Petition for IDS to live on £53 a week for a year

[vinny19791]

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/i ... -53-a-week

Tory geezer said over the weekend it would "be easy" to live on £53 a week....

Sign here for the lolz

[jase]

Majority voted them in mate so must be possible

[vinny19791]

What was it
30% turn out, 20% voted them in.

An example

So of 10 million people

3 million voted

600,000 voted them in.

Clear majority

[turbosteph363]

100% had the opportunity
Also he didn't say it was easy he said he could if he had to. But of course he works so he doesn't have too. Surely being on benefits is not meant to be easy? Yet an awful lot of people (not all) still go out at the weekend and still smoke all week!
Not a fan of the conservatives or the coalition if you want to call it that! But even less if a fan of people on benefits that don't need to be.

[ttrw2]

65% turn-out in 2010 election, coalition getting 55% of the votes...

Signed up for that petition

[vinny19791]

Nothing will come of it.

Like my "what's it worth" threads, pointless but amusing

[ghall2004]

Nothing will come of it.

Like my "what's it worth" threads, pointless but amusing

Amen brother

Forgot about issuing the advice to bring your own packed lunch box for pol cos it costs more than a pound for Burgers etc

[Punx0r]

Just done a search, the £53 is apparently after "rent and bills".

Shopping carefully I could eat for a week for £20. That leaves enough for 10 pints in the pub at the weekend

[Marty]

Just done a search, the £53 is apparently after "rent and bills".

Shopping carefully I could eat for a week for £20. That leaves enough for 10 pints in the pub at the weekend

You on a diet of rice and beans then

[maestrovdpt16]

baked potatoes, and rice I'm guessing would be the main bulk.

But then what would he do when he falls ill with no nhs?

[Dave_ZS]

I know all to well what its like to live on that a week, and it's sh1t

[Marty]

It dont matter what people vote about sod all will change. Unless EVERY one sticks together will carry on getting shafted.

If they had not let let every tom inflatable dinghy and harry into this country and onto our benefits system we as a country would be better of. How can someone have something when they have put sod all in. Go to some places in the UK and the we the people born here feel like foreigners. They all need putting on a boat and sent packing.

[Semproxion]

It dont matter what people vote about sod all will change. Unless EVERY one sticks together will carry on getting shafted.

If they had not let let every tom inflatable dinghy and harry into this country and onto our benefits system we as a country would be better of. How can someone have something when they have put sod all in. Go to some places in the UK and the we the people born here feel like foreigners. They all need putting on a boat and sent packing.

And that's the issue with this country. There are other things wrong with it too but the key factor is migrant workforce. We don't have enough work to go round for the populace that already here yet the floodgates were opened and now there's even less. They've also impacted the economy in a severely negative way but media/government focus on the banks. The truth is that many migrant workers spend the absolute minimum to live here and send all the spare cash 'back home' so that money isn't being spent back into our economy.

However I'm not allowed to say that because of the other major problem with this country, it's spineless attitude when it comes to be called Racist. Anthropologically racism amongst human DOES NOT EXIST and cannot. Racism implies a hatred of another race. We're all human therefore not a different race. It's arguable that we're different breeds of human, akin to how a Yorkshire Terrier is different to a Labrador but both are still dogs.
Oh and there's also the issue that people seem to think that disliking people from other countries is racist. Even if racism existed (see above) that wouldn't qualify. Being a different nationality isn't being another race.

[Punx0r]

True, that would be better described by xenophobia.

[Sheaf]

This topic has been coming up all week on Facebook and it's been bugging the hell out of me. This and the bloody bedroom tax whinging.

As said above, Ian Duncan Smith said he “If I had to, I would,”

The thing is... he doesn't have to, so why should he?

He's gone and got himself a well paid job to avoid exactly that.
It's the reason I went to uni, to ensure I got a decent job. It's why most people I know have done the same.

As also said, living on benefits is not supposed to be easy... it's supposed to be a temporary measure to make people go and get a job.

I'm personally actually starting to respect the government a bit more as they're starting to do something about the horrible mess of a welfare state the previous government got us into. I'd rather my taxes get diverted towards more important things than help people stay out of work.

I'm talking about the people who are too lazy to get jobs here, people who blag up small injuries or just claim JSA and Housing Benefit as they cant be arsed to get work.
I'm not talking about the people who are genuinely ill and really cannot in any way work. I'd rather they got more and the rest got less tbh.

This is coming from a person who comes from a family who actually bring in LESS than the minimum wage each and where one parent was medically retired when I was young. I was not privileged, have not come from money. I just worked hard and was taught you reap what you sow. I survived on my student loan alone and went to uni. And left without any other debt too. Because that's the choice I made.

Incidentally, I worked out a while ago while in a debate at work, that a couple, on minimum wage, 37.5 hours a week, can BUY a house in 2 years.

And I really don't buy that about the whole immigrants thing. They come here because there are jobs and people don't want to do them. There's not no jobs because of them. Most people would rather employ a british person than an immigrant if they're of equal worth, but the immigrants are more willing to work and for less.
We've employed quite a few foreign people at work now (well educated and qualified people) and when we advertise for jobs we get loads of interest from more. Why? More than likely because British people haven't gone and got themselves qualified to do the job. They've all gone to study Media Studies or History, or just not bothered at all and as a result have screwed themselves over.

Rant over.

[radddogg]

dey turk err jurbs!!!

[carl747]

Just done a search, the £53 is apparently after "rent and bills".

Shopping carefully I could eat for a week for £20. That leaves enough for 10 pints in the pub at the weekend

Farmfoods £30 shop lasts about 3 weeks still have to get some other things from other shops tho

[vinny19791]

Just done a search, the £53 is apparently after "rent and bills".

Shopping carefully I could eat for a week for £20. That leaves enough for 10 pints in the pub at the weekend

Farmfoods £30 shop lasts about 3 weeks still have to get some other things from other shops tho

Not in my house

[Din]

Farm foods and iceland may be cheap.... but its all crap

dey turk err jurbs!!!

[carl747]

Farm foods and iceland may be cheap.... but its all crap

dey turk err jurbs!!!

Dsagree on that 100% wouldn't say anything I've got from farmfoods is crap frozen wise anyway

[Din]

In fairness i was put off by the mother in law buying the frozen roast dinners and that... which where horrid, the big bags of chicken fillets and mince... they just dont taste right to me... would rather buy it from the meat/fridge section in Asda/tesco or what have you... even if it does cost more.

[carl747]

In fairness i was put off by the mother in law buying the frozen roast dinners and that... which where horrid, the big bags of chicken fillets and mince... they just dont taste right to me... would rather buy it from the meat/fridge section in Asda/tesco or what have you... even if it does cost more.

Agree with the roast dinners wouldn't buy them but the fish is all brand name(youngs) and cheaper than the mai supermarkets all the other chicken is fine I've used the bags of mince seems fine to me I like farmfoods but not a fan of Iceland lol

[Din]

I like farmfoods but not a fan of Iceland lol

I thought they where one and the same thing... upon reading it would appear Farmfoods is bidding with others to buy iceland ?

Meh... we seem to have gone slightly off topic

[carl747]

I like farmfoods but not a fan of Iceland lol

I thought they where one and the same thing... upon reading it would appear Farmfoods is bidding with others to buy iceland ?

Meh... we seem to have gone slightly off topic

Lol just a bit

[radddogg]

Farm foods and iceland may be cheap.... but its all crap

dey turk err jurbs!!!

I'm quite happy for all races to come and contribute. The only foreign import I don't like is religion.

[Roboscot]

Political debate on an open internet forum...










Seriously though... most people would agree that the benefits system needs overhauled but some of the changes the government has made just leave you shaking your head in disbelief. It seems in order to root out the minority of people who are abusing the system, instead of identifying them and rectifying it they apply sweeping changes across the board which takes money out of the pockets of all genuine claimants too. That's what gets me about it, it just doesn't make sense.

Then you have their tax changes too, where the worst hit are working families and the ones who benefit most are those earning over £1 million a year

The people making these decisions are just on another planet.

[Dave_ZS]

dey turk err jurbs!!!

Dukerjerb

[Punx0r]

Don't forget the income tax threshold is going up to £10k

That's going to make a real difference to lower paid workers. I didn't see NuLabour doing anything like that in their 12 years in power...

[d1ng27]

I dont know fuckall, and dont really care either way about all of this, but i was watching a programme the other week about imigrants, and they were saying that if they get turned down to be a uk citizen and become illegal, they can still claim benefits.
That's what they want to sort out. Your not meant to be in the country but yet can claim benefits here

[vinny19791]

And they have lots and lots of our social housing.

I deliver their post and benefits.

Much more than they let on is taken by them that's for sure



Should tighten up like Australia or America.

Don't let them in and get out of eu.

[Roboscot]

Don't forget the income tax threshold is going up to £10k

That's going to make a real difference to lower paid workers. I didn't see NuLabour doing any50p rate thing like that in their 12 years in power...

My sarcasm radar is struggling with this one

This is where the imbalance is - lower earners may end up with a few hundred quid extra, but with the 50p rate now 45p the millionaires are £100,000 better off. And in many cases such as families with one working parent, the small gain from the increase to £10k is wiped out several times over by changes to tax credits and benefits.

Robbing the poor to feed the rich

[Sheaf]

Easy solution.

Get a job.


Anyone actually working on a lower income is better off due to the inflated allowances.
How the better paid are is of no consequence. They pay 45% tax still! That's a hell of a lot more tax than the lower paid people are paying.

TBH I think it's all unfair anyway. They should have the same tax rate across the board. Why you get charged a higher percentage of tax when you have earnt more money is beyond me. You're paying more money anyway, as it's a percentage of a higher amount. Not exactly a fair system IMO. I don't earn in the higher tax bands, but I don't hold a grudge against those who do, in fact I just envy them.
You're right, it is imbalanced. The rich are penalised and have to give up almost half the money they've earned. The poor are handed money for doing nothing. Then moan that it's not enough.

[Punx0r]

The 50p tax rate was only a recent thing and didn't raise as much money as expected. Tax can get complicated. If high earners feel they're being screwed they'll simply find a way to pay much less (or none at all).

I'd be seriously surprised if many people earning £1m a year are going through PAYE.

IMO always beware anyone making a scapegoat of anyone else. E.g. bankers, immigrants, millionaires, Jews etc. I'm not saying never restrict or criticise these people, but to blanket blame them for everything that's wrong is likely to be a fallacy.

[Roboscot]

I think it's fair enough to blame the bankers for a lot of it And the government for allowing their actions. What's this obsession with constant "growth" in this imaginary "global race" we keep hearing about

Boom/crash/boom/crash/boom... How about stability? There's a novel idea...

[Pinkie15]

Reading this depresses me. A lot of "benefit bashing" going on.

The real question should be, why isn't pressure being applied to organisations to actually pay their staff a decent bloody wage to start with. Then you'd have more tax coming in from higher earnings. These folk would also then not need their income topping up from benefits.

Yes there will be those on benefits who cheat/exploit the system, but the same goes for all walks of life. And I don't buy the immigrant crap either. Most people moaning about immigrants taking our/their jobs are lazy scroats who wouldn't do the jobs the migrants are doing anyway.

Instead we (the general population) allow the agenda of benefit bashing to spoon fed to us and accept it like it's the reason for all our ills. Same as the private/public "debate" over pensions. The private sector have gotten away with eroding pensions for years and shifting the burden to the state. Instead of policies to address this and incentivise companies to provide for their retired workers, we let an agenda of "lets hammer them in the public sector for their (now) great pensions, cos we're getting feck all".


And I'm sorry but the bankers should be put over a barrel and take it without lube. They're the ones that effing well bankrupted this country by forcing the government to bail them out, yet they still reap rewards from their ineptitude whilst the middle and poor get squeezed to bail the system out.


To paraphrase; we're in all in this together, except some of us are more in it than others.



The only bit of Marty's post I agree with is that until we stand up and be counted they'll continue to inflatable dinghy us over. Sadly I don't see this happening. Could do with more of the French attitude of protesting about these inequities, yet we just laugh at them while we get shafted and they stand up to be counted.