Oh You Selfish Naion?

[Theland]

how do yu voters feel about the tory win and the perpetuation of food banks, benefit sanctions, and grinding our weakest people into penury?
God help us for our lack of humanity

[sevenOP]

A plausible representation here Theland :

http://www.theautomaticearth.com/2015/05/britain-a-functioning-democracy-its-not/

[mikey4444]

Whatever we all thought about Cleggie and the LibDems, they did at least keep the more rabid Tory policies at bay.......who will know look after the interests of the poor, sick and disadvantaged ?

[mallyh]

you say you live in poverty ,do you not have a job ?

[mikey4444]

Mallh...who is that question directed to ?

[mallyh]

oh sorry Theland mentioned he lived in poverty .

[naomi24]

Mikey, //rabid Tory policies//

You really do talk rubbish at times. Still, nothing like a good spin.


Theland, you and I have known each other on AB for a very long time, and in my experience you and your family have lurched from one catastrophic drama to the next. You are a sick man, you can’t work, you must be claiming benefits, so why are you living in poverty? There’s more to this story than you’re telling us. Sad to say but very often you are the author of your own misfortune.

[VHG]

If you offer food banks people will use them. Some people will take anything that is free, even if they can afford not too.

How many people, I wonder, go to these food banks with their iPhone or other smartphone in their handbag or shirt pocket.

[ummmm]

Sigh. Maybe they got the iphone before they were made redundant.

[cazzz1975]

My big worry is for the elderly and disabled. The government is cutting a lot of work training services and care homes, I think the next 5 years will be much worse. Lets hope not though?

[VHG]

This country is about 1.5 TRILLION pounds in debt.

We cannot afford to keep giving money away to anyone and everyone that wants it, we HAVE to start making savings.

The benefits system was meant to be a safety net, now it is a "lifestyle choice" for many people (not all) who choose to not work and live off the state.

If we cant pay back our countries debts the cost of interest on our loans goes up, making it harder to pay them back, and it become like a downward spiral.

If we don't reduce our debts we may finish up like Greece where the government are broke and cant afford to pay for some basic things like health care.

In Greece unemployment is about 25% of the population.

Yet people like Theland still think we should just go on giving away money to anyone and everyone, raising benefits and so on.

If we ever got like it is in Greece then you would REALLY see what it is like when a country goes broke, what we are going through now is nothing to what it would be like if we finished up like Greece.

People voted Tory because they know the MOST important thing in this country is to sort out the debt. Anything else comes way down the list.

[Retrochic]

Theland,if you worked all your life and brought up your children then why are you living in Poverty? Can six children not club together to make sure your life is comfortable enough? Are you not in receipt of Pension Credits? What do you call 'Poverty' -seriously?

[cazzz1975]

benefits being paid to low income earners is not helping the benefits bill. companies should pay a wage that means hard workers shouldn't be claiming housing benefit.

[Peter Pedant]

// A non sequitur, one question at a time please and Matthew 26:11//

and Mt 26 11 for non bible readers is 'do not judge lest you be judged yourselves' eek it aint ! I looked it up
" 11 For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. " - -
two points : two balanced sentences showing they may be direct quotes from someone thought worthwhile remembering. The true words ( ipsissima verba ) but as Vetuste comments languages arent my forte

and secondly ; v 11 comes as the punch line to Jesus being anointed by the alabaster flask with expensive ointment.

and somehow I dont think Khandro wishes to anoint Theland as speaking the word of God.

[Khandro]

P.P. The salient bit, in this context is; " For ye have the poor always with you" (why isn't it "with ye" for consistency?) - maybe vetuste will enlighten us.
I think if you gave everyone a million pounds, within a month some of them would be far richer and some would be completely broke.

[maggiebee]

I don't care what political party is in power. This is 2015 and it's time everyone in a position to change things should stand up and be counted. Nobody should be living hand to mouth, depending on foodbanks, scared to put heating on and wondering how they are going to buy school shoes for their kids. I don't have the answers but "man's inhumanity to man" does indeed make me weep.

[Peter Pedant]

// P.P. The salient bit, in this context is; " For ye have the poor always with you" (why isn't it "with ye" for consistency?) //

It is out of the context of wasting expensive ointment and so it is not salient

ye- nominative
you accusative - in KJV see

http://www.kencollins.com/explanations/why-05.htm

but I am sure Vetuste will clarify

[ummmm]

Maggie....there have always been people living hand to mouth and always will be.

[Peter Pedant]

// Maggie....there have always been people living hand to mouth and always will be.//

Khandro agrees - Mt 26 11 ! ( sort of)

[maggiebee]

Maybe that's so ummm, but it doesn't make it right or just.

[Hypognosis]

What do unemployed people do with the money society gives them? Do they destroy it? Or do they just spend it? What are they spending it on?

As with all things that you do not fully understand, ask yourself: Who gains?

Take away the spending power of the unemployed and you will impoverish many hard-working retailers and producers of 'stuff'. Landlords don't have to lift a finger that often but they can't pay their second, 3rd, (n)th mortgages out of their day job.

I look at it this way: no employer is going to pay someone in the region of £20,000 to do something unless their activity generates at least a couple of thousand more than that in productivity or intangible benefits, like cleanliness, staff morale, customer appreciation and so on.
Therefore, it is cheaper to have them kept at home, idle, receiving £3,900p.a., all things being equal and assuming the housing benefit bill is the same for somone in work.

So the choice is: either one employer hires someone and pays them a lot or they can fund a handful of unemployed or those under-paid by some other employer.

There is no option where the inconvenient person is paid zero. It is society's responsibilty to either find work for idle hands or to at least hand out enough to prevent emaciated bodies appearing in the streets… or disrupting thousands of daily commutes, each.