life ticking over on the bread line. Government give £Z/3 to him and spend the remainder of it on a shiny missile capable of hitting a seals backside from 60 miles. That's the ****ing crime - that we're undercutting those in need of help (for instance - benefits to rise by 1% when inflation is at 2 and a half percent) and instead spending it on a military. Not a health service or any sort of public service, a collection of shit designed to threaten everyone else in the world.

But the fact that the Government is only giving people "£Z/3" is debatable. Benefits aren't meant to be a lifestyle, they're meant to be a means to survive while out of work, and I'd argue the current amount is more than enough.

[Webbo]

Well yes they still have to pay, but what we're getting out of it in practise is less than what we'd be getting if we made people pay up. If discouraging investment is the price to pay to balance the books without having to systematically attack the lower rungs of society then it's a price worth paying.

Destroying jobs and businesses will balance the books? Right

[Zingari]

But the fact that the Government is only giving people "£Z/3" is debatable. Benefits aren't meant to be a lifestyle, they're meant to be a means to survive while out of work, and I'd argue the current amount is more than enough.

most people think exactly the same until they are put in the situation . it all looks fine on paper , but trust me the reality is far from it.

[acooling08]

More importantly is the amount 16-24 year old unemployment rose. That's key as far as I'm concerned - the emerging generation left high and dry and the knock-on effects in the years to come are going to be worse than if you had a group of 40-50 year olds coming out of jobs.

Well yes they still have to pay, but what we're getting out of it in practise is less than what we'd be getting if we made people pay up. If discouraging investment is the price to pay to balance the books without having to systematically attack the lower rungs of society then it's a price worth paying.

It's not as simple as "do something about it" though is it - there's more jobs than there are people. When you get nearly 2k people applying for 8 jobs at ****ing costa, you know there's a problem.

Rest assured the feeling was never mutual - I always though you had a wide empty space where your brain was supposed to be.

Yes, however basically - I pay the government £X, the government then is supposed to use it for the good of the country - which includes giving those in need of help, the help they need. Person Y needs £Z to be able to afford the basic food/electricity etc. that he needs to keep his life ticking over on the bread line. Government give £Z/3 to him and spend the remainder of it on a shiny missile capable of hitting a seals backside from 60 miles. That's the ****ing crime - that we're undercutting those in need of help (for instance - benefits to rise by 1% when inflation is at 2 and a half percent) and instead spending it on a military. Not a health service or any sort of public service, a collection of shit designed to threaten everyone else in the world.

All well and good disagreeing with what the government spends the money on.. less should be spend on weaponry, aid etc. But how is that the taxpayers fault? And you say that benefits should rise with inflation... fine if you ensure the same happens to wages. Why should people on miminum wage get pay freezes whilst benefits go up?

[Bayfox]

People on benefits should not be able to afford fcuking holidays when the people who pay their fcuking benefits can't afford one ffs!!

This.

Plus every ****ing council house has a sky dish. I dont have sky. Why cuz i cant ****ing afford it. Because i have nothing left at the end of the month.

[Zingari]

This.

Plus every ****ing council house has a sky dish. I dont have sky. Why cuz i cant ****ing afford it. Because i have nothing left at the end of the month.

who said people in council houses are the unemployed?

[Zingari]

The tories are fookin brilliant at making us fight among ourselves for a better share of the scraps .

[I am Rod Hull]

who said people in council houses are the unemployed?

Moose

[Webbo]

You can cry and wail all you like but the simple fact is the country has to live within it's means. We have a level of debt in this country that we can never pay off and it's only getting higher. If we want to avoid the real terms cuts in spending like there are in Spain, Greece and Italy then we have to get a grip on spending.

[Zingari]

Moose

it's amazing how the 2 things are lumped together in some peoples minds

[I am Rod Hull]

The tories are fookin brilliant at making us fight among ourselves for a better share of the scraps .

This is it, they get into the minds of plastic Tories, sit back and laugh themselves silly

What has happened in our society in the last 30 odd years is tragic, no one gives a fook anymore, so sad

All for one and fook the rest.

[Zingari]

You can cry and wail all you like but the simple fact is the country has to live within it's means. We have a level of debt in this country that we can never pay off and it's only getting higher. If we want to avoid the real terms cuts in spending like there are in Spain, Greece and Italy then we have to get a grip on spending.

Tell that to the queen who's just had a £5 million rise, ,MPs wanting 32% pay rise , the banksters who while making losses, still get huge bonuses.

it's always the least well off and most vulnerable that bear the brunt of austerity

[Webbo]

The tories are fookin brilliant at making us fight among ourselves for a better share of the scraps .

This attitude really annoys me. I haven't been tricked into thinking anything. I've experience life and made up my own mind. I've seen able bodied people living solely on benefits who have a reasonably comfortable life. I know people with kids who are in all senses a couple but don't live together because it would effect their benefits.Both my sisters who were single mothers at some point in their lives have been told by the govt employees who were supposed to be helping them get a job not to bother as they'd be better off on benefits. If they'd took that advice they'd still be on benefits now, instead they've both got decent jobs.

The system stinks. It traps people in poverty and is bankrupting the country.

[I am Rod Hull]

You can cry and wail all you like but the simple fact is the country has to live within it's means. We have a level of debt in this country that we can never pay off and it's only getting higher. If we want to avoid the real terms cuts in spending like there are in Spain, Greece and Italy then we have to get a grip on spending.

Why are we in dept? was it your fault? was it mine? was it the benefit scroungers?

I work for Jaguar/Land Rover and we`ve never been so busy

[Webbo]

This is it, they get into the minds of plastic Tories, sit back and laugh themselves silly

What has happened in our society in the last 30 odd years is tragic, no one gives a fook anymore, so sad

All for one and fook the rest.

Which political party benefits most from the underclass?Who are they most likely to vote for. Which party is telling us that it's all a rich man's plot to rob us all?

Which party tells us every election that if you vote tory they'll take away all your benefits?

I hate to tell you this but you're being cynically manipulated by career politicians who'd are keeping you poor to keep themselves in power.

[Zingari]

This attitude really annoys me. I haven't been tricked into thinking anything. I've experience life and made up my own mind. I've seen able bodied people living solely on benefits who have a reasonably comfortable life. I know people with kids who are in all senses a couple but don't live together because it would effect their benefits.Both my sisters who were single mothers at some point in their lives have been told by the govt employees who were supposed to be helping them get a job not to bother as they'd be better off on benefits. If they'd took that advice they'd still be on benefits now, instead they've both got decent jobs.

The system stinks. It traps people in poverty and is bankrupting the country.

The very same system wasn't bankrupting the country only a few years ago , it seems to be quite a recent phenomenon.

[Webbo]

Why are we in dept? was it your fault? was it mine? was it the benefit scroungers?

I work for Jaguar/Land Rover and we`ve never been so busy

We pay over £200 billion a year in welfare payments, that's more than we collect in income tax. The money has to come from somewhere and we're not earning it.

[Webbo]

The very same system wasn't bankrupting the country only a few years ago , it seems to be quite a recent phenomenon.

We've been running a deficit for decades.

[leicsmac]

Perhaps if companies were 'incentivised' further to take people on, there wouldn't be the need to cut benefits as much fewer people would need to be on them.

How many blows to the head does it need to demonstrate to this Government (or any Government for that matter) that mass employment is a good way out of the hole we are in? Get people working, get the money circulating by spending, get them off benefits, get them paying taxes. It's not rocket science.

Where are the damn jobs?

[I am Rod Hull]

We pay over £200 billion a year in welfare payments, that's more than we collect in income tax. The money has to come from somewhere and we're not earning it.

But why are we paying a so called £200 billion in welfare?

[Zingari]

We've been running a deficit for decades.

And this deficit has all been down to unemployment welfare payments ?

Only 2.5% of the total welfare budget of £200 billion actually goes on unemployment, whilst the vast majority of unemployed claimants have worked, and paid taxes, for years and are now on benefits due to redundancy, sickness, disability or having to care for someone.

[Webbo]

But why are we paying a so called £200 billion in welfare?

Why did welfare costs increase by 60% under Labour during the longest boom in history? Labour were bribing you with your own money.

[Zingari]

Webbo's got his old political fighting spark back again

[Webbo]

And this deficit has all been down to unemployment welfare payments ?

Only 2.5% of the total welfare budget of £200 billion actually goes on unemployment, whilst the vast majority of unemployed claimants have worked, and paid taxes, for years and are now on benefits due to redundancy, sickness, disability or having to care for someone.

Not all of it, but it's not like it's only benefits that are being cut.

Don't worry, Dagger will be here in about an hour to call me a benefit scrounging cvnt.

[leicsmac]

We've been running a deficit for decades.

Then why has it only now become a problem?