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On tonights Newsnight, there will be a feature-report about benefit claimants being forced to either work, or lose their benefits. You can read about it on the BBC website as well.


Anyone up for a debate? Lol. Ive always said people who don't want to work, are entitled not to have to, but should also not be entitled to state benefits. Many have argued against this, with quite valid reasoning, and I accept its a tricky situation, but I do believe the current methods of looking after people and trying to encourage them to work, have been tried, and failed, many many times over the past few decades.

It appears the US system even got the teenage mothers/career mothers who feel in the UK, they can pop a kid out every 7 years and have a right never to work...


And then we have the folk who think its a human right, for some scroungers to avoid working, whilst hard working, honest and decent people, have to pay to keep them...


Excuses, excuses.

I think its about time we start making life very very hard for long-term scroungers and the like. Fused with todays report that upto 64% of people in Aberdeen and Burnley, claiming Incapacity/Disability benefit, have been found fit for work (some do require extra support and assistance), the like of which are costing the taxpayer £13 billion per year alone, I think we should start being more rigourous with checks for those who actually need it.

In one of my jobs, I reguarly see allsorts of scroungers and hear of all manner of stories of how people avoid working, and how people "dress up" for the disability claims etc, to ensure they continue to get the benefits, and effectively defraud the system.

I think those with genuine disability of incapacity, should get what they are entitled to, in fact if we get rid of those who dont need it, they could get more!! It angers me when I see folk with real, serious disabilities, having to fundraise in the local community, relying on charity support and having to go through allsorts of rigmarole, months and even sometimes years of form filling and arguing their case, just to get adaptions and other things they should be automatically entitled to, whilst people who need nothing and are quite capable of work, lie their way through tribunals and medical reviews, to ensure they get everything. As is becoming more and more noticeable, those who know how to "work the system" do very well out of a life on benefits, those in genuine need usually struggle and go through hell just to get the basics that they are entitled to.

Its about time we for once, changed tact on benefits claimants, scroungers who simply don't want to work, and fraudsters who pretend to have problems, not only robbing the taxpayer of money, but buiding a growing public resentment of the current incapacity/disability system.

It isnt often you will hear me say this, as I generally have little time for "the big I am" cousins over the pond, but bravo to the US for having the balls to force the change.

BBC Newsnight Report

Watch Lawrence Mead's film for Newsnight in full on Tuesday 15 February 2011 at 10.30pm on BBC Two and then afterwards on the BBC iPlayer and Newsnight website.

This should be interesting

If it wasn't for the unemployed, the DSS would be out of a job. And let us not forget that billions of taxpayers' money is wasted on rubbish such as "defence".

Leave the honest scrounger alone and target those who deliberately defraud the system by claiming for non-existent kids and such like. And certainly don't give benefits to so-called "asylum seekers".

Work kills. Do less. Live more.

That is not the attitude to have.
Work less, live more?
So were do people get the money for nice things, clothes etc?
My hobby is fixing up old cars, if I didn't work I wouldn't be able to do that, even on my day off I'm working on my own cars, I don't get how people can enjoy 'lazing around' at home.
I'm all for this.

I also think there should be a cap on scroungers having any kids!

"Money wasted on defence?" I don't think so. I was around during the Cold War and you wouldn't believe how vulnerable we would have been with our defence shield. Even now we can't do without our forces but it looks like we are going to have to. You really must think your argument through.

If i have to go to work Graft, and give up a third of wages to tax, i don't see why anyone else should sit on their arse's spending my hard earned tax contribution,

Doleites get on my nerves and take take from society. Unless their medically unfit they should get of their lazy arses and get a job
I haven't issue with Asylum seekers as long as there not scrounging and contribute to the economy and contribute to reducing our tax deficits that the clown in goverment have ran up.

People then moan about foreigners taking our jobs, fair play to them if there prepared to come to the country and do all the jobs the dolietes consider themselves to good for or too lazy to do their loss

They can't have it both ways

Speaking from first hand experience me and my fiance struggled to get a mortgage because the banks were being more stringent on money leading after having their fingers burnt by balloon heads overlending with no capabilities to ever pay the debt back. Again did it the hard way, went to work, saved my b*llo**s off to get a 20k deposit.

If there weren't so many scroungers the average joes tax bill would be less and there'd be more money to put towards NHS and youth schemes rather than reducing bobbies on the beat and closing youth centres

The country gets on my T**s

Well done on that netzy, hope you're happy in your gaff. You won't half feel the rewards later in life.
Agree on the out and out scroungers. Sometimes people need a lift up, was out of work myself in the 70's for 10 months, hated it but there were no jobs anywhere doing anything. We must get out of the Government will pay for everything mode. It doesn't matter what crops up the answer is the Government should pay. I wonder if the ones who say it even twig that it is the taxes that pay not the Government and the more the Government lashes out for nothing then the more tax are taken of the workers. I read it a nice way they other day, "If you have a goose that is laying golden eggs then it doesn't make sense to keep beating it with a blunt instrument."

he's the man.

Now I'd best et back to work before my boss catches me on my phone

WTF is an honest scrounger?

Nice one lads, Ste, likewise mate haha, were all entitled to a break us hard workers

Bandycoot wise as always mate, Thanks for the kind words mate, i'm starting to reap the rewards now, and as you said its a good feeling !

I agree with where your coming from, i haven't issue with those who are activley seeking work but are in the position where no job opp's are there, that is a shi**y situation to be in, and have been there myself.

Like you said it those that abuse the assistance that take the mick and us honest chaps suffer when the balloons milk the gov for all they can

Chris, spot on mate, i'll second that

The problem is the people who are playing the system. There needs to be a better system in place to see who is fit for work etc.

I have someone on my facebook, which Im unsure why I still have them there, but they make my blood boil!

Perfectly fit to work, but has 2 childeren, no job, and lives off benefits - their facebook status is constantly going on abotu PS3s, new 50" TVs, holidays, days out, and complaining that they cant afford better!!!

I have no idea why they dont work, maybe the childcare would come out of wages etc, but isnt that a consideration to take when you have childeren?

Maybe when they start school, they may have "time" for work, but I doubt it - it will be too much like "hard work!"

Noone would know who it was anyway