Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Why am I not surprised?

Apparently the new system for assessing those entitled to benefits due to disability has been telling triple-heart-bypass, terminal cancer patients that they should get off their lazy asses and get a job. The trouble is such an enormous amount of kicking and screaming is done whenever someone claims an extra £1.50 in benefit that in the panic to stop the odd dodgy guy claiming a few extra pence we are turfing the terminall ill out onto the streets.

Maybe next time it would make more sense to turn the tables for one and look at the levels of corporate fraud and tax evasion. Reclaiming some of that would have a much bigger impact on the economy and wouldn't involved tipping over wheelchairs (metaphorically ... for now). And the Tories were the ones who replaced Invalidity Benefit with the much cheaper Incapacity Benefit so there's no point them pretending they'd be any better.

3 comments:

Gappy said...

Oh, don't even get me started on this!

As part of my job at Womens Aid I support women with their benefit claims. People are getting their benefits withdrawn and their appeals overturned despite support letters from G.P's and hospital consultants saying that they are genuinely unable to work. It's pushing some people with mental health issues over the edge. It's disgusting - and all so the government can claim their stats have improved.

JENNIFER DREW said...

Let's start with investigating the number of white MPs who continue to abuse the parliamentary system. Not forgetting the fact three labour MPs were subjected to a 'sting' operation and wherein one male boasted about charging £3,000 a day for consultancy work!! £3,000 a day that is appalling given so many women and men are being deliberately labelled 'benefit thieves' just because they are attempting rightly to claim their benefit.

The situation is becoming worse every day wherein as always it is the most disadvantaged women and men who are the ones being blamed and called 'scroungers' whilst middle-class white men continue to earn huge sums of money. Remember the bankers and the massive sums of money they have earned as salary.

Of course there is no such thing as poverty in this country - just vast numbers of women and men who are deliberately defrauding the welfare state.

But of course politicians are always keen to blame the most disadvantaged whilst these politicians continue to enjoy junkets abroad, claim living expenses, engage in consultancy work etc. I call it hyprocrisy but unfortunately targetting the most disadvantaged and no they are not 'vulnerable' because this in itself is patronising, works to take the focus off those white powerful men who are the ones defrauding the system and ensuring the rich get richer and the poorer become what? Benefit scroungers apparently!

butterflywings said...

Well said - don't get me started too!

Exactly - why not investigate wealthy people who dodge tax, fiddle expenses, oh and yes Jennifer I saw that documentary about the consultancy work too. Ugh.

So-called 'Labour' govt.

And yeah, neither of the others would be any better.