Corporate vs. personal welfare

Your last words say it all. You don't like being a dependant. Too damn many people love being a dependant.
 
true, prof.

problem is that we have the same system around here, as you do, aunty.

there's a grey area between working vs welfare around here as well. until a certain income it's more wise to stay with the income from welfare, because otherwise you'll have less money, even though you work for it.
that's a big part of the problem here for people to come off the welfare...why work if you'll have less money in the end?
 
Shadowfax said:
why work if you'll have less money in the end?
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That's a part of the problem in the US, and Like Prof says, some people just think the world owes them a living.
 
i'm not agreeing with people not working while they could. but i can see their point of view...if i didn't have that much money already i wouldn't like to have even less. let's not forget that being on welfare isn't great at ALL. it's the minimum amount of money you can live off.

it shouldn't be possible that a person would end up having less money when starting to work in the first place.
of course there are exceptions, but it's not that most people on welfare wouldn't be willing to work. but having even less money when you do is a factor which makes the decision very easy...
 
As far as most as job-seekers allowance is concerned the government here has made it better to work than be on the dole. But I come under the disabled umbrella of benefits which means that I have a minimum income guarantee while receiving benefits which is much higher than I would receive if I were on the dole. That's because our outgoings are generally higher, apparently they did a survey e.g We need a car because we can't use most public transport with a whellchair, and it's cheaper than using taxi's every time we want to go out. Therefore my daughter gets a mobility allowance which pays for the car - most of it anyway. Her benefits are non means tested BTW and I will still have them when I do finally get back into work. But that won't fully compensate for what I will lose. I'll have to pay the rent and council tax for a start which is £70 per week. I also need to have the wheelchair serviced on a regular basis and replace parts, which considering it cost £499 ex vat can be pricey. My utility bills are generally higher because of the extra washing, bathing and heating, plus I need a phone for emergencies (most single parents I know don't have one).

Compensating for all that though I rarely go out, don't smoke, drink or do drugs and have had 30 years to become a whizz at budgeting... which means my disposable income is probably a lot higher than the government intended when working out the rates. :) So when I do get back into a paying job I would like to make sure we don't suffer too much financially. It's taken me a while to turn things around and get things on a more positive footing but I finally feel that I'm beginning to get somewhere. :)
 
But I do... every time there's someone moaning about scroungers in the press I feel like it's me they're criticising. :(

I suppose the voluntary work is me trying to compensate for that to a certain extent. Although if I didn't do it I think I would've become a total recluse by now. :)
 
Don't let them get to you like that, Aunty. As long as you're not abusing the system, there is nothing wrong with accepting the protective provisions it offers.
 
just to make clear, my posts weren't meant in a bad way towards aunty at ALL, in no way.
they were meant as an observation, which was that the system isn't correct.
 
Ya know I got married and went to college to get myself out of this trap and then everything blew up in my face and sometimes I just feel like I wasted my bloody time. :mad:

I came back here to this one horse town because of my sister and now I can't leave because of my mother... that really restricts what I can do... although to tell you the truth, my mother isn't well. She didn't fully recover from her operation last year and then my sister's death has really knocked her for 6 so I have to keep an eye on her as no-one else will. I really don't know how much longer she's going to be here. :(
 
Shadowfax said:
just to make clear, my posts weren't meant in a bad way towards aunty at ALL, in no way.
they were meant as an observation, which was that the system isn't correct.
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I know it wasn't personal shadow. :hug:

What I really need is help with a carer for Katie, but social services are being cut all the time. :(

We only have a summer play scheme because it's charity run - one day a week for 4 weeks. Social services last year provided 2 play days over the summer holiday - we may get one this year if we're lucky.
 
Aunty Em said:
Ya know I got married and went to college to get myself out of this trap and then everything blew up in my face and sometimes I just feel like I wasted my bloody time.
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here, here! :headbang:
 
Aunty, don't for one minute feel guilty for using government money for one of the reasons it was intended. Only a selfish, greedy bastard would even waste one second begrudging you that money.
I'd like to think, given the same set of circumstances, that I'd have done as well for my child as you have...but that's not a road I'll ever have to travel. You have done so much to make a tough situation not just tolerable, but happy...and challanging...and comfortable for a little person that faces far more difficulties than most of us have to......... everyday.
I admire you. You're an exceptional mom.
 
I agree Aunty. You've done everything you could. Using a system, and abusing a system are 2 very different things...which is why I stated in another thread that these things should be only on a case-by-case basis, and not, as it seems in the US, carte blanche.
 
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