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

lanza

dktreesea wrote: »

It's not a matter of being against disabled people. Benefits are meant to provide a basic standard of living. Why should having a disability mean that an unemployed disabled person gets £19 a week more than an able bodied unemployed person? We have created a system whereby it's financially rewarding to be assessed disabled. That is madness. Look at the incredibly expensive assessment monster (ATOS) it has spawned.

The benefits system is meant to provide an income to meet basic needs. Surely both the able bodied and the disabled have the same needs for food, a warm home, suitable clothing, sufficient money to buy a bus ticket now and then, a telephone? I would even go so far as to say internet and TV are essential nowadays. They are both capable of having a positive effect on people's mental health. Why should being able bodied mean you get at least a third less to meet your basic needs than a disabled person would get?

Regarding taxis, plenty of disabled people use the public transport system. If there are people who have needs beyond what the benefit stretches to, then special arrangements could be made for them. As it is, even if the person is sufficiently disabled to get the add on benefits, there is then a huge incentive thereafter to not heal/get well/improve one's condition, because people don't want to lose the disability benefit. And no wonder. The basic benefit really isn't enough for anyone to live on.

you just contradicted yourself. If basic benefit is not enough to live on, then how do you expect anybody disabled to live on it. If the disabled person only gets £19 a week extra then maybe they might have the basic to live on.

lanza

gadgetmind wrote: »

Here is a learned discourse on this particular subject.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Red_Hen

Discuss.

LETS have an injection of reality please.

Your little red hen when actually put into reality is represented in the red box at the top of this diagram.

Anon_E_Mus

dktreesea wrote: »

It's not a matter of being against disabled people. Benefits are meant to provide a basic standard of living. Why should having a disability mean that an unemployed disabled person gets £19 a week more than an able bodied unemployed person? We have created a system whereby it's financially rewarding to be assessed disabled. That is madness. Look at the incredibly expensive assessment monster (ATOS) it has spawned.

The benefits system is meant to provide an income to meet basic needs. Surely both the able bodied and the disabled have the same needs for food, a warm home, suitable clothing, sufficient money to buy a bus ticket now and then, a telephone? I would even go so far as to say internet and TV are essential nowadays. They are both capable of having a positive effect on people's mental health. Why should being able bodied mean you get at least a third less to meet your basic needs than a disabled person would get?

Regarding taxis, plenty of disabled people use the public transport system. If there are people who have needs beyond what the benefit stretches to, then special arrangements could be made for them. As it is, even if the person is sufficiently disabled to get the add on benefits, there is then a huge incentive thereafter to not heal/get well/improve one's condition, because people don't want to lose the disability benefit. And no wonder. The basic benefit really isn't enough for anyone to live on.

Sometimes a disability means having to spend out more money to live than an able bodied person.

I have a 12 mile round trip to the Doctors everyday, this is a necessity to get my open wound dressed. On the weekends I have a District Nurse come to me. Therefore I need extra diesel money. I cannot get public transport due to living in the middle of nowhere. There is a bus comes past me, four times a day. But it doesn't go near to the Doctors. To get a bus to the Doctors I would have to get three. One from here into the next village, then another into town, then one out of town to the Doctors. I can't got to the Doctors in town because I am out of the catchment area. If I was fit enough, I could walk the trip, but then if I were fit, I'd be at work and not need to go to the Doctors everyday.

I have to go to the hospital on a regular basis. This is also extra diesel and then parking on top.

I also have to eat good quality fresh food. My wound needs the correct protein to heal.
I need to buy some dressings not available on prescription.

So yes, it is sometimes necessary to get DLA.

I commented a while back, I am on £67.50 per week. At the moment I am not receiving DLA, but I have applied for it. I can no longer survive without it.

And believe me, the £19odd extra I hopefully will receive will in no way mean I won't get the incentive to get better. If I could swap all what I have been through, and swap what I'm still going through, I would swap it all in the next minute.

Be careful you don't suddenly get ill and end up in a position where YOU are a victim of all this. It's not a nice place to be.

lanza

Anon_E_Mus wrote: »

Sometimes a disability means having to spend out more money to live than an able bodied person.

I have a 12 mile round trip to the Doctors everyday, this is a necessity to get my open wound dressed. On the weekends I have a District Nurse come to me. Therefore I need extra diesel money. I cannot get public transport due to living in the middle of nowhere. There is a bus comes past me, four times a day. But it doesn't go near to the Doctors. To get a bus to the Doctors I would have to get three. One from here into the next village, then another into town, then one out of town to the Doctors. I can't got to the Doctors in town because I am out of the catchment area. If I was fit enough, I could walk the trip, but then if I were fit, I'd be at work and not need to go to the Doctors everyday.

I have to go to the hospital on a regular basis. This is also extra diesel and then parking on top.

I also have to eat good quality fresh food. My wound needs the correct protein to heal.
I need to buy some dressings not available on prescription.

So yes, it is sometimes necessary to get DLA.

I commented a while back, I am on £67.50 per week. At the moment I am not receiving DLA, but I have applied for it. I can no longer survive without it.

And believe me, the £19odd extra I hopefully will receive will in no way mean I won't get the incentive to get better. If I could swap all what I have been through, and swap what I'm still going through, I would swap it all in the next minute.

Be careful you don't suddenly get ill and end up in a position where YOU are a victim of all this. It's not a nice place to be.

Why bother even trying to justify yourself. A lot of these people enjoy logging on to try and lay heavy trip on the weakest. Nothing you say makes any difference, as their intention is to ignore anything rational thats said to them and fish for anybody daft enough who actually tries to appeal to a better side. In reality what they really log on for is precisely to bait people like you so they can practise the art of being unfeeling.

Why ? lots of reasons. Primary ones are to develop the mindset to get them through harder times ahead, scammers trying to pick up tips or the real scum here just getting a cheap thrill laying guilt trips.

Coopdivi

Pobby wrote: »

Interesting. I am 63 and have been on benefits since April last year. I had a massive breakdown and struggled to work through it. In the end I got the sack. By this time I was unable to leave the house on my own. Frequently in tears and was diagnosed with moderate to severe depression and anxiety along with other symptoms. So after 40 years of working hard I am now drawing from the state. The only reason I am still around is the love of my wife.

Do I feel guilty? No I don`t. It is a genuine illness and I have a full NI contribution and contributed a ton of tax. However I am very grateful to get help.

Now, being a hard worker, I never really looked at benefits. Always been a guy where that never figured. Now it becomes clear to me about some other claimants I have known. A guy that worked for me. His father had not worked since 25. Had a nice purchased home and car. Couldn`t work because of a bad back but when I needed building work he was the first to come to me. A guy who is a JW, knocking on peoples doors can`t work because of depression. Not worked that out. Has managed to do about 10 years on benefits.

A local guy who can`t work because of bad wrists, don`t get it as he is often seen in the pub with his building clothes on after a days work. Or the lass that came into £80k but hasn`t informed the benefits office.

Not proud to be drawing off the state but feel that I do qualify. There are plenty of genuine people about, sadly a few know how to work the system.

So everybody else is on the fiddle except you? why don't you dob them in then? After all it's your duty as a law abiding citizen....

lanza

Coopdivi wrote: »

So everybody else is on the fiddle except you? why don't you dob them in then? After all it's your duty as a law abiding citizen....

What the F are you all about. Where did he say that or even suggest anything like it ?

go on extract the sentence where that is suggested so we can see how you drew that brilliant conclusion.

Pobby

Coopdivi wrote: »

So everybody else is on the fiddle except you? why don't you dob them in then? After all it's your duty as a law abiding citizen....

What a complete and utter foolish statement. My wife is a health worker and believe you me there are many who cannot work and indeed would not be in the position to do so.

lanza

Pobby wrote: »

What a complete and utter foolish statement. My wife is a health worker and believe you me there are many who cannot work and indeed would not be in the position to do so.

For christ sake what is it with this place. He just misquoted the previous post, and now you just misquoted him being sarcastic.

What do people just jump in and out of threads without even reading the context anymore ?

So much for technology making us smarter, it stopped us reading books, now we cant even be bothered to comprehend a forum thread.

lanza

I give up, this forum is a shambles now, or maybe it always was. I guess this is what money does to peoples brains.

Coopdivi

lanza wrote: »

I give up, this forum is a shambles now, or maybe it always was. I guess this is what money does to peoples brains.

Was it not a shambles when you joined 3 months ago?