Benefiting from Benefits
There are various reasons why one might be on benefits. Some (and I hope most) are legitimate. Sometimes you just can’t help it and it’s not really something to be ashamed off.
Today though I was watching a program on TV and there was a family with eight children. Four or five of them where under the age of four if I remember correctly. Anyway, both parents were on benefits. The program didn’t say why they where on benefits but both of them seemed capable of working. Of course I can’t judge too harsh as I don’t know all the details on these people. But we all know there are people on benefits out there who really shouldn’t have it, because they are perfectly capable of working; they just refuse to do so. It seemed to me like that was the case here.
That alone already infuriates me. However, there is more to it. There also was this other family, with three children. Both parents work and have decent jobs. The combined income of the family on benefits is 15.000 more than the combined income of the working family. This is after taxes. Now that really pissed me off!
Why is it that hard working people are being punished? They work hard to provide for the family while they might as well just quit both jobs and live off benefits. It gets you more money!
I can understand if someone is on benefits because they need to be for whatever reason. But if you don’t want to work you don’t need to be on benefits; you’re just too lazy. Get off your ass and get a job, that way people who really need the money get it.
There isn’t enough money to help the elderly, hospitals are having problems with staff (the lack of staff that is) because they can’t afford it, single mothers who are on benefits struggle every month to get food on the table. Let’s face it, enough families struggle these days because there always seems a little bit of month left at the end of their money. If those people where given more money, and if the ones just taking the ‘easy’ money got of their fucking asses (excuse my French!) it would all be a little fairer…
Now like I said before, there weren’t any details as to why this family was on benefits. So they might as well be on it for a good reason. It’s just not the impression I got when watching the program.
I’m pretty sure this happens more often than we think. Here one way to get your benefits is to prove you applied for jobs a certain amount of times a month. Once again I’m not sure about all the details but as far as I’m aware that includes just sending out letters to companies. And of course ‘companies’ is a very vague term; that also includes applying for jobs at companies you’re 100% are never going to invite you for an interview as you just don’t qualify.
Being on benefits is nothing to be ashamed off, there are many good reasons why one would be on it. Being too lazy to work isn’t one of them. I just wonder how the people abusing the system justify it, and how the feel about their lives. After all, if you’re just too lazy to do anything productive, I can’t imagine you feel like you have achieved something in life; other than ripping off the government and the people who truly need it!
Plugged: Sway
4 Comments on "Benefiting from Benefits"
well I can understand if you have eight children you would need a lot of money to support them. But there are many families out there with that many children and they work, so it is possible.
Besides that (which I forgot to mention in the post) she did try to work for one day, and just didn’t go in anymore the next day. And her husband was with the kids so it’s not like they were alone. To me that doesn’t show like you’re willing to work 
.
We’ve been discussing this in class (Economics)..whether it’s okay to tax rich people more just because the poor don’t have enough.
I firmly believe that people should work for their own money. Unless they have a sufficient reason… argh. Otherwise, they’re just a burden to society.
I suppose there should be a kind of investigation before benefits are fixed. A commission should check if these or that person really needs benefits to live on and whether he/ she is not capable to work… so many persons are interested in getting easy money that we, taxpayers, will not be able to support them all.
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I can understand why the family with eight children are on benefits (imagine taking care of eight kids, with four under the age of five!), but I agree with you in other cases.
If your family situation and health allows you to work, then work. It’s as simple as that. If you just keep on taking taxpayers money without a good reason, karma will come around and bite you in the arse.