Sack cloth and ashes

[Diane2]

I have taken a substantial drop in pay in order to keep myself in employment, and yes its a fair chunk below 26k, but I am not entitled to any benefits such as free eye tests, prescriptions etc.

Its called being able to hold my head up with pride that everything I buy I have worked hard to earn the money for. Pity some are brought up with a totally different outlook.

good for you Conny...I think some people...naming no names..are living in a bubble!!!

 

[JBR]

Yes. Well said Conny.

When my parents were young people almost everyone had that attitude of self-pride and morals.

Of course, in those days handouts were not so easy to come by. Perhaps that's why we see so many people willing to play the system these days.

 

[Bahco]

Perhaps that's why we see so many people willing to play the system these days.

Those days are over now and people now have to make a MASSIVE effort to stay on benefits.

People who have won appeals in the past for ill health issues have to go through the whole process again to prove they are unfit.

The old days of sitting at home with your hand out are over and fair play to IDS for tackling this.

 

[joe-90]

He's done nuffink. The number of long term unemployed is actually rising.

All he's done is pay agencies silly money to make it look like he has.

 

[pred]

The way I see it; there should be plenty of affordable housing in London as all those with well paid jobs live along the M4 corridor, Norf of London,

how many live in Hemel Hemsted and work in the Big Smoke, and the other few million are dotted about Kent and the South coast.

 

[Graeme1983]

Did you know you can get benefits as a foreigner in another country?

 

[Graeme1983]

It wouldnt grate so much the likes of IDS slashing benefits, if the politicos werent playing the system themselves either, expenses, free nosebag, free accomodation, flipping houses etc.

Thats why for a lot of people all this "war on scroungers" just comes across is as realpolitik, Tory pandering to the Daily Mail reader.

 

[big-all]

we need to remember its the fault off all governments selling off the social housing and not building any more
you cannot blame people with high housing costs
again its the government blaming everyone except the ones to blame
the actual amount saved is minimal just for few points in the popularity polls

 

[JBR]

It wouldnt grate so much the likes of IDS slashing benefits, if the politicos werent playing the system themselves either, expenses, free nosebag, free accomodation, flipping houses etc. Thats why for a lot of people all this "war on scroungers" just comes across is as realpolitik, Tory pandering to the Daily Mail reader.

A very good point. I believe we have too many MPs - more than we actually need - and that, if you include all the expenses and other benefits, they are overpaid.

They, on the other hand, claim that they are amongst the lowest paid politicians when compared to other countries. I don't know, as I don't have any reliable figures.

 

[JBR]

Did you know you can get benefits as a foreigner in another country?

Are we talking about within the EU here? I suppose that, under the 'rules', if you've contributed to your own country's economy then you are entitled to receive benefits from another country within the same economic area.

Personally, however, I'm one of those people who are not in favour of our membership of the EU and, given the chance in a referendum, would certainly vote to come out.

On the other hand, if we include healthcare as a type of benefit, I understand that whilst we in this country (and any other EU citizens for that matter) are entitled to completely free healthcare, if I were to emigrate to France, for example, I'd be expected to pay at least a third of all medical costs. Perhaps that's why we seem to acquire so many 'visitors'!

 

[Graeme1983]

What it comes down to then with I think it was only France and Spain with lesser paid MP's, is that ours(more like yours now,

ours here are even more bent) complain that they are underpaid but really the others are overpaid even more.

Its like football players wanting parity with higher paid players.

 

[Graeme1983]

The benefit and NHS systems do need tweaking, a blanket system across the board maybe to get this "fairness" that Cameron harped on about but then that would require a closer EU which isnt the flavour of the month, on the other hand I wouldnt trust Cameron to run a wheelbarrow of grass cuttings to the composter never mind making the system fairer, his austerity still just seems political.

There is a lot of anti EU stuff from the UK(foreigners over here, nicking our jobs,dole,NHS), but if you moved to the continent you would see the other side of it, I use the doctors here, dont use the dole yet but its a nice safety net. Its gets abused here though by our gypos too. Places like the UK and France always had a go at the EE countries over the gypo situation as they cant find employment here and are ill educated(western Europe said they were discriminated), so part of the mentality now is if you know the script so much you handle them.

I like the EU from this side, as a tree hugger I like their policy on pesticides(the bees) and against GM, its about as good as you can get against the power of the US, the UK tends to just fall into line and lobbies for GM on behalf of the yanks. They also give us decent grants to sort of the cleaning up of rivers and new sewer systems, it helps a bit but a lot gets lost on corruption. It costs 3 times to lay road here as in Norway.

 

[JBR]

I suppose reluctantly I must agree that not absolutely everything to do with the EU is all bad! To be fair, I think that a free-trade organisation (as it was initially) would be a good thing if run fairly.

I do not, however, agree with foreign MEPs - and their vast army of bureaucrats - dictating to us how to run our own country, especially when so many of their decisions appear to be completely against our interests and more to the benefit of other countries.

 

[EddieM]

I have to say that IDS is a twit, and happens to live very close to me in Swanbourne.

 

[ellal]

Without wishing to make specific comment on the issue raised here, I have to say that IDS is a twit, and happens to live very close to me in Swanbourne.

To quote Evelyn Waugh (or was it Bob Geldof... )...

"If one meets an architect at a party, one's first duty should be to slap them."

This applies equally to MP'S, so since you are so near could you do us all a favour?...