Voting Intentions since the Spending Review

Mr.Harley_Quin

I have never voted for anything. I have never voted in general elections. I have never voted in local nonsense. I fact I doubt I have ever been eligible to vote. I have simply avoided the entire process.

People who vote are giving their nod to corruption and stupidity of their elected morons! I doubt the sanity of anyone who votes!

SingleSue

Degenerate wrote: »

So let's abolish benefits. Why should any of my tax money go to subsidizing you? You and your children can live on the street and eat scraps.

From what I have seen, no party has advocated abolishing benefits completely, merely bringing it more into line with the expectations of the general population. The disabled and carers are still being thought of even if the controls are being tightened up somewhat (and sometimes to the detriment of the honest claimant - ATOS is another, very eek, story)

But a line has to be drawn somewhere, the situation where it 'pays' just as well to stay at home as it does to be going out to work is not the way it should be. Working should be rewarded, working should make you better off than someone who doesn't, otherwise, what is the point?

There is still a safety net, albeit, maybe not as generous as it once was.

As for your question about why you should support me....my thoughts exactly and why I hate being on benefits, I feel so much guilt at others having to support me and it is why I am doing all I can to improve my situation and why, even though I am exempted from work, I am trying to obtain employment which fits around the boys.

Degenerate

SingleSue wrote: »

From what I have seen, no party has advocated abolishing benefits completely, merely bringing it more into line with the expectations of the general population.

You believe that the "expectations of the general population" are what matters? A significant chunk of the general population would probably agree with my earlier flippant comment, at least until they hit misfortune and need to claim, then their expectations might change somewhat. Personally, I think benefits should be based on an honest assessment of need.

But a line has to be drawn somewhere, the situation where it 'pays' just as well to stay at home as it does to be going out to work is not the way it should be. Working should be rewarded, working should make you better off than someone who doesn't, otherwise, what is the point?

The Tory changes do not address this. They are crude cut-offs that pay no regard to the individual's need or their earning potential.

Benefits by their very nature are supposed to be the minimal amount necessary for a basic standard of living. If working doesn't beat this, then the problem is that the person's employment income is too low, not that their benefits are too high. The national minimum wage and the tax credits system were brought in to tackle this problem.

There is still a safety net, albeit, maybe not as generous as it once was.

Those people who will now be evicted from their homes as a direct result of these changes may disagree that it qualifies as an adequate "safety net" anymore.

As for your question about why you should support me....my thoughts exactly and why I hate being on benefits, I feel so much guilt at others having to support me and it is why I am doing all I can to improve my situation and why, even though I am exempted from work, I am trying to obtain employment which fits around the boys.

You said "Just because I claim benefits, does not mean that I should change my political views". Indeed, you shouldn't change your views just because of your personal circumstances. You should change your views because your eyes have been opened to the realities of why people find themselves claiming benefits. Instead you prefer to consider yourself an exception to the rule and wallow in guilt about it, whilst supporting measures that will hit many claimants just as worthy as yourself.

SingleSue

I certainly do not think myself an exception to the rule nor do I wallow in guilt, I feel guilt but I don't wallow.

Yes my eyes have been opened...you should have heard me before I was on benefits :eek:

I've chilled out since then....and tonight I am going to be chilling even more, it's my bi annual night out on my own (just in case anyone thinks I am running away from the thread).

blueboy43

StevieJ wrote: »

Both my parents worked when I was young, nothing has changed?

And no doubt both sets of grandparents worked as well.

The idea of the "stay at home mum" once kids had started school is largely a 1950's - 1960's middle class luxury.

StevieJ

blueboy43 wrote: »

And no doubt both sets of grandparents worked as well.

The idea of the "stay at home mum" once kids had started school is largely a 1950's - 1960's middle class luxury.

Yes my grandad worked in engineering and my Gran performed a myriad of jobs culminating in managing an off licence when she was 65, and that covered before and during the 50's and 60's.

[Deleted User]

for 30+years i was a liberal/lib dem member and voter,that ended when he walked into number 10 with son of thatcher,i am now a fully paid up member of the labour party and will do all i can to ensure their election, asap.
the lib dems face annialation in any polls for the next 20 years,many of the 3.5 million votes they will lose at the gen.election will go to labour,who after all will be the ONLY opposition party.

A._Badger

woodbine wrote: »

for 30+years i was a liberal/lib dem member and voter,that ended when he walked into number 10 with son of thatcher,i am now a fully paid up member of the labour party and will do all i can to ensure their election, asap.
the lib dems face annialation in any polls for the next 20 years,many of the 3.5 million votes they will lose at the gen.election will go to labour,who after all will be the ONLY opposition party.

Which just goes to prove what so many have said. The Lib-Dumbs were an unholy and deeply confused alliance of those far to the Left of McDoom, suburban Tories who found the blessed St Margaret 'distasteful', sandal wearers, wild-eyed EU fanbois and almost-Celts who wanted to 'do different'.

In other words, not really a party at all - more a disaffected rabble.

careinthecommunity

Mr.Harley_Quin wrote: »

I have never voted for anything. I have never voted in general elections. I have never voted in local nonsense. I fact I doubt I have ever been eligible to vote. I have simply avoided the entire process.

People who vote are giving their nod to corruption and stupidity of their elected morons! I doubt the sanity of anyone who votes!

haha

so you look down on those who vote for corruption and yet still get dictated to by those elected by the insanse people who actually vote ??

i suppose your are living life where you do not rely on the state for anything

N1AK

Degenerate wrote: »

They don't make that distinction at all. They place arbitrary limits regardless of need or claimant track-record. There will be lower-level scroungers unaffected by the changes, whilst some higher-level worthy claimants are getting shafted.

You're right. The policies don't try to differentiate between the deserving and 'undeserving'. How on earth could they? If the tories had brought in a new 'benefit inquisition' that quizzed and spied it would be hugely demeaning to the people who genuinely need the help.

The changes to benefits so far are a complete non-issue. The limit is high enough that it will cause almost no one any real hardship. The number of 'deserving' families (not habitual benefit users) who can't live comfortably on the limit will be effectively nill.

If the changes so far are the starting steps on producing a system that ensures working families are always better off then they're a good first step.