Living on £53 a week.....

BobQ

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/iain-duncan-smith-i-could-get-by-on-53-a-week-8556002.html

Iain Duncan Smith: I could get by on £53 a week


Online petition calls on the Work and Pensions Secretary - who currently takes home £1,581 a week after tax - to prove it

Could this take off?

Fishingtime

I think this has been done before a few years back. I forget who did it.

paddyrg

It's never a fair experiment when they do this. Starting from a point of a bigger house to start with, phone probably on contract etc., it's not the same as sustained survival. Correspondingly, in the long term on £53/week you can make economies of buying a sack of potatoes/hot water bottles/etc as opposed to amortising those costs over a week.

In short, anyone ever trying it will be a pure publicity thing

marathonic

paddyrg wrote: »

In short, anyone ever trying it will be a pure publicity thing

Exactly... it's not as if he's going to attempt it, find out he couldn't live on that amount and subsequently increase benefits for everyone in receipt of them....

katejo

paddyrg wrote: »

It's never a fair experiment when they do this. Starting from a point of a bigger house to start with, phone probably on contract etc., it's not the same as sustained survival. Correspondingly, in the long term on £53/week you can make economies of buying a sack of potatoes/hot water bottles/etc as opposed to amortising those costs over a week.

In short, anyone ever trying it will be a pure publicity thing

I agree. Someone would need to survive on this for an extended period with no access to any savings or use of credit card to delay payment.

chewmylegoff

I don't really see why politicians should have to prove that they can live off £53 a week given that no one on benefits has to live off £53 a week.

Even income based JSA for under 25s is £56.25 a week (£71 a week for over 25s) plus when you add on housing benefit and council tax benefit then the actual amount received is significantly greater.

Perhaps instead of signing a petition claiming that politicians should try living on less than benefits claimants actually receive, people on minimal benefits should get themselves a job, so they can live on more than whatever the real figure that they actually receive is.

The_White_Horse

£53 a week AFTER bills and rent paid!!???!!! what a disgrace. these beggars should have NOTHING after bills and rent is paid. Most working people would do well to have that type of cash after they have paid all their bills.

scroungers want want want. Get a job and pay your way.

grizzly1911

The_White_Horse wrote: »

£53 a week AFTER bills and rent paid!!???!!! what a disgrace. these beggars should have NOTHING after bills and rent is paid. Most working people would do well to have that type of cash after they have paid all their bills.

scroungers want want want. Get a job and pay your way.

]

A little more than IDS allegedly paid for breakfast recently (on expenses). An equally fatuous pointless remark.

I guess it depends what bills are paid and what still need to be found out of that £53. Something tells me it isn't his going "on the lash" money..

The_White_Horse

the whole point is this: people that don't work are entitled to nothing. they should be grateful for every £ they receive and have it drummed into them that every £ is in effect stolen out of the pockets of those who do work and they should be ashamed to be a beggar living in this way.

the benefit should be a "safety net" to help those who fall on bad times - and be paid at a much higher level to actually help those people.

the workers, who work and pay tax are in it together to assist each other when times are tough. people don't work to support a money grubbing underclass that never has and never will contribute.

mildredalien

The_White_Horse wrote: »

£53 a week AFTER bills and rent paid!!???!!! what a disgrace. these beggars should have NOTHING after bills and rent is paid. Most working people would do well to have that type of cash after they have paid all their bills.

scroungers want want want. Get a job and pay your way.

I genuinely can't tell if you are being sarcastic....

If you assume rent and utilities are paid (water, gas, council tax, electric.) then £53 a week isn't an awful lot for every other expense you may need. Food and household goods, bus/train fares or running a car (if you want people to get jobs they need to be able to get to interviews), you'll need access to the internet to be able to search for jobs and apply online, a phone to contact potential employers or the job centre (or perhaps even family or friends!!). Even if someone on benefits has no social life, no method of entertainment, never does anything that gives them the slightest enjoyment out of life that's still not a great deal to live on each month.

mildredalien

Oh my bad, I was replying before I saw your later post, I guess you weren't being sarcastic. As you were!