Jobless mum spends £2k of benefits on christmas

Jobless mum spends £2k of benefits on christmas

Author
Discussion

Hoover.

5,988 posts

248 months

Monday 17th December 2012
quotequote all
It's the System that needs changing....... bit like Starbucks etc..... if it's not illegal people will do it.

Yes it annoys me, but taking a step back and looking at it the System needs to change

Tonberry

2,124 posts

198 months

Monday 17th December 2012
quotequote all
Her rent amounted to £480 PCM with a private landlord.

Unfortunately I don't remember the exact breakdown i.e. what each item said next to each payment on the statement but it was all benefits. She was the type of girl who knew how to fiddle the system for maximum gain.

.....Off topic but isn't it amazing we actually refer to them as benefits? Theres a problem in itself.

Deva Link

26,934 posts

251 months

Monday 17th December 2012
quotequote all
Tonberry said:
Her rent amounted to £480 PCM with a private landlord.

Unfortunately I don't remember the exact breakdown i.e. what each item said next to each payment on the statement but it was all benefits. She was the type of girl who knew how to fiddle the system for maximum gain.
I can't imagine how she can have been getting £1500 then - it should max out at around £1000. Perhaps the benefits payments were fortnightly and you happened to look at a month when she got 3 payments? Is the child disabled?

If she was paying for childcare while she was working then that would bump up her benefit payment, but paying for childcare would make it financially pointless for her to work.

iphonedyou

9,537 posts

163 months

Monday 17th December 2012
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DonkeyApple said:
Are you American? Does that explain your failure to understand the meaning or irony? Or are you just one of those ranting, tabloid reading idiots who is all mouth and no trousers?

You're the fools shouting at chickens. Not me.

Spineless, lazy little people.
He's pointing out the irony of you calling other people brainless. I hope that helps!

It's even more ironic that you questioned his understanding of irony while not grasping the irony he was referring to, of course.

iphonedyou

9,537 posts

163 months

Monday 17th December 2012
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Pistonwot said:
Just how stupid is this crawling generation of cowardly British people?

How did a once great nation become a cesspit of shouty, unthinking, gullible idiots who attack the weakest members of society just because they have the weakest voice?
EVEN THE DISABLED AND DYING HAVE BEEN VILIFIED.

I am genuinely ashamed of my country, the people in it are a disgrace.

It is apparently OK for an UNELECTED Government of stooges to openly steal BILLIONS of our Tax money and you cower and do NOTHING! You KNOW it is happening because the money is publicly siphoned to the 'special' friends clubs (like the EU sham or criminal banker fiasco) they are even increasing Taxes everywhere (whilst cutting services) so they can do it again but for even more.
So what have you done about it? With that level of vitriol, I'm expecting a fairly comprehensive list of objectives and achievements to date.

I'm sure you haven't cowered and done nothing, or you'll be looking quite silly shortly.

DonkeyApple

58,456 posts

175 months

Monday 17th December 2012
quotequote all
iphonedyou said:
DonkeyApple said:
Are you American? Does that explain your failure to understand the meaning or irony? Or are you just one of those ranting, tabloid reading idiots who is all mouth and no trousers?

You're the fools shouting at chickens. Not me.

Spineless, lazy little people.
He's pointing out the irony of you calling other people brainless. I hope that helps!

It's even more ironic that you questioned his understanding of irony while not grasping the irony he was referring to, of course.
Happily aware of what was 'trying' to be inferred. rofl

oyster

12,832 posts

254 months

Monday 17th December 2012
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REALIST123 said:
DonkeyApple said:
Good for her. A smart woman managing her income well enough to give a children a wonderful Christmas.

If people don't like the fact that she doesn't actually have to do any work for this then tough. Shouldn't elect leaders that enact the laws that allow this.

Society needs to stop blaming the recipients of benefits and looking to themselves as to why they are doing nothing about it and look to the elected leaders and stop them from making this lifestyle an obvious choice.
Shame on her and those who speak for her.

She's nothing but a thieving parasite as far as I am concerned.
So presumably you prefer those who spunk their benefits on booze and betting shops?

okgo

39,209 posts

204 months

Monday 17th December 2012
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The only time I get annoyed by this kind of thing is when one of them somehow affords to afford to live in my street and drags the area down, other than that, their lives are miserable, they will never achieve anything, they have nothing to work towards and they're not important, also their kids will often be thick, and they will also never achieve anything. They're on the planet, waiting to die. How depressing, I wouldn't want that, whenever I think about one of them sitting around earning £x I think, I'd rather go to work so I have some of the above points in my life.

DonkeyApple

58,456 posts

175 months

Monday 17th December 2012
quotequote all
oyster said:
REALIST123 said:
DonkeyApple said:
Good for her. A smart woman managing her income well enough to give a children a wonderful Christmas.

If people don't like the fact that she doesn't actually have to do any work for this then tough. Shouldn't elect leaders that enact the laws that allow this.

Society needs to stop blaming the recipients of benefits and looking to themselves as to why they are doing nothing about it and look to the elected leaders and stop them from making this lifestyle an obvious choice.
Shame on her and those who speak for her.

She's nothing but a thieving parasite as far as I am concerned.
So presumably you prefer those who spunk their benefits on booze and betting shops?
It helps with the hate wink

The core reality is that these benefits that are paid, whatever they are used for do tend to fire back into the economic system pretty quickly. The recipients are very rarely savers but weekly/monthly spenders.

As posters have said, it is a pretty awful lifestyle which is why most people chose to work instead and attempt to build a future.

But short of allowing DM readers to obtain their needed fix of rage inducement having a pop at wastrels and scroungers, along with the many genuine cases, achieves nothing constructive and in reality is divisive and unhealthy for society.

It is clear that most working people would like to see logical reform that brings welfare back to being an invaluable safety net from becoming an what does appear to be a lifestyle choice but if people feel so strongly as to have the amount of anger that some do then it's hard not to mock them for doing nothing about it and for shouting in the wrong and most foolish direction. Let alone for willingly being complicit in the deceit of a tabloid scribbler.

Tiggsy

10,261 posts

258 months

Monday 17th December 2012
quotequote all
okgo said:
The only time I get annoyed by this kind of thing is when one of them somehow affords to afford to live in my street and drags the area down, other than that, their lives are miserable, they will never achieve anything, they have nothing to work towards and they're not important, also their kids will often be thick, and they will also never achieve anything. They're on the planet, waiting to die. How depressing, I wouldn't want that, whenever I think about one of them sitting around earning £x I think, I'd rather go to work so I have some of the above points in my life.
this

crankedup

25,764 posts

249 months

Monday 17th December 2012
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If I didn't know better I would be tempted to call these type of stories 'State sponsored'. The Government has seemingly bent over backwards in its attempts to vilify and demonise those that receive benefits. Osbourne couldn't resist the opportunity whilst delivering the Autumn statement to further stoke the fires of division within Society. We know that the benefits scandal is being addressed so quite why the Government continues with its divisive narration is a mystery and completely unnecessary.
Back to the article, how much is truth and how much exaggeration and nonsense.

anonymous-user

60 months

Monday 17th December 2012
quotequote all
DonkeyApple said:
It helps with the hate wink

The core reality is that these benefits that are paid, whatever they are used for do tend to fire back into the economic system pretty quickly. The recipients are very rarely savers but weekly/monthly spenders.


It is clear that most working people would like to see logical reform that brings welfare back to being an invaluable safety net from becoming an what does appear to be a lifestyle choice but if people feel so strongly as to have the amount of anger that some do then it's hard not to mock them for doing nothing about it and for shouting in the wrong and most foolish direction. Let alone for willingly being complicit in the deceit of a tabloid scribbler.
Your first point is so far off it's laughable. As risible as the old chestnut that the Public Sector pays income ax.

As for your last point, you wrongly assume that those who have had enough of this are doing nothing about it. I am involved in a number of areas that will hopefully bring pressure to bear on those who permit this type of scandal to continue, not least making every effort to minimise by all legal means any tax I might pay over coming years. If they don't get it, they can't piss it away.

Pretending it is all made up and isn't there is the worst form of 'doing nothing about it'.

DonkeyApple

58,456 posts

175 months

Monday 17th December 2012
quotequote all
REALIST123 said:
DonkeyApple said:
It helps with the hate wink

The core reality is that these benefits that are paid, whatever they are used for do tend to fire back into the economic system pretty quickly. The recipients are very rarely savers but weekly/monthly spenders.


It is clear that most working people would like to see logical reform that brings welfare back to being an invaluable safety net from becoming an what does appear to be a lifestyle choice but if people feel so strongly as to have the amount of anger that some do then it's hard not to mock them for doing nothing about it and for shouting in the wrong and most foolish direction. Let alone for willingly being complicit in the deceit of a tabloid scribbler.
Your first point is so far off it's laughable. As risible as the old chestnut that the Public Sector pays income ax.

As for your last point, you wrongly assume that those who have had enough of this are doing nothing about it. I am involved in a number of areas that will hopefully bring pressure to bear on those who permit this type of scandal to continue, not least making every effort to minimise by all legal means any tax I might pay over coming years. If they don't get it, they can't piss it away.

Pretending it is all made up and isn't there is the worst form of 'doing nothing about it'.
You should list your courses of actions so others may follow you and build the groundswell of change.

whoami

13,156 posts

246 months

Monday 17th December 2012
quotequote all
DonkeyApple said:
You should list your courses of actions so others may follow you and build the groundswell of change.
Apologies if you've already posted this, but what exactly are you doing?

DonkeyApple

58,456 posts

175 months

Monday 17th December 2012
quotequote all
whoami said:
DonkeyApple said:
You should list your courses of actions so others may follow you and build the groundswell of change.
Apologies if you've already posted this, but what exactly are you doing?
I'm not the one complaining. What I've been doing is trying to ask those who are what they are doing or going to do. As well as asking where the logic is in getting angry with the recipients of benefits.



JagLover

43,672 posts

241 months

Monday 17th December 2012
quotequote all
crankedup said:
We know that the benefits scandal is being addressed so quite why the Government continues with its divisive narration is a mystery and completely unnecessary.
Is it?

Benefits are capped at a level where someone would have to earn higher than the average wage, before tax, to achieve the same level.

Increases in benefits have been restricted to 1% for the next three years (after rising at over 5% last year)

Tinkering around the edges so far rather than really 'addressing' the issue. The universal credit sounds promising lets see how it works in practice.

As for why the government needs to continue with 'divisive narrative' their is an inbuilt bias in favour of ever higher benefits in much of the media. They are trying to counter that and are nowhere close to winning the argument.

Mobile Chicane

21,171 posts

218 months

Monday 17th December 2012
quotequote all
Crafty_ said:
Tampon said:
Sensational story IMO, still not nice to read.

Shame she is where she is, sounds pretty able and switched on for a lass who has no formal education. Imagine how financially savvy she would be running her own business.

Not many people in her situation manage money so well.
All shes got to do is pay the electric bill and buy food/clothes, everything else is covered by benefits, even buying milk!

Shes probably got more disposable income than many homeowners.
yes

From an income of £1,290, minus £444 for rent and £80 for council tax, I make her 'disposable income' as £766 per month.

I work in a job she wouldn't have a hope in Hell of getting, and have £729 per month in disposable income. From this I have to maintain a professional appearance for work and run a car, over and above feeding myself and heating the house.

If I didn't loathe children, I could quite see the economic argument behind 'breeding' as a career choice.



DonkeyApple

58,456 posts

175 months

Monday 17th December 2012
quotequote all
Mobile Chicane said:
Crafty_ said:
Tampon said:
Sensational story IMO, still not nice to read.

Shame she is where she is, sounds pretty able and switched on for a lass who has no formal education. Imagine how financially savvy she would be running her own business.

Not many people in her situation manage money so well.
All shes got to do is pay the electric bill and buy food/clothes, everything else is covered by benefits, even buying milk!

Shes probably got more disposable income than many homeowners.
yes

From an income of £1,290, minus £444 for rent and £80 for council tax, I make her 'disposable income' as £766 per month.

I work in a job she wouldn't have a hope in Hell of getting, and have £729 per month in disposable income. From this I have to maintain a professional appearance for work and run a car, over and above feeding myself and heating the house.

If I didn't loathe children, I could quite see the economic argument behind 'breeding' as a career choice.
Load yourself up with two kids and then try and do your job. wink

It's the kids that cost. Any one of us can actually live on bugger all if we needed or wanted to. Rent a room, buy beans and a jumper. As blokes we can exist on almost nothing.

The problem arises when you throw a couple of kids into the equation. At the moment by contrasting your lifestyle to a mother of two you are comparing apples and oranges. The maths doesn't stack up.

I suspect you would have to stop working so as to raise the children as you couldn't afford child care.

So this does raise the question of how to promote the family unit, how to stop excessive breeding in a financially insecure environment etc etc.

Can you imagine a situation where a mother of two loses her recently enlisted husband in Afghanistan or in a road accident etc. It would be very wrong as a society not to protect them? The majority won't be single due to these events or similar but where do you draw the line? The two children exist and you can't stick them back up the hole and you can't sell them on eBay. A modern society is better than that.


whoami

13,156 posts

246 months

Monday 17th December 2012
quotequote all
DonkeyApple said:
whoami said:
DonkeyApple said:
You should list your courses of actions so others may follow you and build the groundswell of change.
Apologies if you've already posted this, but what exactly are you doing?
I'm not the one complaining. What I've been doing is trying to ask those who are what they are doing or going to do. As well as asking where the logic is in getting angry with the recipients of benefits.
Ah sorry, I didn't realise that you were in favour of the current situation.

DonkeyApple

58,456 posts

175 months

Monday 17th December 2012
quotequote all
whoami said:
DonkeyApple said:
whoami said:
DonkeyApple said:
You should list your courses of actions so others may follow you and build the groundswell of change.
Apologies if you've already posted this, but what exactly are you doing?
I'm not the one complaining. What I've been doing is trying to ask those who are what they are doing or going to do. As well as asking where the logic is in getting angry with the recipients of benefits.
Ah sorry, I didn't realise that you were in favour of the current situation.
Haven't said I'm in favour either. wink Where did you get that idea?