General Chat

Read today of yet another lot of spongers. Have large number of kids, don't work, pay no rent, no council tax (mine is over £1,700), get £23,000 in benefits and can't send their kids who are terrorising the neighbourhood to school. But it is not their fault. Sorry but I'm getting sick and tired of this. I will have to watch the programme this Thursday called Truant on BBC1 which features them. How many of those thousands of people who took part in the Rememberance Service yesterday find life difficult with lack of money. They are the people we should be looking after in appreciation of the ultimate sacrifice a lot of them gave us.... their lives. Sorry to have a rant. Just makes my blood boil!

Can't the parents be sent to prison if the kids don't go to school? I thought it was law you had to made sure they had an education.

Makes me really mad too.

Oh GRRRRRR! When will the Politicians tackle this head on?I know they are all frightened to upset anyone, but we are breeding a nation of people who see all this as their right, and we have a government that encourages them in that view. God help everyone if IM ever made Prime Minister. I would make Child Benefit payable only if the child went to school, I would give single mothers( who CHOOSE to have more than one child in an unsupported situation) food stamps, mothers under 21 in Hostels, learning to cook and talk to their children. I would sterilise every male who fathered more than, say, two unsupported children. Yes, I know I would be VERY unpopular, but if we are not careful, we will have three generations of people who believe it is their right to act without any restraint at all - and there won't be enough of the rest of us left to support them. Then there will be real trouble.

i can understand your anger.my mum has worked all her life,even when me and my brother were young babies..eight years ago my mum was made redundant,and having health probs also(she has crohns)she did 6months on the "dole"the first time in her life and every single week was hassled for what job interviews she had attended..proof of this etc..yet the youngsters that think its normal to sponge from the state just get left to it.my mum has had a job ever since even with her bad health.The states there for genuine cases not lazy,cant be bothered or child breeders.ive been in a bad situation with my two children when my relationship broke down and i had to rely on the state..so i cannot judge but you have to make your own life work for you.im now happily married,my husband works hard(70hrs a week,hgv driving)i work part-time and raise our three children.

£23,000 in Benefits?????? We raised 5 children and I have never earned more than £15,000 a year in my life. Roll on the Revolution.

dont get me started on this, it makes my blood boil. My family came over from Ireland in the 50s and they had to work, no handouts, no mobile phones no free driving lessons, if you didnt work you starved, in Coventry we are inundated with asylum seekers, they stand around in town laughing at us silly mugs who work to keep them. If only I could rule Britian for a few months I would clear them all out back where they came from. Some doctors in Coventry give them preferential treatment as well. Must take a blood pressure tablet now, surely I am not the only one to feel like this

Give me a soapbox too - I want to join in! Go to it Marjorie - I'd vote for you!! I think whole situation has gone from bad to worse. I am sick of reading about cases like this one! I know of an actual situation where 'bladder problems' that necessitated new mattresses were miraculously cured overnight when DSS stopped handing out money for them and had mattresses delivered instead! That must say something! And if hear one more whine from someone on this ridiculous level of benefit moan about not having a holiday I shall scream! When the kids were little, I had three part time jobs just to keep our head above water and even then we went without a holiday for 6 years before we could afford a week away in a self catering caravan at the a*** end of the year! Their attitude makes me so cross!! Magsx

Aileen, I also read about this family. the Daily Mail also printed a photo of them. One daughter had about eight gold chains around her neck while the other had about four, plus both were wearing huge gold earrings. So much for people "in need" Bridget x

Oh yes noticed that. The old bling bling thing. They are featured on Truant this Thursday BBC1 because their kids are little gits and causing mayhem where they live. Are the lazy buggers being paid for it? Maybe we should get our act together and get on the TV too!

CB I agree with everything you've said but wouldn't it be good if one party took a stand on this? Surely they realise that there are a lot more 'anti-benefit culture' voters out there than not? If nothing else surely someone is able to bring in a maximum total benefit level per family? On the one hand you have a Minimum Income Guarantee for pensioners and on the other an apparently limitless ceiling for every scrounger that knows how to work the system! I am sick to death of it. Oh, and while we are on the subject, If someone immigrates or claims 'asylum' to this country and flouts our laws, please don't waste any more of OUR money on putting them in prison. Deport them! Magsx

Does anyone remember the Poll Tax? The idea was that if you wanted to vote you had to register and if you registered you paid the tax. Simple. This meant that only tax payers could vote. We all know what happened to that idea.

The politicians of all parties are to scared of the backlash to do anything about this situation. Any party that introduced a form of benefit capping would face so much grief from the 'human rights lot'. I think it's just easier for the powers that be to carry on handing out OUR money to the scroungers and those who know how to work the system. Genuine cases, who do not have the backing of the 'experienced scroungers' stand no chance of claiming more than the bare minimum. When my husband had his bike accident in 1995 and was in hospital for 3 months, we could not claim anything. No housing benefit because we had a mortgage, no extra help with the kids (youngest was 10). Our eldest had started at Uni but had to leave and get a job to help pay the bills. If it wasn't for family and friends we would have lost our house. It took 6 years for compensation to be agreed, which was based on husband's loss of potential earnings until his retirement (he will never be fit enough to work again). We invested this after paying off the remaining £25,000 mortgage, to give us a small income to survive on, and guess what, we can't claim even council tax benefit because we have too much in savings(?)! Luckily we bought our house in 1978 when prices (and wages) were low, if the mortgage had been more we DEFINITELY would have lost our house. Don't even get me started on abuse of disabled badges and motability. Hubby has a disabled badge, but can't get motability allowance because 'He's not disabled enough'. There is a man locally who works as a roofer who has a disabled badge and his truck is paid for by motability! How can he qualify if he can climb ladders and walk on roofs!!!! I wish I knew what the answer was to this abuse of the system. Sue

Immin thinks I'm mad as when we go out I play spot the wedding ring on the fingers of teenage and young Mums. I m not judgemental,just curoius. So far the empty fingers have it 10:1, I wonder if there are national stats on this. Curious Rose

Rose One of my daughter's is an unmarried single mum. She is on benefits - typical 'council house single mum'! Grandson's father did a runner and although we know where he is and have told CSA they say they cannot find him. He works at cash in hand jobs here and abroad but told CSA he wasn't working. The maintenance he should be paying (bare minimum) but doesn't, reduces her benefits. She tries to pay her way, but it is a massive struggle for her and we all help out when we can. Because of where she lives and difficulties with transport it would be very difficult for her to find a job to fit in with school hours etc. She wants to go back to work (she only gave up when grandson started school) but even the Job Centre told her she was better off on benefits!!! The tax credit people overpaid her when she was working (their fault not hers) and she is paying that money back so her benefit is reduced until it's all paid. What neither she nor I can understand is how some 'single mums on benefits' can afford to dress their kids in designer clothes, be dripping in gold, smoke, drink etc. when she really struggles to live a reasonable life. Another case of 'working the system' I suppose. Off soapbox now, before I raise my blood pressure too much! Sue