David Cameron has once again proved he has absolutely no idea what he's doing, or that he cares about his actions.
His latest idiotic plan is to slash the annual benefits by £3,000, from £26,000 to £23,000, if the Conservatives win the next general election.
With the election only 100 days away, Cameron also said he plans to deny unemployed people aged 18-21 any housing benefit.
He went on to say that the money saved will be spent on new apprenticeship schemes.
I was watching the Daily Politics programme on BBC2 earlier today when they were discussing this news.
I can't remember much of what was said, or more accurately, I don't know what they were saying, because I was fuming, talking over the politicians and the presenter Jo Coburn, as they talked about this topic.
Mr.R and I were both seriously frustrated by this news.
It may make sense on paper, but then you can pretty much make anything look good on paper, but in reality, what this idea will mean, if the Tories are elected in the upcoming general election, is that once again the people who need the most help will be squeezed even more financially.
There are already so many people struggling to survive that I genuinely fear for them if the Conservatives are allowed to carry out this outrageous plan.
(I don't have anything relevant to this blog post, other than this doodle of David Cameron, to break up the text ;) )
I'm not sure why, but whenever I listen to any politicians, not matter what political party they represent, I hear the same prejudice opinions about people who claim benefits.
The politicians all seem to think that benefit claimants are lazy, work-shy, greedy, people who just want to sit about watching Jeremy Kyle on their wide screen TV's.
This is just not the case, it's not true.
Obviously it doesn't help that the politicians never venture far from London, let alone the South of England.
If they did, they may gain a small insight into the everyday lives of people who are seriously struggling with day to day living.
I'm not naive, there probably are some people who claim benefits, who just don't want to work.
But the majority of unemployed people who claim benefits, are forced to. They can't work because of the short-term contracts that have become all too common in the UK. How can the government expect people to live with such uncertainty?
One day you've got a job, the next you haven't - because the short term contracts, give the workers no rights, and the employers permission to treat their staff badly, and fire them without warning.
Where we live, there is a lot of poverty.
I mean serious poverty.
We live in an ex-mining town, and once the mines were closed down the majority of local people were out of work, with very little, or no hope of ever getting another job.
People here are struggling to live.
It's all very well the government saying, 'get a job!' But what about when there are no jobs.
I mean genuinely,
no jobs!
For example, in this area, there are very rarely any jobs available, which isn't surprising when you consider that when the mines closed down, that was it, industry was gone. There were no other businesses to replace the mines, no plan was made for the thousands of workers who were previously employed by the mines. They were left with nothing.
In our street alone, I know of only one person who works.
That's one person, out of all of the houses on our road.
Admittedly, not all of the properties are inhabited, some are empty, boarded-up.
But this street is not alone, the whole area is the same, street after street of people who are forced, by circumstances beyond their control, to claim benefits. Benefits to survive. Not doss about living a life of luxury. They are living basic, lives, with hardly any prospects, and little hope.
So, basically, David Cameron wants to starve these people, doesn't he?
He must do.
Because that's exactly what will happen if the Conservatives win the next general election, and David Cameron caps benefits at £23,000. And makes claiming housing benefit for 18-21 year old unemployed people, impossible.
He just does not care.
Well, he doesn't care about the people, he does care about himself, and his cronies.
I am not exaggerating about the severity of life where we live, for many people it is tough.
On many occasions we have had people asking us for basic essentials like milk, and water.......
I doubt David Cameron is even able to imagine being so impoverished.
He really doesn't have a clue about life in the UK for people who aren't millionaires, like himself, and his friends, family, etc.
And, I haven't even mentioned that main point I intended to say when I first started writing this blog post, which is that the majority of people claiming benefits aren't even unemployed - they are employed.
Yep, that's correct!
The government has done such a great job at looking after the people who pay their wages, that decent, law-abiding, people who work hard, are still unable to survive without help.
It's may not sound true, but it is. Don't believe me? Research it for yourself.
Benefits claimants are not lazy, work-shy, scroungers who don't do anything for this country. Most of them are working hard right now, but they are not being paid a decent wage, so they have no choice but to claim additional benefits.
It's odd how all of our politicians bang on about benefit claimants, always in the most negative manner, insisting that they're costing the country a fortune, and yet they never address the real problem. They don't try to find any solutions, of which there are many.
Maybe the government thinks that by constantly bashing benefits claimants, and moaning about the billions of pounds they cost the UK we will forget about how much the biggest benefits claimants cost us; the politicians, the royal family, and also the billions we give away in foreign aid - but that's a topic for another day.
Apprenticeship schemes are not a good solution.
They are good for the government, because if you're on one of these schemes, you won't be classed as unemployed, so the unemployment figures will look more favourable.
The schemes are also pretty good for the employers, who once they're finished with your cheap, or possibly free labour, will not offer you a full-time job, because they'll just give your 'job' to the next years training scheme apprentice, and so on.......
This country has the potential to be a truly wonderful country to live in, but until we the people actually get a say in how its run that's never going to happen.
Our whole political system needs to be changed.
We do not live in a democracy, and if you honestly believe that we do, well, I feel very sad for you.
Yes, I know we are much better off than many countries in the World, but that's not relevant to this topic.
We need equal representation.
At the moment we have a general election every 5 years. We vote, and then that's it.
Once a party has been elected that is it. They are in power until the next general election, with us having no say in anything they decide to do.
And that's another thing, the lies they spout during the election campaign, are exactly that - lies.
Once the party has been elected, they never do anything they said would do if they got into power.
Surely that's shouldn't be allowed?
I think the manifesto of every political party should be adhered to, in the strictest terms.
If they say they'll do something, then that's it - they have to do it.
Oh my God! I could go on and on about this for, well for a very long time, but I won't.......
More fool us, the people, for letting
our government get away with behaving the way they do.
Isn't it true that people generally treat you slightly worse that you treat yourself, that they treat you as badly as you let them?
Right, that's me all ranted out, for now.
I wish I hadn't tuned into the Daily Politics programme, because before that I was having a nice day; the sun was shining, the birds were singing, but now I'm concerned about the millions of people who will be so much worse off if these new benefits caps become a reality.
If you haven't already, and you'd like to read more about this topic you can check out these newspapers -
David Cameron to reduce benefits cap to £23,000 immediately if he wins the election -
via The Telegraph
David Cameron vows to slash benefits cap to £23,000 and remove housing benefits for under 21s within first week of general election win - via the Independent
Conservative health chair criticises David Cameron’s welfare cuts plans via The Guardian
Disclaimer: I am still fuming, but slightly less so than when I started this blog post, which is why I haven't re-read it and checked it for grammar and/or spelling errors. My blood pressure won't thank me if I dwell on this any longer.
As often happens with me, I only intended to write a short paragraph about David Cameron capping benefits at £23,000 and Denying Housing Benefit for Unemployed 18-21 Year Olds, but I've rambled on and on....... I just find it all so fecking frustrating.
Do you care about this issue?
What are your thoughts about it?
