Benefits Britain. Life On The Dole

[gina32]

did anybody watch it this week, if so what did you think??

[fiction-factory]

I only saw a few minutes as mrs fiction always turns over as she hates these programmes. I thought the chap i saw seemed pretty level headed about budgeting but I notice that when he referred to having to judge funds to buy essentials he gave cigs and baccy as the two examples of essentials

[andy-hughes]

Like fiction-factory, I don't watch programmes like this, they are hate-bait dressed up as social comment, and I dislike them for that reason.

[anneasquith]

Indeed. They always " show " the worst possible examples, these programmes give some viewers the right " to be outraged ""

[fiction-factory]

I do watch them sometimes, andy, and sometimes they do show people that you have a lot of sympathy with, but too often they focus on the not so typical claimants with a sense of entitlement who are clearly milking the system and doing nothing to help themselves and pleading poverty whilst watching huge TV screens and feeding 5 dogs and feeding 5 children with takeaways. I suppose the programmes do highlight the way our system needs redesigning for some though

[gina32]

Yes I agree fiction-factory, id hardly call cigs essentials

[andy-hughes]

fiction-factory - // I suppose the programmes do highlight the way our system needs redesigning for some though //

They do - but as a piece of socially responsible television, that reason is well down the list behind ratings and ad revenue!

[trt]

I honestly think a lot of it is staged/rehearsed or some of the people are reading from a cue card.

How come the cameras happened to be there, when the bloke was putting his wide screen TV together on the floor, when the rest of the house looked like a landfill site?

They probably get a few quid as well from the TV company.