This thing that annoys me, is how the UK is set up to be too cushy on underachievers. The population of the UK can be, roughly, divided into three sections. The employed, the unemployed who are actively looking to become employed, and the unemployed who are quite happy to leech off the system.
With times getting harder, the recession beginning to bite, and prices going up across the board, the employed aren't getting any help. There are many out there, myself included, who are earning just enough to be ineligible for any kind of state help. However, we're still expected to content with increases in food, utilities, and most recently fuel. The latter of these being very important to actually get to work if, like me, you don't happen to live in a city with a solid public transport infrastructure.
I don't have a problem with the unemployed who are seriously looking for work. Please note that this group does NOT include those who claim their Jobseekers' Allowance each week, while "feigning" the act of applying for a job by filling in applications for jobs they know they won't get, just to keep the Jobcentre happy and keep the dole money flowing. Those, however, who are seriously getting out there and trying their hardest, I applaud them for doing their utmost to step back up into work, perhaps after being made redundant, and I am all for the state helping them out financially in the meantime.
It's the latter of the three groups that annoys me the most. These people know that they have to "apply" for three jobs a week to keep getting their benefit - so they will, quite often, send in such shockingly bad CVs that they are humorous. I've even seen one with a cover letter (well, a cover post-it) asking to be rejected in writing, so they could prove to the Jobcentre that they were trying, and continue claiming their welfare payments.
The bottom line is, that it's currently quite profitable for people to stay at home and make a "living" out of NOT being employed. They get their rent paid for, their council tax paid for, and a nice fortnightly cash payment to spend as they wish. This is where it cuts deep. I have seen many bank statements of people who live perpetually on benefits as a career choice, and more often than not, there are large direct debits to Sky (often in excess of £50 monthly), an expensive mobile (which will usually be around the £30 a month figure), and then debit card payments in betting shops and off licenses.
I work my ass off, day in, day out. I do not mind my tax money going to help people who need it. What I DO object to is my tax money ending up being used to buy booze and smokes, satellite TV and high-end mobiles, and so on, for a group of lazy little shits, whose only purpose in life seems to be to sit on their butt watching Jeremy Kyle (while aspiring to be a guest on it themselves), while popping out more babies to claim more child benefits.
I would love to see the government stop paying benefits in cash - and instead adopt the American system of food stamp cards, that will only allow certain things to be purchased - healthy food, utilities, and other essentials. If someone on welfare tries to buy something like, say, some beer, a hot pasty, or something equally un-essential, the cash register simply tells them to put it back.
But of course, this will never happen - because unfortunately these scummy little individuals are allowed to vote - and no government (past or present) has the balls to upset such a large demographic and risk losing at the next election.
