MSE News: 'I'm on benefits but I'm no scrounger'

zigzigzag

Flyboy152 wrote: »

That's because anything written in that rag is propaganda and is mostly devoid of any fact.

It has even won awards for having so little fact.

I'm not talking about things written in the Daily Mail, I don't read it - I'm talking about the knee-jerk reaction when people present facts that get reported in other media as well (eg BBC), as well as when people present their own real experiences (which obviously aren't in the Daily Mail), then someone simply responds 'it's Daily Mail propaganda', thereby avoiding dealing with the real issues and facts. It's a cop-out and entirely lacking in substance.

Flyboy152

zigzigzag wrote: »

I'm not talking about things written in the Daily Mail, I don't read it - I'm talking about the knee-jerk reaction when people present facts that get reported in other media as well (eg BBC), as well as when people present their own real experiences (which obviously aren't in the Daily Mail), then someone simply responds 'it's Daily Mail propaganda', thereby avoiding dealing with the real issues and facts. It's a cop-out and entirely lacking in substance.

That's because, when most people write, "I know of hundreds of people who are benefit cheats," and "all these foreigners who are getting millions of pounds in housing benefits are dirty scroungers," it usually is responding to propaganda.

If it is reported elsewhere, it is generally done so from a more accurate perspective, or is directly attributed to the Daily Heil, The Star, The Sport or the Daily Express.

zigzigzag

Flyboy152 wrote: »

That's because, when most people write, "I know of hundreds of people who are benefit cheats," and "all these foreigners who are getting millions of pounds in housing benefits are dirty scroungers," it usually is responding to propaganda.

If it is reported elsewhere, it is generally done so from a more accurate perspective, or is directly attributed to the Daily Heil, The Star, The Sport or the Daily Express.

Well if you won't accept cold hard facts, and you disregard people's own real experiences (which shows a terrible lack of respect), then there's really no point discussing anything with you, because you will only listen to viewpoints that agree with yours.

kennethfryde

Thank you Ross for telling it like it is. Your story should be on the front page of the Sun/Mirror/Star etc but it won't be cos they know kicking people when they're down sells papers. You are a hero to all of us who have no choice but to claim - and then take the insults from mugs who like having someone to spit on.

smk77

Flyboy152 wrote: »

Indeed, so prisoners are not being treated any differently than anyone else who is homeless.

The point of this conversation was that Susiesae59 was complaining that ex-offenders get better treatment than anyone else in similar circumstances, when clearly they don't

I'm agreeing with you! Just making a minor correction

Flyboy152

kennethfryde wrote: »

Thank you Ross for telling it like it is. Your story should be on the front page of the Sun/Mirror/Star etc but it won't be cos they know kicking people when they're down sells their papers. You are a hero to all of us who have no choice but to claim - and then take the insults from mugs who like having someone to spit on.

There, just corrected that for you.

Flyboy152

zigzigzag wrote: »

Well if you won't accept cold hard facts, and you disregard people's own real experiences (which shows a terrible lack of respect), then there's really no point discussing anything with you, because you will only listen to viewpoints that agree with yours.

I am happy to debate with people who use facts to create intelligent discourse, but when they rely on information garnered from the Daily Heil, a rag renowned for its inaccuracies, myths and lies, it is hard to take them seriously. Surely you can understand that.

RoughRook

~Jem~ wrote: »

But then again I recently read about a couple that won some few million on the lottery years ago, and because the guy had a disibilty and DLA isn't means tested, they still get something like £500 every 6 months.

Now I'm sorry but that IS scrounging. Apparently they said 'were entitled to it and we put it to good use' or along those lines.

Really? You can't take a few thousand of your millions and put that to use instead?!

I believe that if you do a little research, you may discover that PM David Cameron previously claimed DLA on behalf of his disabled son who sadly subsequently died.

http://www.witneygazette.co.uk/news/9048421.Disability_claims_increased_by_a_third/?action=complain&cid=9391073
"DLA is payable whether a disabled person works or not. David Cameron claimed it for his son."

The PM, along with his wife, are multi-millionaires as far as i am aware. They did not win the national lottery, as did the couple referred to by Jem, but maybe did ok in another lottery. Or is it all down to hard work and getting off your #@?>
Obviously the lottery regarding disability they sadly did not fare well with.

Also, a large majority (not quite all) of the cabinet in government, making policy affecting the masses, are also millionaires (if not multi) as far as i am aware.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/election/article-1280554/The-coalition-millionaires-23-29-member-new-cabinet-worth-1m--Lib-Dems-just-wealthy-Tories.html

BarbaBright

~Jem~ wrote: »

...I recently read about a couple that won some few million on the lottery years ago, and because the guy had a disibilty and DLA isn't means tested, they still get something like £500 every 6 months.

Now I'm sorry but that IS scrounging. Apparently they said 'were entitled to it and we put it to good use' or along those lines.

Really? You can't take a few thousand of your millions and put that to use instead?!

Why don't you address that to one David Cameron, who, a millionaire in his own right, is open about the fact that he claimed full DLA for his disabled son for all of his life?

Two things. One is, your post suggests that if you are well off and disabled you should not claim DLA. Why? Are we saying that if you are disabled, you should not able to claim the allowance that helps with the extra costs of being disabled if you are rich? You should, instead, pay them out of your own pocket?

If you are a pensioner who also has an occupational pension that you paid in for, should that mean you give back the state pension you get?

If you are a parent who is making a decent wage, you should give up child allowance?

I don't hear you making the case equally that people who are millionaires should give up the tax breaks that mean they pay a lower rate of tax than people on average working wages.

Only the disabled giving up their rights if they come into some money then...

Something wrong with that.

The other piece is "I read about". You bet your sweet fanny you did. I spent 26 years in marketing and PR and I know a co-ordinated PR campaign when I see one. You "read about" what the Government wants you to read about. You "read about" what the obedient right wing press print to keep in the right pockets.

This is an all-out campaign by a Tory Government that wants to set ordinary working people against disabled people so that nobody will object to some of the most draconian cuts to essential welfare help for the most vulnerable in our society.

They are doing so by drip-feeding into the media the most extreme, the most unusual, the most unrepresentative stories of benefit fraud they can sift from the ZERO POINT FIVE PERCENT - ie HALF a percent - of claims that are deemed fraudulent.

Think about it - how many stories of genuine disabled people in need do you ever read in the press? And do you really think that is representative of what is going on?

This concerted, co-ordinated, determined, relentless, pitiless, and thoroughly dishonest campaign is making newspaper readers like you think that half the country are 'at it' defrauding the Department for Work and Pensions of £26,000 a year each in disability benefit.

It isn't happening. You are just being made to think it is.

Please could I just ask you to WAKE UP. You are being fed a pup.

aimeeb30

I think the goverment is the one to answer the questions really. After a bad accident my husband is unable to work. We went to an ESA medical and the reply we got was that my husband would be able to work for half an hour and then would need a rest of over an hour before repeating this again. I can not think of anyone who would employ someone with these restrictions can you???

We are phoned up job seekers which was what DWP said to do in the letter. Firstly they told us that until my husband had recieved his last payment we couldn't be seen by them and that secondly they would not be able to find him a job because of their recimendations.

I went out and managed to find a job that was term time only so i would be able to take my kids to school and pick them up and look after them during school holidays, This was £5000 annum. I went to the CAB today to find out what we would be intitled to by way of help giving that our housing association rent is £5000 a year without council tax and other bills. To find out that basically we would be worse off than living off benefits something neither of us wants to do.
After talking to a friend today who is a single parent i was shocked to learn that although my self and my husband get £105 a week she gets £67.50 and then is entitled to extra child tax credits because she is a single parent which means she gets more money each week for herself than both my husband and i get togeather.
Therefore in affect the goverment actually penialises those who are trying to live as a couple. This is how i feel that the goverment is failing. My friend even admitted that if the goverment was to top people up to what they would get on income support ie free school meals, full housing benefit and council tax benefit to the amount that they are on now then the majority of people would be in work. I now have a very hard decision on my hands start my £5000 a year job or stay as we are on benefits. I would rather do the first and will work hard to find a way but the last time i got a job i put us into a lot of debt due to it being too low. As i write this i am in tears as i really don't know what to do.
By the way we do not get dla or anything else we get
£105 income support
£47 child benefit
£152 child tax credit
£29 council tax benefit
£89 housing benefit
total £422 a week totaling £21,944 a year

if i go to work we would get
£98 wages
£47 child benefit
£152 Child tax credit
£67 working tax credit
total £364 a week total £18,928 a year
putting us into debt by £3016 a year. If someone can help us then it would be benefical because i am stuck in the benefits trap at the moment and i do not like it at all