The benefits system is supposed to provide the minimum level of support for those who are unable to work for whatever reason. How long you have been working before that should have nothing to do with it IMO.

There are qualifying periods for some benefits, for instance unemployemnt benefit was only payable for upto 1 year and then you wnet onto social security. You needed 26 consecutive stamps to be eligible for sick benefit, I know these have all changed and have new names the principle remains the same.

It does offer a very basic safety net to the very poor in our society, which it has done to a certain degree for the last sixty odd years. The alternative would be to adopt the US system, complete with armed police force etc because the crime rate would go through the roof.

Social benefit benefits nearly all levels of society in one way or another by keeping the lowest down they can maintain all the other social groupings in order above. The victorians did realise this and indeed many social reformers of the 1800s would recognise and welcome our welfare system. The system is not perfect and sure it is open to fraud, closing the loopholes can and should be done. The trouble is that is ripping the benefit system off for any different to many companies charging 3 or 4 times extra for products and services to our military, NHS and government organisations.


Its far too easy to pick on the lowest social group, they can not kick back but I actually agree with the tories about benefits being denied to anyone on over say £50k and I would include tax relief on private education and health care as well.

You do get good at doing crosswords, I'll give you that.

its this kind of article that really winds me up

[urlhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7746174.stm[/url

key quotes include

"she concedes that she doesn't really know why she didn't get a job, and that there was an element of just "not getting round" to it." not got round to it after nearly 30 years, great



""They send for you every month to ask you why you're not working and if you've been looking for work. I've told them my situation, that I've been having panic attacks when I go out" funny how these panic attacks come on when there's a threat of benefits being stopped isn't it?

"But it's not that easy to get a job straight away, you've got to write out your CV and everything and then hand it in to places." Write a CV, AND hand them in...wow what a challenge!

the only one who seems to have made any contribution to society is the son who was in the Army for 3 years...quite why they deserve £270 of taxpayers cash for such laziness is beyond me.

also found this gem on the 'photos' tab

"Danielle fell pregnant when she was 16. She has kept the two pregnancy tests in a memory box for Rhys."

seriously wtf!









'yes darling here's the bit of plastic mummy had a wee on to find out she was pregnant' what a momento!

"Unfortunately son, I don't have a list of all the men who were at the party, so we don't know who your Dad is sweetheart, we can't even narrow it down"

I was at A4e when they recorded this, be interesting to see how they have put it together.

Wonder if they managed to catch how poorly run it is.

Ok then.

Well I gave A4e a list of all my skills and what I have worked in. I had my own office when I was 17 and all there answer was for me is to work volountary in offices because I needed the expierence ? In other words unless it was a factory job they couldn't offer me anything else.

I applied for about 50 jobs whilst I was there never got one reply, wonder if they even bothered to send them ? Not saying your friend is that said person or anything and not everyone at A4e was s, the IT department helped me alot.

Infact when I was there the only work they offered me was a server at a chip shop for 8 hours a week oh and a factory job in beverley. I had no car and was better off on the dole for the chippy job.

Before anyone says they are paying for me to live a) I now work again and b) I have paid my fair share of tax so you haven't paid for me to live.

Don't forget making structures out of paper and there charging the government £100 for the process!

i agree that is wrong and whomever said that is well out of order and should have been dealt with by management

i agree 100% they should not waste the money on people who dont want to work...but if dole didnt send them to places like a4e they would get away with it for life...honestly they would simply sit at home getting more and more demotivated and unwilling if thats possible

silly me forgot about that