15 people? Are you that sheltered from reality? Try a million.
Comment on Hunt warns of benefit cuts for people who won’t ‘actively look for work’
Oneeightnine@feddit.uk 1 year ago
There’s like 15 people in this country who could be looking for work and aren’t. How does inflicting revenge pain on them raise any sort of money for the rest of us?
They’re either lying, or utterly incompetent when it comes to understanding who’s in the welfare system.
Or both I guess.
Mchugho@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Oneeightnine@feddit.uk 1 year ago
Mate I work a minimum wage warehouse job and my partner works part time in a supermarket. We rent a 2 bed terrace house that hasn’t had any work done to it in 20 years and can barely afford to keep the lights on. Middle class I ain’t.
Mchugho@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Well stop acting as though it’s an insignificant number of people who abuse the system. I’m not talking about immigrants either. There are millions who could be in work but aren’t.
Oneeightnine@feddit.uk 1 year ago
But in the grand scheme of things it’s a relatively small percentage of people. And If they were serious about saving the tax payers money they wouldn’t have written off a few billion in COVID loans a few years back.
They couldn’t give two shits if some bloke is down the job center claiming a few hundred quid to sit on his arse, and tbh neither should we. There’s significantly bigger fish to fry.
mackwinston@feddit.uk 1 year ago
The OP is clearly using hyperbole. But only 1% of the welfare bill goes on unemployment benefits, so even if absolutely everyone on unemployment benefits is cheating and you cut them off, you don’t save much. In reality the majority of people on unemployment benefits are not cheating the system - a system that already sanctions the unemployed for not actively seeking work.
Mchugho@lemmy.world 1 year ago
There is more to it than the budget. It’s a cultural thing. People become comfortable being on benefits. And I’m not just talking job seekers, I’m talking about the long term “sick” many of whom I personally believe are exaggerating their symptoms.
I don’t think just giving people a bit of cash every week that they can blow on drugs or booze is necessarily the best use of resources, nor is it even beginning to scratch the surface of the wider social issues.
echodot@feddit.uk 1 year ago
I’m talking about the long term “sick” many of whom I personally believe are exaggerating their symptoms.
Well good thing you know what your talking about. Otherwise I’d be inclined think you were a enormous twat.
gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 1 year ago
Clearly the poors should be pulling themselves up by their stiff upper lip or something like that
HandsomeDevil@kbin.social 1 year ago
You'd be surprised to find out that it's way more than 15 people. I've personally known at least a dozen who immigrated to the UK just because of the welfare system and they'd abuse it by getting paid for sitting on their ass all day.
snipvoid@lemm.ee 1 year ago
You absolutely do not.
I was an audiotypist for benefit fraud interviews for many years. My partner at the time worked in the BDC. I’m also a first generation immigrant. What I’m trying to say is that you absolutely are talking out your arse.
I can assure you that even if anyone immigrates to the UK, the road between stepping foot in the country and being able to claim benefits is long and complex.
Why would you even lie?
Aux@lemmy.world 1 year ago
A lot of EU migrants have easy access to benefits. And people from Eastern Europe know how to live frugally (source: I’m one of them). Living on benefits in the UK is easy, benefits are bigger than average salaries in many Eastern European countries, housing is also covered, so you’re getting shit loads of money doing absolutely nothing. I know a person from my country, who migrated to the UK, got furloughed during the pandemic, then spent some time on UC while constantly travelling across Europe for fun, now she bought a flat in her home country and moved back. Buying a flat while living on benefits, isn’t that a dream?
The benefits system in the UK is ridiculous. It doesn’t help those in need, but allows a lot of people to defraud the system and milk it for cash.
snipvoid@lemm.ee 1 year ago
Truly amazing. You’re doubling down.
Tell me ‘fellow migrant’, what length of time must you have been living in the UK, on what terms of immigration, and what stipulations must be fulfilled before a claim can be made (that will be processed and NOT automatically declined) by the Department for Work and Pensions.
If someone was furloughed, then they weren’t on UC. Also, I had to travel back to my home country during the pandemic because my mother died from covid and I’m an only child. I had been claiming UC at the time and my benefits were stopped while I was there because I left the country for more than 30 days.
The more you carry on with this lie, the more evident it is that you have zero idea what you’re talking about.
Oneeightnine@feddit.uk 1 year ago
I mean I’ll happily have a debate about the merits of UBI in a world where we’re rushing towards mass unemployment, but that’s aside it’s a very very small segment of people on welfare who are “playing the system”.
It’s bullshit rhetoric designed to get people shouting down at the poorest in our society whilst the richest get away with stealing from us all.
Mchugho@lemmy.world 1 year ago
It’s a very small segment, if you assume everybody that is labelled as “sick” are actually unable to work in any way (doubtful). But even without that it’s close to a million
fakeman_pretendname@feddit.uk 1 year ago
Plenty would happily work “a bit” or “in some way”, but there’s not a lot in the system to support assisted/flexible/partial working etc.
If you have injuries, ailments, illnesses, they’re still asking you to work 40 hours or go fully on sick, rather than supporting a “however many hours you can manage” and a small topup to maintain a basic standard of living.
These used to be part of the system, in the earlier part of the “working tax credits” era.
HubertManne@kbin.social 1 year ago
UBI changes the game too though as you don't lose if if you are working. Its always there so you don't have to navigate a beurocratic process instead of being able to look for work.
Oneeightnine@feddit.uk 1 year ago
This may come as a shock…but the 15 wasn’t meant to be taken literally.
I know right.
FatLegTed@feddit.uk 1 year ago
A bloody lot more than that.
peter@feddit.uk 1 year ago
They understand what their voters want to hear: it’s not us causing the problem in this country, it’s the lazy benefit cheats
Oneeightnine@feddit.uk 1 year ago
We’ve come full circle on this one. This is pretty much exactly the same shit they said 13 years ago when we all had to ‘tighten our budgets’ whilst the richest people in the UK got significantly richer at our expense.
Mchugho@lemmy.world 1 year ago
It’s entirely possible for more than one thing to be causing unnecessary fiscal problems.