[Politics] Sunak's benefits shake up

[Somethingdean]

I wonder why everyone's mental health is so poor?
It's probably nothing to do with the repeated sledgehammering to the bollocks his party have inflicted upon the country throughout the last fifteen years.
If he feels sick, he can use his endless reserves of cash to go private. Not a luxury for most people.
The man has never done a days work in his life. His current job isn't work anyway. He's just like all the other stupid chancers before him over the last decade. He just wants to be the PM so he can line his pockets afterwards, the snake ****.

Sorry. This has really pissed me off. Which is probably the point.

Roll on the election!

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Nail on head. Very well said. There are too many on here such who resort to insults if people disagree with them.

Nice of you to finally make it. How long did it take you this morning?

 

[ROSM]

The ONS !

And if you read the ONS report rather than the civitas precis you will see it references education and health as benefits in kind. The point it is making is that the income inequality means that 1) there are people where even the minimum wage isn't enough to even fund what is needed. 2) we have an elderly population who have needs and aren't paying tax as on pensions

Rather than pointing to a benefit culture the report gave a more worrying picture

 

[The Clamp]

Fair point. I appreciate your perspective and ok, it’s possible that he was indeed doing his job in an unexpected way. I honestly don’t believe he was thinking in those terms BUT you’re right — the 5 or 6 weeks I had off did indeed allow me to think about my future and I changed jobs within a few months.

Either way, glad to hear it worked out for the best

 

[Cornwallboy]

Nice of you to finally make it. How long did it take you this morning?

Take me to do what?

 

[Thunder Bolt]

And if you read the ONS report rather than the civitas precis you will see it references education and health as benefits in kind. The point it is making is that the income inequality means that 1) there are people where even the minimum wage isn't enough to even fund what is needed. 2) we have an elderly population who have needs and aren't paying tax as on pensions

Rather than pointing to a benefit culture the report gave a more worrying picture

Due to the tax threshold being frozen for quite a while even modest pensions are being taxed. My annual income from State Pension and a small private pension is less than £16K and I pay income tax.

 

[ROSM]

Due to the tax threshold being frozen for quite a while even modest pensions are being taxed. My annual income from State Pension and a small private pension is less than £16K and I pay income tax.

I agree but my point is that the civitas precis would have you down as a scrounger despite the fact you worked all your life and are now being taxed on what is one of the worst pensions in the civilised world

 

[Cornwallboy]

Is that all you've got? In response why didn't you 'treat' us to one of your usual long posts? The uncomfortable truth mate is that if someone does dare to disagree with you on here you resort to personal abuse.

 

[CheeseRolls]

I wonder why everyone's mental health is so poor?
It's probably nothing to do with the repeated sledgehammering to the bollocks his party have inflicted upon the country throughout the last fifteen years.
If he feels sick, he can use his endless reserves of cash to go private. Not a luxury for most people.
The man has never done a days work in his life. His current job isn't work anyway. He's just like all the other stupid chancers before him over the last decade. He just wants to be the PM so he can line his pockets afterwards, the snake ****.

Sorry. This has really pissed me off. Which is probably the point.

Roll on the election!

Another point of note here. Sickness days have increased post Covid, but unless you get admitted to hospital Covid does not exist anymore. It is real enough to hit plenty of people hard for a few days and some for much longer, but no testing no stats until you are so sick you are admitted to hospital, at which point I guess it is okay to take time off.

 

[The Clamp]

I agree but my point is that the civitas precis would have you down as a scrounger despite the fact you worked all your life and are now being taxed on what is one of the worst pensions in the civilised world

When we stop working and stop paying tax the government are no longer bothered if we live or die. Well, they’d rather we die.

Absolutely no way I’m retiring in this f***ing country.

 

[dwayne]

Another point of note here. Sickness days have increased post Covid, but unless you get admitted to hospital Covid does not exist anymore. It is real enough to hit plenty of people hard for a few days and some for much longer, but no testing no stats until you are so sick you are admitted to hospital, at which point I guess it is okay to take time off.

Or go back to the other link I published...it still doesn't paint a great picture

Are half of British households a burden on the state? - Full Fact

"Half of Britain is a burden on the state," the Sunday Times reported over the weekend. A number of newspapers also reported the news that the majority …

fullfact.org

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Take me to do what?

Log on. You were having issues logging on a few weeks back.

 

[The Fits]

I wonder why everyone's mental health is so poor?
It's probably nothing to do with the repeated sledgehammering to the bollocks his party have inflicted upon the country throughout the last fifteen years.
If he feels sick, he can use his endless reserves of cash to go private. Not a luxury for most people.
The man has never done a days work in his life. His current job isn't work anyway. He's just like all the other stupid chancers before him over the last decade. He just wants to be the PM so he can line his pockets afterwards, the snake ****.

Sorry. This has really pissed me off. Which is probably the point.

Roll on the election!

Aye it's such a massive elephant in the room.
These goons get all up in arms about the perceived amount of people who struggle with mental health issues yet they fail to accept they're as responsible as anyone.
Same with homelessness. It's absolutely ludicrous. And actually I don't think it fools many.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Ha ha! Hadn’t thought of it like that. I just thought I had a shit job and a shit boss.

To add.....we are having a debate where I work, about students taking time off due to a mitigating circumstance. The numbers have rocketted. And yet there is nothing in what we are seeing to suggest that this is due to students playing the system. Instead we think it is a combination of students with mental health issues (in particular) being more willing to come forward and get help, and the system being more encouraging and accessible, making it easier for them to do so.

Another anecdote. For 20 years I have had increasingly problematic GI issues resulting in being put on the bowel cancer pathway, only to find my innards are all pink and shiney and normal. I self diagnosed lactose intolerance and gluten intolerance. Diet changes helped, initially spectacularly. But the problems reappeared.

Then 6 moths ago I spent 10 days in Brazil, and despite eating all sorts, the guts were perfectly behaved. I asked myself what was different in my life. The only think I could thing of was that while I was in Brazil I had not a care in the world. I was fed and watered. Each day was planned by my hosts. I just had fun. I had to work (giving some lectures, but I find that easy), but everything was stress-free.

Then I realised. I had been suffering from anxiety - for decades. As you probably have noticed I cover up distress by being stroppy and aggressive. But underneath I can be anxious and distressed. Obviously being a stroppy arse has become more to the fore in a general sense in my phenotype (ahem), but one consequence is it disguises anxiety.

With that as a hypothesis, I have been trying a bit of mental training. I tell myself that the connection between anxiety and my bowel must be broken. It seems to be working. There was probably some sort of Pavlovian expectation of bowel issues that made me anxious and so on. That seems now to have stopped.

The brain is a funny old beast, and we should not allow stoicism (in your case, suspect) to get in the way of mending a problem

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Is that all you've got? In response why didn't you 'treat' us to one of your usual long posts? The uncomfortable truth mate is that if someone does dare to disagree with you on here you resort to personal abuse.

Dry up, second account boy. Nobody takes you seriously.

 

[Eeyore]

If you’re a billionaire, it’s avoidance.

If you’re on £25k a year, it’s evasion.

Pretty sure that how it works.

Yes, see Lord Ashcroft v Angela Rayner...

 

[Pevenseagull]

I wonder how many of the recommendations from this have been after upon?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...healthier-tomorrow-work-and-health-in-britain 2007

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-work 2013

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Or go back to the other link I published...it still doesn't paint a great picture

Are half of British households a burden on the state? - Full Fact

"Half of Britain is a burden on the state," the Sunday Times reported over the weekend. A number of newspapers also reported the news that the majority …

fullfact.org

The bottom line of that link
The average household receives £31 from the state annually. A massive burden.

Maybe employers could make less profit and pay their workers a decent wage?

 

[The Clamp]

It’s like the Tory’s are pointing at us and saying

“Look at the f***ing state of you all. Can’t afford to feed yourselves, too ill to work, earning shit money, having to rely on our NHS. You’re disgusting”

Dig a ditch…

 

[Cornwallboy]

Log on. You were having issues logging on a few weeks back.

You damn well know why I was having troubles logging on, so why ask? So incredibly patronising. Still a 'socialist' in the 1901 are you?