Daydream fund challenge part 4

When I gave up full time work to be a carer for my Dad, I remember thinking, "This is going to make us very poor!"

I knew nothing about Working Tax Credits in those days, as I'd not qualified for them when working full time. I could scarcely believe our luck when one of my ex-pupils pointed me towards them. We weren't that much worse-off after all.

But I couldn't help thinking then, it was all a bit too easy. Would I have gone part time much sooner, if I'd known? Yes, of course! How much would the taxpayer have lost in terms of my working career if that had happened?

By playing the system, we could have subsidised our business for years, as DW was encouraged to claim as well. Had she known earlier, I expect she would have, as she worked all the hours God sent on it.

I remember the overpayment too. It was complex, but somehow we ended up owing over £1k. At first I accepted it, but talking to one of the benefits officers I realised he was hinting when he said, "We can't help you, unless you show you were misled."

So, I sat down and worked out a fairly pathetic argument by letter, showing we'd been 'misled' and confused (the latter was true!) and, hey presto, the debt was cancelled. Fine for us, but I'm reasonably articulate. What about the poor folks who aren't?

Anyway, what I meant to say was: complex system, needs reform and simplifying so the really needy do better.

I briefly claimed contribution-based JSA after finishing a period of full-time adult-education. I can't say I enjoyed the experience, in fact I was sanctioned for forgetting to attend a weekly interview - AFAIK they've done away with these?

The nadir in my relationship with the Job Centre was when I read you'd get reimbursed for expenses related to attending interviews and presented them with the receipt for a train ticket from Peterborough to London with covering letter from the HR dept who'd invited me for interview The angst couldn't have been greater if I'd ask them to refund me from their own money.

The building trade is really picked up here - I think folks put their money into bricks when the banks are risky, interests rates are so low. It's resurged the trades that were in a bad recession this past three years or so.

I don't really know much about tax credits, but folks with kids seem to do very well. I do think expectations are incredibly high.

I have seen extreme poverty here & it is usually the elderly that live alone or people in full time work that also live alone & are on low wage.

We do suffer from having to travel large distances here & that does impact on costs - haulage - things costs more.

There's a massive divide of wealth & there are far too many tax dodging billionaires & businesses creaming it & enjoying the fat of the land. It's very unhealthy.

OH's operation is delayed because of lack of cash basically. He's in agony & has been for a long time. It's disgraceful that the hospitals are in such a state when George Osborne & the like are bunging their millions into off shore hidey holes.

I was chatting with someone today about ... dare I risk the wrath of being accused of allsorts !,... the amount of money we are "told" to send to other countries. we agreed that whilst we have our problems as a country, we do not get massive handouts ? will we ever? doubt it.. if we could see accounts for what our money is spent on here and in other countries maybe ?.... not gonna happen when the people on high stay "high"... unaccountable and untraceable... see a common theme folks??