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

casa111 wrote: »

It seems more people are angry about people who are in receipt of benefits than actually sympathising with your plight, so it seems this governments proper-gander campaign to discredit and even viler-fie benefit recipients is sadly successful.

I am a volunteer at my local CAB and we often advise people with disabilities and illnesses who are claiming welfare benefits.

I don't see the existence of 'benefit scroungers' when we are advising.

The people who come to see us at the CAB have a range of genuine disabilities and illnesses and it is only right that we help these people through the benefit system. Adaptations in the home, mobility cars and care etc are examples of the sort of essential things that the benefit system does and should give help with.

I don't doubt that there is a small minority of people abusing the system but please don't believe the hype that it is anything other than a minority.

There does seem to have been a marked change in attitudes towards people with disabilities and illnesses who are claiming welfare benefits in the past year or so.

I can't say why this is but you have to think that it is fuelled in part by some of our elected representatives who seem to be trying to create this wrong belief in order to get through the cuts in the welfare reform act.

Regardless of whether you think that changes to the benefit system are necessary these elected representatives should not be using arguments that create an environment where people think they can verbally attack people with disabilities and illnesses and label them benefit scroungers.

The article is an excellent one and hope it goes some way to dispelling some of the myths that seem to exist.

BarbaBright wrote: »

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.

Exactly, I couldn't agree more.Certain sections of the media cherry pick their stories to fit in with their political agenda and many of the 'facts' are skewed.No mention in many papers last week of the press release highlighting the damage being done by the constant rhetoric used towards those with disabilities.Another 'hot potato' should be the investigation into the use of ATOS and the way 'medical' assessments are being carried out..there are too many horror stories about the treatment of many very sick people surfacing now to ignore.

libertyuk wrote: »

I have two children to provide for and am not at state pension age yet.

And what happened to widow's pension/widow parents' pension? Child tax credits, child benefit and working tax credit?

Well done for speaking out, Ross. If you've managed to highlight the problems to just a very few people then that's a job well done.

Of course, there are two separate issues here; one is relating to those such as yourself who are either limited with working opportunities, or unable to work at all. The other issue is of course those who are able to work.

Those claiming benefits relating to ill health do not 'have it easy'. I can give two first-hand examples of how tough the government has become with respect to incapacity. I know of one women who had to go for medical assessment recently whilst in a wheelchair and on a drip. She was mid way through her treatment for cancer. They told her that if she did not attend, they would cut her benefits. Need I tell you that once they saw her, they agreed that her claim was valid? I know of a man who was forced to leave the fire service after thirty years. He has a rod in his back, has had major surgery in the past three months, and suffers PTSD. He is on a range of medication for both the PTSD and pain relief. He is not fit for work, as agreed by a range of hospital specialists, but the woman chewing a pen and asking, no, skipping questions on a screen at his medical ssessment... well she thought differently so his claim was stopped.

If you want to claim JSA you seem to have an easier time. It's easier to bulls**t that you're looking for work than it is to prove that you're genuinely ill, it seems.

Go figure.

One further issue relates to the current high unemployment rate and the poor economy making fewer jobs available.

Contrary to popular belief (and how bizarre it is that some people still seem to think that we're living in the year 2001), we are not currently in an economy bulging with unfilled posts and lacking a workforce, in need of cheap labour from EU member states. Even the pot washing jobs in the local pubs have a line of eager people happy to do it right now. Factory production lines, once filled with gang labour at peak times and always in need of staff, have cut production shifts and most have cut staff as well. Public sector jobs have been cut, and white collar companies have folded. Face it, we're ten years on from the golden age when we could just walk into a job.

There are also the following points; some are able to work but chose not to. Others are able to work but finding work is not easy. You might ask why that is. In the current climate, companies are seeking to employ people for as little a wage as possible, and they want those people to stay in that position once recruited (for obvious reasons). If you're well qualified, well educated, and well experienced, you're pretty much washed-up from the lower end of the job market. You might be surprised to learn that we have two groups of long-term unemployed in the UK; those who don't want to work, and those who are 'high risk for low pay' people. The same as it was back in the late 1980's/early 1990's and the last recession. During that period, government 'back to work' courses were filled by motivated, qualified, educated people who coulnd't persuade their local factory that they'd stay put long enough to make the training worthwhile. Think about that.

If you want to go on a 'Dole Bashing Mission' by all means please do, as I am sure we all know which group of people it is that you are angry with... we all loathe those who find dole queues an easy alternative to taking home a decent days pay for some proper graft.
But please, please spare a thought for the other groups, whose reputation suffers as a result of the 'lazy classes' in this country. They are the true victims of our wrath whilst the other group sits, shrugs their shoulders without a care, and laughs at us for feeding them.

Ok, so you have all had a read and time to digest. Sorry it has taken me a while to get on here but my twitter has been manic with people contacting me, some offering support, some requesting mine. Now if you want a penny by penny breakdown, as Martin was kind to point out, that is not the point of the article I wrote. Some of the more scathing types among you who "fail to understand" have only proved the point I was attempting to make with the article anyway, so for that, thankyou.

Just to clear a few myths up:
1. I am bottom DLA after losing a Tribunal appeal. Therefore there is 0 entitlement to both the mobility component nor carers allowance.
2. My children are not for discussion here. They were mentioned in the article because they are relevant, not for some to appraise our parenting skills.
3. Our youngest is 2, I cannot change a nappy nor perform any tasks which require 2 hands. Hence why Mrs NotAScrounger is not working at the moment. We need her here. Incidentally my partner doesn't and never has claimed as she is not entitled to.

Back to the point. I wrote this article to highlight how differently treated people are if they are unlucky enough to end up in a situation where they have to claim through no fault of their own. The entire point of paying National Insurance is, as stated by OhDrat earlier, meant as an insurance you pay whilst your working for the hard times. What give a person the right to judge who is worthy and who isn't? Tarring with the same brush is such a narrow minded outlook on life. These types of people assume I don't know what hard work is. I suggest they have no idea of the feeling one has as Christmas approaches, no HP or credit cards here. Nor can they for an instant imagine battling the inner demons that surface once cabin fever has set in and you feel as though your lying on a scrap heap, as these judgemental types have already written you off. When I do get back in work, which I will, I hope I don't have to suffer an interview with someone as smug as the blinded few who didn't manage to open their minds to the article.

I am not just a National Insurance number, nor an NHS patient number, I am a person who hates the situation my family is in. It will end, I'll make sure of it. I will use my last breath to fight for people who are treated like this. Why is there such a culture at the moment for people to light the torches and grab the pitch forks and kick people when they are down? All because you fail to understand the maths? Or because you dis-believe the person in front of you?

I would urge anyone who is teetering side saddle on a high horse, think before you judge. It would appear that job security vanished about the same time as empathy. No one is guaranteed anything, I didn't ask for this, I am just trying to get my family through this in the best way possible. I am sure that others, many much worse off than us, would appreciate it if you eased up on your outward attitude to people. Wonder if you would treat ex servicemen, who now have to rely on disability, in the same manner? Point being, there is no difference, although the journey is different, the destination is the same.

On the flip side, the vast majority of you on here, Twitter and Facebook completely got it and have been very kind and supportive. I have had many suggestions to open a blog to assist others, covering health matters, housing, complaints, and benefits amongst other topics. I have started story boarding it today and start building it tomorrow. I will post on my Twitter when the blog goes live. I have to keep busy and if no one is willing to employ me then at least I can help some other people. Some of the stories you have been coming to me with are incredibly touching including some who have had to leave full time education due to caner and are struggling. I will help where/if I can, or I'll point you to someone/organisation that can. Might as well use my experience for something useful.


So for all of you that have been and are being supportive, thankyou. That includes all that have supported me at MSE Towers. Plus a massive thankyou from me and my family to Martin Lewis for taking the time to listen. Will be on here as frequently as I can, or if you wish to get intouch, my Twitter is at the bottom of the article.