Skip to content or view screen version

Benefit cheats

Hildy Johnson | 10.12.2008 12:41 | Sheffield | South Coast

Whilst most UK activists continue to concern themselves with human rights abuses abroad, archair activism in calling for a Greek revolution the Sweated Labour Party continues with its crusade to promote the health benefits of working on a minimum wage in the trashed service sector economy.


As firms shed workers in their thousands and as banks are handed blank cheques to cover the losses of anonymous investors overseas the government of the Sweated Labour party continues with its mission to force benefit claimants to submit to conditionality.

Q. What is a benefits claimant?

a) a soapdodging scrounger
b) somebody that has made sick by hyper-capitalism and requires compensation from wealthier sections of society is redistributed in their direction

In recent days the BBC has detailed various earth-shattering changes to the benefits system without so much as a murmur from the activist community represented by UK Indymedia. Following last years Freud review prepared by investment banker David Freud, Work Csar James Purnell will present a white paper based on the recommendations of the Gregg review.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7759905.stm

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7774113.stm

Whilst much that is spouted on welfare reform is either bluster, as a means to satiate the lust among the chattering classes for an end to "handouts", or scare tactics to provoke claimants to work there is a concerted march by both parties to dismantle the welfare state.

The assumptions behind the proposals sound something like this.
"It is bad for society as a whole that people receive state benefits (unless they are bankers)- both for taxpayers and for the recipients themselves. The unemployed are unable to "realize their potential" because they either lack confidence, motivation or are plain lazy. The evidence for this is that people from other countries, for example Poland have been able to find employment in the UK. By going to work and by work we mean any type of work available these sick people will get better. They will progress up the social ladder and society will be improved.

The approach must be a "tough love" approach. For people to have choices they must be forced into a hole. (See Greggs diagram of the Personal Conditionality Regime.)
 http://bleedingheartshow.wordpress.com/2008/12/04/your-life-in-diagrams/


According to Purnell; "If there's work there for people, we believe they should do it and people should not be able to turn down a reasonable offer of a job."

So despite criticisms of the McJob society and its impact on peoples vitality, despite the collapsing formal economy, despite all the hard work and effort undertaken by the unemployed in activities other than paid work, despite the fact that we have been committed as taxpayers for decades to come to pay for the deliberate crimes and unfortunate failures of the bankers and their cohorts the benefits claimant is to be squeezed by the state in the name of his or her improvement.

And while all this is going on what to we do? Well, we "participate" in the Greek revolution or we wave placquards outside the bank complaining about particular investments that we don´t like- ones that we as consumers "feel" bad about.

Fucking get up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hildy Johnson

Comments

Hide the following 15 comments

offenders

10.12.2008 13:00

This morning on BBC Radio 4 Today programme, James Purnell referred to claimants as 'offenders'!

Keith


Claimants 'must do more'

10.12.2008 13:14

James Parnell on Today programme this morning when he let slip that claimants are offenders who must be sanctioned.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7774000/7774880.stm

If nothing else this shows what neo-Labour really thinks of claimants.

He talked of helping people.

WE all know what that means, harassing people off benefits, arbitarily stopping beneifits for no good reason, sending people on scam training courses run by the likes of CDG, A4E, Working Links.

 http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=CDG+site%3Awww.indymedia.org.uk&meta=

Even the interviewer said Maggie Thatcher would not have dared go this far, and if she had, Labour would have taken to the streets.

Also see

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7774113.stm

Keith


A suggestion

10.12.2008 13:25

Just a suggestion, but in my experience it is hardly likely to motivate people to take action on something you think is important by launching into attacking their current interests or activities, and by implication *them* - in a superior tone of "I know better what our priorities should be". Do you think the activist community in Britain are not aware of Purnell's proposed reforms? Better to approach things by saying "yes, it is good that people show solidarity with others in other countries etc, we should also get together to do something about what is happening here" and then suggest constructive ways in which you suggest we can. Then you would be building a coalition and unity rather than engaging in divisive "redder than thou" contests. Just a suggestion like.

greenman


Frankus

10.12.2008 14:20

Yeah, maybe another load of Labour bluster re benefit claimants. That said, it's a sure thing that many benefit claimants go out fiddling, of whom quite a lot are skilled building workers, filching honest taxpayers' hard-earned tax deductions. Such folk are often far wealthier off than the honest, non-fiddling workers. What with all the other greedy, dishonest goings on, all the benefit fiddlers have, are and will be crippling the UK's treasury.

Francis Giles
mail e-mail: francis@fgiles.orangehome.co.uk


benefit claimants can do society good

10.12.2008 15:02

I`ve not `worked` for several years but fill my time with activism. By living a very simple life, with low expectations and few commitments, I plough my time and energy into action for people and the planet. The good that I can do for society far outweighs any good that may come from me getting a job. Most work involves making/selling stuff that people don`t really need, using resources that we can`t afford to use, causing pollution that is totally unecessary etc etc.

The government plans stink - i`ll fight them all the way!

Alex


You dont punish eeryone because of some,+ you try living on 50 week

10.12.2008 15:12

its not great.Minimum Wage should go up with better payed part time jobs,many companies including small ones should stop moaning & cooperatise.

absolutely


single person allowance

10.12.2008 16:08

Single person allowance of £60 per week.

Out of this has to come food and fuel and eveything else.

Food and fuel have risen much faster than inflation.

Heating one room in a house, the rest are left unheated, currently running at £15 every few days. Then food. Money runs out before end of two weeks.

Then there are other bills to pay ...

Repair of shoes £30!

Water

Gas

etc

Keith


Try living on the Big Issue money then!

10.12.2008 18:14

If you think it is hard living on benefits then try living on the Big Issue money then. Many Big Issue sellers are struggling to manage on about 40 pounds a week let alone 60! In recent years many benefit claiments have stopped claiming because of all the hassle they get and have ended up on the streets and either have to beg or sell the Big Issue for a living now. A major cause of homelessness is the crackdown on the unemployed by benefit staff who stop peoples benefits if they think they are not trying hard enough to find work. Or if they turn down a crap job.

Big Issue seller


Carving up the welfare state

10.12.2008 18:16

The proposed reforms are not just bluster, they are the largest and most destructive reform of the welfare state for decades. The jobs just aren't there, the job market is in a mess, we're entering recession and unemployment is going to increase, not decrease, the welfare system is already hard enough and if reform is needed it's to improve the accuracy and acuity with which it is delivered. These reforms deserve the same reaction that ended the Poll Tax, an outright refusal to be subject to the draconian measures designed to please Britain's conservative voters.

Luke


woah! hang on!

10.12.2008 18:47

these proposals are only white papers

and the measures...if they get any approval will not be put into
action untill 2011 at least

same as the 'fags being off the shelves' story

the queens speech allow those measures to be announced
but its not set in stone


so woah there cowboys!

another thing...

the idea of making people work for benefits
gives me an idea

i wonder if they will give anyone of us doleys
a job helping to protect data ???

i also wonder which color bib i will be given

look busy

silly billy


The Corporations are bleeding you tax payers not the unemployed

10.12.2008 19:38

As some have pointed out already benefit for a single person an JSA is £60 the current poverty line for a single person is 60% of the average wage i.e. £145 p/w. If you've been sanctioned (or sell the big issue) you're expected to live on less than a third of the poverty line.

You tax payers who begrudge this pittance when you do nothing about the war criminals who are pushing the neo-liberal agenda that ensures the top 1% now control 90% of the planets wealth and freely spend tax payers money murdering innocents in the interests of oil corporations in illegal foreign wars.

It is your 'revolutionary duty' to refuse any work that supports in any way the consumer economy based on the myth of exponential growth from finite resources - refusing to work means that this government of gangsters can't spend that money on weapons. Withdrawing labour has long been a way of bringing about social change.

The global economy, run by corporations dictate what jobs exist, so there are plenty of jobs making weapons, or in call centres that produce absolutely nothing of use. Our economy depends on illegal resource wars costing huge amounts to the tax payer. Bankers are bailed out by tax payers and hardly a squeak of protest is heard.

The global corporations are responsible for this and it is they who should be paying for the damage they are doing to the planet and communities around the world.

You notice that profits are taken by these corporations who then avoid tax and have a tax system that is set up to favour corporations at the tax payers expense.

THe reality is that it is the corporations who are the ones who are ripping you off and not some unemployed person who has to work in the cash in hand economy simply to feed their family.

Smash the neo-liberal state, refuse to work for these murdering war criminals.

Action for Enjoyment


Cesspool of global capitalistic suppression

10.12.2008 20:34

I basically agree with all the comments following my comment. I was merely trying to state that a lot of claimants struggle like hell on benefit pittance, they afraid to go working on the QT. It is they who should really be pitied and, of course, those who get no benefits. I am a born anti-capitalist! Capitalism is one huge cesspool of supression, supressing the weak, the powerless. Same old poxy story, eh? Nothing but an almost perpetual greedy saga!

Frankus


glad to see people discussing this

11.12.2008 11:47

I've been on Jobseeker's for the past 3 months. I get a princely £47.95 a month as I'm under 25, which obviously isn't enough to live on. I'm forced to skip, shoplift and borrow money from friends just to get by. I have a master's degree and have been seriously looking for work in education that just isn't there. Too many people chasing too few jobs is what keeps wages down. The reserve army of the unemployed is as much a product of the capitalist system as the bankers in their pinstripes. Not to mention fucking temp agencies. Walked into one the other day, where they offered me 5.62 an hour for work with no security, no prospects, no sick pay. At the Job Centre, I get bullied into doing courses that teach me things I already know, and then they fail to reimburse me for travel expenses.

But obviously, the problem is that I'm just not willing to work, right. I won't just take any demaining mcjob the bosses fling my way. We need to organise to fight this attatck on welfare. I've linked to an article below that might give people some ideas.

Solidarity!

Dole autonomy versus the re-imposition of work: analysis of the current tendency to workfare in the UK
 http://libcom.org/library/dole-autonomy-aufheben

G


Offenders

12.12.2008 00:17

I suggest we all start referring to members of parliament as "offenders". Well, they offend us, don't they? Instead of "MP" after their names we could put "Off."

Stroppyoldgit


rip us to shreds

19.12.2008 22:06

That's what they depend isn’t it… that we turn on each other which allows them to go about their business ripping us off for millions.

I'm not in the slightest bit bothered about some family living together to increase their benefits cause they can't live on the pittance they are expected to, and every time I see that f****ing advert I want to puke.

Lets see them holding each other to account cause if they had we wouldn't be sat here watching it all go to hell in a hand basket (fav saying of the moment) now would we?

As I was growing up I naively thought political corruption went on in other countries. Now I realise that it was going on here it was just a bit under cover but as time has passed they really don't give a monkeys to even bother hiding it any more.

It stinks and it’s always those at the bottom of the pile getting beaten with the big stick. Let’s beat the social scroungers oh and while we’re at it you know all the problems in this county are down to the youngsters…

sirius