In praise of Iain Duncan Smith's Welfare Reforms

Aka I have nothing to add to this 'debate' but in response to your comment that most of us know some scrounging layabouts, I must state that I don't know, and don't even know of, any scrounging layabouts.
I have not led a completely sheltered life either, and came across many benefit claimants when I was working.
I wouldn't have described any of them as scrounging layabouts.

But Miss, she started it!

GN has been accused of being 'boring' lately. It's the odd scrap that adds a little zest. But honestly to accuse me of reading the DM, that is a step too far

jane we were instructed to use the phrase 'most of us' .....

I'm truly glad you've never come across any of these (scrounging layabouts) in real life. Can I politely ask if you've come across them on TV programmes perhaps or don't you watch those sorts of programmes?

Oh come on, I have been reading it since I was 10, but take a lot of it with a huge pinch of sea salt. Also read the Guardian online as well.

Like that joke about the Aussies, I am extremely well-balanced, I probably have a chip on both shoulders.

It was in fact me who described them thus, jane, and I make no apology for it. I have known, personally, one or two people who made no secret of the fact that they had no intention of working and had stock excuses for avoiding appointments, interviews etc.

Strangely, they always had enough spare cash to spend at the local pubs, so perhaps they were making a contribution to the economy in their own way.

That was a reply to Aka re the DM!

Rose I was joking.

I give up!

Note the grinning bunny Rose ...

That was the clue!

And my post was in reply to janeainsworth's!

Aka

Tongue in cheek.

Ouch, bit it!

Thanks, Jane. I asked for numbers before, and Ana now admits she knows one or two people who had no intention of working.
That's not many at all, is it, Ana?
How many do you know, Aka?

Oh, do give it a rest, durhamjen. I actually know more than one or two - but perhaps you'd like to provide us with a few more 'links' for our edification.

durhamjen. You wrote about the mother who had to leave her child in London. You did not mention that the Mother came from Ethyopia 12 yrs ago and had never worked in this country.
You also failed to mention that she was moved back to London.

Too many.

Do make your mind up, Ana!
Perhaps you have problems counting? That was a joke, by the way, although I agree that I do not find the way this government treats those in poverty very funny

That's enough.

Not enough for durhamjen, apparently, Aka!

She has to get the last word in, even though it's rather a lame personal attack.

Did anyone hear the interview on You and Yours today with a woman who had been made redundant from a good job in an local authority (due to government cuts). It was a year on from her first interview, during which she has applied for over 100 jobs and failed to find one. She lives in the North of England where there are few jobs. Now the job centre is treating her punitively e.g. making her travel to another borough to sign on. This is a measure introduced presumably to make life difficult for the minority of claimants. But penalises genuine job seekers who could be spending the time and effort applying for jobs. Recording will be available soon on their website.

Petra, I do not understand your point. The mother is living in Luton and her daughter is still living in Brent. On a thread about being proud to be British, it was mentioned that if you had lived in Britain for over ten years you should be classed as resident. The 12 year old daughter was possibly born here as she said she had lived in Brent for all or most of her life.
People from Ethiopia are usually asylum seekers. That is allowed.

I think you'll find the daughter still living in Brent is 14.

Another way they are making it more difficult, Jess, is by asking people to go online first to sign up before they go to a jobcentre. I think they also have to wait for 4 weeks before they get any benefits. Previously it was one week.

durhamjen He has to live on £78 per week, and if he does not turn up at the jobcentre on time because he had to walk as he could not afford the busfare, he has his money sanctioned.

He should be sanctioned, surely he can work out how long it takes to walk to the jobcentre and make sure he gets there on time. If he gets a job what is he going to do then turn up when he likes, no wonder he hasn't found a job.

I have a nephew by marriage who has never worked a full week in his life. He is very comfortable thank you in a council flat with his pregnant girlfriend and seems to manage well on whatever he receives. He seems to have bypassed the education system in this country but has no intention of going to evening classes to learn to read and write. His siblings are not like that, one is studying law.

When he gets a job, *Ninny, he will presumable be paid enough to afford the busfare.

Walking to another town looking for work is not a new thing. It was common in centuries gone by, and sleeping in barns was part of the "experience". Sometimes those walking would be found dead under a hedge after a cold night with no food or shelter. No-one wants to return to those values - do they?

Not sure why asking people to sign up online before going to the Jobcentre is regarded as being difficult? Most libraries have internet access and failing that most people would have friends with it too. My youngest step-daughter has never worked and knows exactly how to cheat the system. Sadly her two teenage daughters look to be heading down the same road.