A Compassionate Society?

[Theland]

Do you think we are a compassionate society, given the number and demand for food banks?
Kids go to bed hungry?
People on hard times have benefits stalled or stopped for superfluous reasons, sometimes resulting in eviction?
Army veterans, in spite of the British Legion and SAAFA, find themselves facing hardship and the governments promises to a military promise is just a sad memory?
We all had to bail out the bankers, and the CEO of Persimmons just got a £75,000,000 bonus.
The numerous questions should be obvious by now!

[Mamyalynne]

Night Naomi.

[Theland]

Oh my God! The politics of envy?
How disgraceful.
Utterly beneath contempt.

[Theland]

Now that my blood pressure has returned to normal, may I just say that in my experience, from twelve years on Answerbank, I find that virtually all posters are extremely compassionate, loving and wonderful people.
I am honoured to be in many a friendly but often uncomfortable discussions, even considering the throwing of custard pies.

[Old_Geezer]

Some of us are, some of us aren't. Overall we do ok. But always room for improvement.

[vetuste_ennemi]

//People have had benefits stopped because they're in hospital and can't attend the job centre//

Is that because (a) people generally are nasty, (b) the social service employee withdrawing the benefit was nasty/and or incompetent, or (c) there is a deliberate government policy to deny benefits to the needy?

[ummmm]

I assume it's a computer mainly.

[Theland]

Job Centres have targets to stop benefits. "Panorama."

[Peter Pedant]

off you go then nigh
blimey has she gone ?

schools are feeding children before class as they dont learn anything if they havent eaten..... - not that they are hungry - oh no ....

[Peter Pedant]

// //People have had benefits stopped because they're in hospital and can't attend the job centre//

o god if you buck a job ce appt - you will get absolutely screwed for weeks after

[ummmm]

Yes...Theland, for those able to work. They're failing badly for those unable to work for various reasons.

[Theland]

Yes Peter, quite right.

[ummmm]

PP - that's not true. I've never eaten breakfast. My mum always put a banana in my bag though.

[Theland]

Ummm - Expand..?

[vetuste_ennemi]

//schools are feeding children before class as they dont learn anything if they havent eaten.....//

Are they? How do they know they're hungry? Is the child invited to eat, or force-fed? Is the parent's permission solicited?

[nailit]

//Come on Nailit, you are at the sharp end of the struggle against poverty. Tell us of your experiences//

For once Theland, im entirely in agreements with you. My sister has voted tory all her life and now shes too sick to work, is realising the hoops that you have to jump through to claim ANYTHING. Luckily she has a bit of savings that will tide her over the next 5 weeks or so of having NO income but others arnt so fortunate and have to rely on food banks for a few days worth of food (food banks only provide 3 days worth of food at any one time and no more than 3 referrals a year)
My sister has worked all her life and now she requires a bit back is realising that its not 'rules' that is making it difficult to survive but this governments attitude towards people who try to claim something. And she doesn't drink, smoke, gamble or has got tattoos and kids by different dads...in fact she hasn't got any kids!
The present Universal Credit system, along with its constant, inhumane sanctioning of people has indeed left people in food poverty but only the blinkered cannot/willnot see this.

[jim360]

It seems to me kind of inevitable that if you decide to address an economic crisis that has it origins in bad banking decisions, a bloated mortgage market in the US, and rich people happily throwing money away, by cutting benefits and squeezing every penny you can get away with out of the poor, elderly and infirm, then it ain't gonna be pretty. Never mind, poorly targeted.

Some poverty could no doubt be alleviated by better financial skills and money management, but what's the point in judging? People who don't know how to save money need help to learn how, not punishment for getting it wrong. It's an attitude that should have died in Victorian times to talk of the "undeserving" poor.

[Theland]

Thank God for Nailits input from the front line.
Respond to that Naomi.
Humble pie time maybe?

[Theland]

Thanks Jim. Sense at last.

[ummmm]

Theland - I can't eat first thing in the morning. Going to school you get up, get washed, dressed, breakfast and leave. It was too early for me though. Breakfast was always there for us, I just couldn't face it. She gave up in the end and our compromise was I was to drink a glass of milk. Fine by me. And I always had a banana in my bag because school lunch wasn't until 12 and that's too long to go without food.

[RobNorth]

With one charity per 500 people I think we are a compassionate society, possibly the most compassionate.
As for hungry kids - I must lead a sheltered life because I haven't seen a skinny hungry looking kid for many decades.
I don't know much about food banks, but I think if you opened one in Monaco there would still be plenty of custom.