Welfare Cuts

Some folk always punch down. Never punch up at those embezzling their money off shore until it's pointed out to them, then they agree only to forget the next time the argument comes up.

Offshore tax avoidance and evasion alone is estimated to be £25bn a year compared to a fraction of that in benefit fraud.

If folk were losing money because due to a massive hole in, the roof or a small one, ehi

 

I'd also make the point that a lot of employers won't want to hire people with disabilities. Imagine a scenario where someone with severe mental health issues has 'issues' at work, dealing with other people, customers, rigours of deadlines etc etc. What employer in a physically demanding environment would actively want to take on and make extra adjustments for wheelchairs. the blind etc etc. The list goes on. The Labour Party will effectively be pushing more people in poverty. That's right, you heard it here - a Labour government is deliberately going to make poverty worse.

 

I doubt people living off there mummys and daddy's will be claiming benefits like pip, so that's irrelevant.

 

I remember quite a few years back me and Mrs used to do big shop after work on a Friday (do it online now) but my local supermarket had this same bloke in a wheelchair on the tills there quite often. I remember saying to my Mrs fair play to him as it would be easier for him not to work. I imagine online shopping and self scan has done him out of a job now though.
I think the government are also trying to get those who are on long term sick back to work who can and want to work. Last year alone the government spent 65 billion on sickness benefits. Which is a unreal figure so the let's just tax the rich more and forget about it doesn't quite cut it.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0kgpyz3mmpo

 

Who said anything about benefits. Work is import right? How are these people contributing to society when they're just living off their parents ill gotten, tax avoiding gains?

 

My girlfriend only has one working hand and can't walk at all. The way the rhetoric is developing is that she may still be facing cuts. We have been through Stepchange and various charities and the one stepchange have put her on to have actually charged her money to help her. Don't get ill in this country. It's not like America, but we are going down a slippery slope. I was glad when Labour kicked out the Tories, who I despise, but it seems like it is the same austerity plan ahead. Funnily enough Reeves is MP for my girlfriend's constituency in Rodley, Leeds. I have written to her BTW.

 

What's more interesting, but maybe not to you, is how society became so sick that it ended up costing that much money. Every government comes in and rattles this cage, media soundbites about getting workshy food back into employment. Scroungers, benefit cheats etc. Yet remarkable they fail to tackle the actual issues at hand.

It's almost as if there's something else at play.....

 

She's mine too. Waste of time.

 

I don't know, work is important yes not just for people's physical health but mental. I've worked from been 16 years old if I ever was fortunate enough to win the lottery or have rich parents where I don't have to work I'd still have to do something to fill my days and keep active. I class myself as working class I don't class people who don't work because there mum and dad spoon feed them in that bracket nor do I class the people who could work but don't, I realise some folk are unemployable these days and the mindset of the young is totally different in this generation to mine.

 

In the United Kingdom, health outcomes are significantly influenced by socio-economic status, with wealthier individuals generally experiencing better health and longer life expectancies compared to those in more deprived areas.

Life Expectancy Disparities

Men in deprived areas live up to 10 years less than those in affluent regions. Similarly, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these inequalities, with the UK experiencing larger drops in life expectancy compared to other developed nations, regressing to levels seen a decade ago.

Chronic Diseases and Mortality Rates

Individuals in the most deprived areas face cancer death rates nearly 60% higher than those in more affluent regions, resulting in approximately 28,000 additional fatalities annually. For instance, lung cancer death rates are almost three times higher among the poorest compared to the wealthiest, driven by factors such as higher smoking rates and reduced access to effective treatments and screenings.

Mental Health and Social Issues

Economic disparities also contribute to higher rates of mental health problems, substance abuse, and teenage pregnancies in deprived areas. For example, Middlesbrough, which has a child poverty rate of 41%, holds the highest rate of teen pregnancies in England and Wales.

Influential Research

Pioneering studies by researchers like Michael Marmot have highlighted the profound impact of socio-economic factors on health. The Whitehall Studies, which examined British civil servants, demonstrated a clear link between lower socio-economic status and higher rates of heart disease and mortality. Additionally, the book "The Spirit Level" by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett argues that societies with more income inequality experience worse health and social outcomes across various measures.

These findings underscore the critical need for policies addressing socio-economic disparities to improve health outcomes across the UK.

 

Let me get this straight - you recognise that technological developments are allowing companies to reduce the number of accessible jobs for disabled people so as to increase profitability, and your solution is to reduce benefits for disabled people out of work rather than tax the profits?

 

I've touched on it a few times on this board but obesity costs the NHS almost 7 billion a year probably the government as more with people been too fat to work etc and all the other health problems it's linked to. Maybe if the government tried to cut down on that aswell could save the country more money or is the solution just tax the rich more.

 

I was making a point that someone who was disabled to the point where it effected his day to day life and made it hard to work chose to. He could have found another job since call centers whatever I don't know. The article I provided actually says they will be helping people get jobs. Thought you'd be on putting word in my mouth.

 

I hope you don't do a job that needs you to write in good English, or maybe understand working people are female? You really are not getting the point.

 

I think I'll stop with this thread don't want to upset anyone. Looks to me like there going to help people on long term sick get back into work. Is that a bad thing? I shared a article it's costing the country 65 billion a year in sickness benefits. But I know the old let's just tax the rich more.

 

It's best in my experience to post about things you have personal knowledge of. I do on this subject. I was born with a hole in my heart, only attended school from the age of 7. I have only claimed benefits for 6 months during lockdown, when my DJ business was closed. I eventually found some work in IT, until I could work again 18 months later. I do agree many people who are able to will benefit from help to get into work, but the rhetoric and is deeply troubling to me. I hope you can understand that.

 

It’d be nice, for once.

I think @Django summed it up best earlier. So I’ve nothing to add.

 

It is a massive amount overall but if what the leaks are suggesting is true then the government will be hitting thousands, possibly millions, of people who are genuine and in need. Many poverty groups have said as such, some MP's in that very article you quoted have said as much. The PIP element they seem to be wanting to target will be c.5 billion I believe so not the 65 billion youre referring to (which covers other aspects of the health budget as well) and not a figure they couldnt claw back from some other avenue if they wanted to. It's one thing to look at the spend on things and to reform a welfare system but why not have something else in place first? It just looks like cuts to vulnerable people because that's what it is. Even the Tories under Sunak shied away from this. Yet another poorly thought out blanket hit on everyone by the looks of it. So, I think my comments do cut it - Labour are going to increase poverty. The fact that its a Labour Government doing this when even the Tories didnt is, quite frankly appalling.
p.s. Nice to hear the story of that one individual on the tills. Good for him, but remember he is just one person and you probably didnt know his full story or the state of his improving/deteriorating condition. We shouldnt make judgements about everyone else just because we know one guy...

 

Put the video on to 42 minutes. Today's government muppet to answer questions on it. He couldn't even say someone who's DYING wouldn't be losing money.