undeserving people on benefits

[Guest boo]

[Guest futuregirlfriend]

Don't you lose those benefits if you don't make an effort to get/keep a job in the UK?

 

 

Back in '08 after leaving university a bunch of my friends and I were on the dole. It's fairly easy to stay on it as all you have to do is visit the Job Centre every two weeks and show someone a little diary of things you've applied for. You can do temp stuff for agencies and all that without them kicking you off. After 6 months, I think, I was sent on a two week course with some numbskulls. Thankfully one of my friends was sent at the same time, so we could pretend we weren't in the group but anthropologists out in the field. Even the guy in charge was a dingleberry, he asked my friend about his degree "Genetics? Wha's all that?"

 

I think I've erased most of the two weeks from my memory. First day most people were quiet, a few obvious class clowns. Really dumb class clowns. Someone, after visibly struggling to think, called me Joe 90 on the second day, I lolwtf'd. Can't remember what went on but he was trying really hard to be my friend for the rest of my stay. I can barely remember what we even did. Seemed to mostly be filling out fake job applications broken up by periods of 'browsing the web for job listings.' Excellent use of time and money. Some politician's bros are earning some serious dough out of these pathetic schemes. I think everyone on them isn't classified as unemployed, so it helps make some figures look better.

 

As well as idiots there was a guy who was probably semi-tarded. Something not right with him. He'd been on this same course numerous times, other people on the course had been too and they knew him and bullied him. What's funny is the 'tutor' came up to me and my friend and said if we were having any trouble with the people there to say something. I told her they were harmless but they picked on this Robert guy. Nothing was done, and she obviously knew because it happened right in front of her. When I went back to the job centre I told someone about him and they just said that some people fall through the cracks. He's probably still doing courses now.

 

I just found a notebook where I made observations on Robert and the place before losing interest.

 

Robert, 22. A4 lined paper, torn vertically, counted daily (he would collect paper, tear it, count the strips). 4 hours of solo scrabble: abuse, failing, numb.

 

And my two fondest memories of my time there. The "WALL OF SUCCESS" with absolutely nothing on it. Flipping through a shit newspaper with my friend we see a guy in a race wearing a pair of plastic breasts. My friend says "Eurgh, I bloody hate fake tits." some guy (who claimed to be banking it as a drug dealer lol) leans over checks out the guy in the paper then says to my friend "So you're saying if Jordan jumped in your bed you'd kick her out?"

 

Hope this tale is at least semi-coherent 'cause I've been enjoying some homemade apple and blackberry pie why typing.

[Guest theSun]

drug testing welfare recipients is a ridiculously expensive

[Guest hahathhat]

sup has been in league with the mods from the beginning, and he really doesn't deserve the benefits.

[chim]

I can barely remember what we even did. Seemed to mostly be filling out fake job applications broken up by periods of 'browsing the web for job listings.' Excellent use of time and money. Some politician's bros are earning some serious dough out of these pathetic schemes. I think everyone on them isn't classified as unemployed, so it helps make some figures look better.

 

Exactly how it works in sweden, exept these types of courses stretch over the period you're unemployed and are part of what you usually have to do to get benefits. There are alot of drug dealers on these types of courses. Their benefit mostly amounts to having something to get up to in the morning.

 

The "WALL OF SUCCESS" with absolutely nothing on it.

 

I don't think I've ever heard of something that so aptly describes the air of desperation and misery at these things.

 

Last year I was at a place called the platform. As in train platform. As in waiting for the train that never arrives.

 

We have a bigass funded institution that's supposed to get you a job here, but it simply does not work. The government refuses to aknowledge this since as long as you're part of their program you are not considered to be unemployed in the statistics.

 

Being unemployed fucking sucks, but I don't think it should cover more than basic necessities. drug money? fuck you. In sweden we get rent, eletricity + 324 pounds for living expenses. It's not a lot but I think things are slightly cheaper in sweden than england from what my friends who live there have said, so I'm not sure if that amount translates well. It's not alot by a long stretch but will get you through the month. Thing is, once you start losing your standards, budget your food like crazy, stop giving a shit about what you're wearing, you can get drunk with the mates every weekend. That's how most unemployed people I know get by, the worst part is they settle into their lifestyle and don't prepare themselves for work. But when you've been "preparing" and job hunting for 2 years, live through months where you've made mistakes or there's been paperwork issues and you risk losing your apartment or don't have food for a month, your optimism isn't what it once was to say the least.

 

I don't think people readily understand what a challenge it can be if you don't have relatives to help you out (my friends who live with their parents and are "unemployed" can go to hell) . Personally I think I value what it's taught me though, in the sense of my own mortality and that sort of thing, and I'm grateful to be in a country with this sort of system, and that there's no such thing as a shit job compared to being dead. Even though the system sucks donkey balls, at the very least it keeps you alive, something that you really can't take for granted. I also am getting my studies and the job thing in gear so I'm alot more happy these days.

[Guest boo]

Being unemployed fucking sucks, but I don't think it should cover more than basic necessities. drug money? fuck you. In sweden we get rent, eletricity + 324 pounds for living expenses. It's not a lot but I think things are slightly cheaper in sweden than england from what my friends who live there have said, so I'm not sure if that amount translates well. It's not alot by a long stretch but will get you through the month. Thing is, once you start losing your standards, budget your food like crazy, stop giving a shit about what you're wearing, you can get drunk with the mates every weekend. That's how most unemployed people I know get by, the worst part is they settle into their lifestyle and don't prepare themselves for work. But when you've been "preparing" and job hunting for 2 years, live through months where you've made mistakes or there's been paperwork issues and you risk losing your apartment or don't have food for a month, your optimism isn't what it once was to say the least.

 

No, this guy is getting disability benefit and is in no way an example of the average unemployed person. Job seeker's allowance is £270 a month, and yes, everyday essentials are more expensive here. For a single person housing benefit doesn't necessarily cover rent, and if the rent doesn't include bills, water rates (although when i was signing on i lived somewhere where the water rates are ridiculously high) and electricity bills leave you with nothing. Some people get by doing cash-in-hand work, drug dealing, and still sign on.. but not everyone is happy to do that. Really, working part-time and just getting housing benefit is a much better situation to be in, if you can find that part-time work. In Devon at least, there are hardly any jobs, ALL employers are very picky and you're very limited if you don't have your own transport because there's no buses anymore. Some bus routes have been scrapped, meaning some people can't get to work at all.. another example is the Exeter - Plymouth bus, that goes through lots of towns, they've cut that down to like 4 times a day and canceled the 6:45 pm bus, so people who finish work at 6 pm are fucked. A lot of people relied on that.

[keltoi]

i was reading this hideous, jeremy kyle-esque story...

 

http://uk.news.yahoo...-120811721.html

 

and got to this part which made my blood boil...

 

Goodwin, who has a £70 per week cannabis habit and receives £800 a month in benefits...

 

 

the world's gone mad! and that's the 2nd time i've said that today.

 

if he's admitted that he spends this much on weed, it should be subtracted from his benefits until he can provide some clean piss. i mean the world's gone mad when i have to pay taxes so people like this can lie around all day being ugly as fuck and smoking joints to their hearts content! he's so ugly all his features have gathered in the middle of his face to have a discussion about it.

 

mad i tell you.

why are you not more concerned with how the rich and wealthy get away with their notoriously aberrated crimes against society? Let's start with tax evasion... then wars... list goes on and need much more focus in the media than this petty little article you have posted. In me saying this I don't necessarily agree or condone this guy's lifestyle - I'm just making the point that there are bigger social problems out there - this is the least of our worries right now.

 

well i am more concerned about other stuff going on in the world but it doesn't mean i can't discuss ANYTHING ELSE here does it? relax.

[perunamuusi]

its like people have this idea that poor folks should do nothing but work like slaves until they are no longer poor and THEN they can relax a bit which just does not jive with the current socioeconomic system we have in place.

 

this definitely doesn't describe my thoughts regarding "poor folks". i just think it is crazy that this dude is getting benefits and using some of those benefits to buy a 1/4oz a week. there is a difference between relaxing a bit and getting baked everyday.

 

£70 = 1/2oz

[keltoi]

our culture of benefit cheats is a major contributory factor to the recent looting... we've now got 2nd and 3rd generation dole bludgers who've been brought up to think they can get everything they need for absolutely nothing.

[keltoi]

its like people have this idea that poor folks should do nothing but work like slaves until they are no longer poor and THEN they can relax a bit which just does not jive with the current socioeconomic system we have in place.

 

this definitely doesn't describe my thoughts regarding "poor folks". i just think it is crazy that this dude is getting benefits and using some of those benefits to buy a 1/4oz a week. there is a difference between relaxing a bit and getting baked everyday.

 

£70 = 1/2oz

 

depends what he's buying i suppose.

 

it's not even a shocking amount of weed/week. i smoked more than that in my day but i worked for it.

[perunamuusi]

its like people have this idea that poor folks should do nothing but work like slaves until they are no longer poor and THEN they can relax a bit which just does not jive with the current socioeconomic system we have in place.

 

this definitely doesn't describe my thoughts regarding "poor folks". i just think it is crazy that this dude is getting benefits and using some of those benefits to buy a 1/4oz a week. there is a difference between relaxing a bit and getting baked everyday.

 

£70 = 1/2oz

 

depends what he's buying i suppose.

 

it's not even a shocking amount of weed/week. i smoked more than that in my day but i worked for it.

 

 

 

actually yeah if he's smoking hash £70 = 2oz

[Guest underscore]

yeah, that just reiterates my point; its easy to stay baked 24/7 off 1/4oz a week

[Guest Coalbucket PI]

futuregirlfriend's story about the job course sounds a lot like when I did a drug trial and was in a hospital ward for 2 weeks doing nothing. There is a limit on doing them in quick succesion so you had to leave 3 months between them, which means the people who do them regularly end up on the same trials and know each other. There were some furiously stupid retards in there, not to mention all the south africans. I presume you can do these and be on job seekers allowance too, and you can earn 10-12k a year if you do a big trial 4 times a year. I've never been on the dole but I think I'd rather spend a few days in a hospital and make £1500 and then not feel like a scrounging workshy layabout cunt if I don't get a job for the next two months. Although I spoze you could die or somefink lol

[pylonbitch]

its like people have this idea that poor folks should do nothing but work like slaves until they are no longer poor and THEN they can relax a bit which just does not jive with the current socioeconomic system we have in place.

 

this definitely doesn't describe my thoughts regarding "poor folks". i just think it is crazy that this dude is getting benefits and using some of those benefits to buy a 1/4oz a week. there is a difference between relaxing a bit and getting baked everyday.

 

£70 = 1/2oz

 

depends what he's buying i suppose.

 

it's not even a shocking amount of weed/week. i smoked more than that in my day but i worked for it.

 

 

 

actually yeah if he's smoking hash £70 = 2oz

 

 

what kind of ganky toenail are you buying at £35/oz?

[Guest 277: 930-933]

Yes let's use a specific case that was in the news about someone who obviously has mental issues and is on the dole to discuss the merits of welfare.

We don't need any more information than was in this finely written article for a well informed debate where we base our opinions on the things we feel rather than 'facts'.

 

Also, that is one unfortunately shaped face/head combo the dude's got going there.

[keltoi]

Yes let's use a specific case that was in the news about someone who obviously has mental issues and is on the dole to discuss the merits of welfare.

We don't need any more information than was in this finely written article for a well informed debate where we base our opinions on the things we feel rather than 'facts'.

 

Also, that is one unfortunately shaped face/head combo the dude's got going there.

 

what else do you need to know? he gets £800 a month for being unfit for work and spends £280 of it on weed. the world's gone mad.

[Guest 277: 930-933]

I also find the thought that someone else is getting high on my tax money and not making any contribution to society frustrating but you have to consider the alternatives and there's a very good possibility that right now this guy is costing the least possible amount of money and causing the least possible amount of trouble.

 

Ideally he'd be entered into a program where he gets help rehabilitating and maybe gets to become a productive citizen, which would be cheaper in the long run but in the short run it'd look like he's not only getting a free ride but also being handed other benefits.

This doesn't happen because it's not popular policy to help people who fucked up/are fuckups because it makes people think 'I'm working my ass off and don't get anything for free why should anybody else?'.

 

I don't know about the UK but here in the Netherlands there have been countless studies supporting the view that in the long run it's much more cost effective to invest money in people that have gone off the tracks rather than try to force them into working/participating in society by denying them money and help.

 

I'm probably not making a good case here but this is the way I look at it.

[oscillik]

fact nugget - job seekers allowance in the UK, if you're entitled to the full amount, is £67.50 a week (paid in bi-monthly intervals) currently.

[keltoi]

I also find the thought that someone else is getting high on my tax money and not making any contribution to society frustrating but you have to consider the alternatives and there's a very good possibility that right now this guy is costing the least possible amount of money and causing the least possible amount of trouble.

 

Ideally he'd be entered into a program where he gets help rehabilitating and maybe gets to become a productive citizen, which would be cheaper in the long run but in the short run it'd look like he's not only getting a free ride but also being handed other benefits.

This doesn't happen because it's not popular policy to help people who fucked up/are fuckups because it makes people think 'I'm working my ass off and don't get anything for free why should anybody else?'.

 

I don't know about the UK but here in the Netherlands there have been countless studies supporting the view that in the long run it's much more cost effective to invest money in people that have gone off the tracks rather than try to force them into working/participating in society by denying them money and help.

 

I'm probably not making a good case here but this is the way I look at it.

 

'investing' money is fine for food, shelter and clothing but he is being actively encouraged (by the excessive amount he is given) to never work again. if he can spare that much for weed he should get less, and the government can make massive savings (from him and his likes) to be better spent elsewhere.

[Guest theSun]

that's not very much

 

(@ 67.50 a week)

[BCM]

benefits aren't specifically for entertainment, no, but honestly man, how can you expect someone to become a productive member of society if they have literally no bright spot in their life? i dont get it when people bitch about poor people on welfare who have tvs. omg they have a tv. they can unwind and watch some shitty show and maybe not think about their miserable life for a little, relax, build up a supply of energy which will be much needed to face the next shitty day of their miserable existence. poor people are people too, and people need creature comforts. like tv. or pot.

 

its like people have this idea that poor folks should do nothing but work like slaves until they are no longer poor and THEN they can relax a bit which just does not jive with the current socioeconomic system we have in place. i mean really when you boil it down, there's an inverse correlation between unemployment and inflation, so these benefits leeches are keeping the value of your money up. thank them! WITH DRUGS!

 

not again disparraiastdiospsnantsppassaaiiintdisp

 

please not again. you're views are so fucking incredibly annoying i really am having trouble not slapping you down with a torrent of abuse. but i'm trying, really trying to keep my temper under control on this board lately, so i'll just ask you to please not get into your obviously-idealistic-but-not-actually-at-all-practical-in-the-real-world views again. please.

 

last post.

[Guest Coalbucket PI]

Aside from outrage and stuff, I wonder what is really going on in this case? As Oscillik said normal jobseekers allowance is under £300 a month and doesn't even cover his weed habit. What else can you get money for? Either disability or you get money to help support a family, is that it?

[BCM]

yeah, incapacity benefit, disability living allowance etc - if you know what you're doing there's fucking loads you can claim. a good tactic is to go down the jobcentre and go totally fucking mental, like have a complete breakdown in the middle of the floor - they'll class you as unstable and unable to work and all that and probably give you a few hundred extra a month. i know someone who has done this and it works.

[Guest theSun]

just to clarify, i don't bitch when poor people have a tv, i bitch when poor people have a 60" tv and pay $70 a month for cable.

[perunamuusi]

its like people have this idea that poor folks should do nothing but work like slaves until they are no longer poor and THEN they can relax a bit which just does not jive with the current socioeconomic system we have in place.

 

this definitely doesn't describe my thoughts regarding "poor folks". i just think it is crazy that this dude is getting benefits and using some of those benefits to buy a 1/4oz a week. there is a difference between relaxing a bit and getting baked everyday.

 

£70 = 1/2oz

 

depends what he's buying i suppose.

 

it's not even a shocking amount of weed/week. i smoked more than that in my day but i worked for it.

 

 

 

actually yeah if he's smoking hash £70 = 2oz

 

 

what kind of ganky toenail are you buying at £35/oz?

 

 

Not me. I gave up a couple of years ago (apart from special occasions or when I'm fucked up on other drugs) but the ugly scrote in debate - I can see him buying nasty rocky with little bits of polythene and shit in it.

And that was available for about £40 an ounce a few years back so it's probably like £30 or something now.