"More than 85% of public tips on benefit 'frauds' are false" (in the UK)
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mfairma
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I think I've lost my fire, because stuff like this no longer makes me angry, but just sad.
Only 2% of referrals led to any action at all. To think of all the poor people, like us, subjected to extra reviews by ignorant jackasses is heartbreaking. The world isn't tough enough for people so ill they can barely care for themselves, apparently. It's natural to not understand things outside of your frame of reference. I would not have understood illness before I became ill, but it is a sick society that incentivizes quick judgments and the demonization of the already marginalized, over tolerance and empathy.
Only 2% of referrals led to any action at all. To think of all the poor people, like us, subjected to extra reviews by ignorant jackasses is heartbreaking. The world isn't tough enough for people so ill they can barely care for themselves, apparently. It's natural to not understand things outside of your frame of reference. I would not have understood illness before I became ill, but it is a sick society that incentivizes quick judgments and the demonization of the already marginalized, over tolerance and empathy.
sarah darwins
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All to 'save' £180 million a year in a £170 billion budget. And how much did it cost to investigate more than a million such 'tips'? I'm betting it was more than the saving. A lot more.
Whatever it's about, it's not about the money, is it. Ugly business.
Whatever it's about, it's not about the money, is it. Ugly business.
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I think it's because so many people believe there are lots of frauds. If there was no tip line, they would get so many complaints and have to spend money answering those.
Old Bones
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I've always been disgusted by campaigns that encourage people to "rat out" their neighbours. After all, probably everyone has something in their life that someone will find suspicious, or disapprove of.
jimells
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It's never about the money - it's about keeping working people fussing at each other so they don't march to 10 Downing Street with torches and pitchforks.
I finally understood this while listening to my mom complaining about her neighbor who she was sure was receiving some undeserved benefit. I pointed out to her that large corporations were robbing us blind - why was she more concerned about a few hundred dollars of benefits going to her neighbor than she was about the billions and billions stolen from us every day?
Her response clearly reflected the powerlessness felt by unorganized working people trying to survive in a barbaric society: "I can do something about my neighbor - I can't do anything about the corporations."
I finally understood this while listening to my mom complaining about her neighbor who she was sure was receiving some undeserved benefit. I pointed out to her that large corporations were robbing us blind - why was she more concerned about a few hundred dollars of benefits going to her neighbor than she was about the billions and billions stolen from us every day?
Her response clearly reflected the powerlessness felt by unorganized working people trying to survive in a barbaric society: "I can do something about my neighbor - I can't do anything about the corporations."
I was going to post that link to some of the non-ME groups that I belong to (the ones that have a section for general interest topics) but I knew the results. There would be posts from people claiming to know "someone" fiddling the system. It could be a family member, relative or neighbour.
There is a lot of anger and hatred in the UK towards people on benefits.
There is a lot of anger and hatred in the UK towards people on benefits.
Old Bones
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Although this article is about the U.S. Social Security disability insurance program, I suspect the findings are fairly accurate in other jurisdictions. Most people are honest, and want to work.
Nine Facts That Prove Disability Insurance Isn’t A Giant Boondoggle
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/10/16/2787821/facts-disability-insurance/
Nine Facts That Prove Disability Insurance Isn’t A Giant Boondoggle
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/10/16/2787821/facts-disability-insurance/
Deliberately stirred up anger. By whom, and for whose benefit, one might ask.
jimells
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In the US there are many politicians and public loudmouths who make a living by inciting hatred and abuse of anyone seen as "subhuman" Useless Eaters. My own state governor never misses a chance to attack and insult poor people. He seems to take delight in looking for more ways to make our lives even more miserable by constantly cutting benefits and adding restrictions. I'm sure he would like nothing better than to give all the poor people a one-way bus ticket to the state line.
I know more than one person who appears to able to work at some job somewhere in the US economy. I don't judge them - that's above my pay grade. It's a funny thing about some of those folks - they are such poor workers that other people on the job would agree that we are all better off by paying them to stay at home. And why not? The U.S. clearly does not need 300 million workers to do the work not yet performed by automated systems. So what should we do with the surplus labor - start another world war in order to get rid of a few hundred million Unwanted Eaters?
SilverbladeTE
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1) Sociopaths psychopaths and just plain evil mean useless incompetent vicious cowardly MTFers tend to rise to the top of the system by backstabbing and brown nosing
2) Because of this and other issues we have return of the mentality at the "top" that brought the Nazis to power
3) I got ridiculed and ignored for years warning folk nearly all their jobs were on the way out years ago
and why SHOULD people do dirty dangerous drudgery unless they *want* to?
It's insane, why should people be burned alive making metal, drowned cleaning sewers, etc now when machines can do so much of it? Advances in robotics are going to or have wiped out a lot of jobs
Fine if a person enjoys say, metal working, personally I love welding and crafting steel and brass etc
but pouring tons of molten metal that can burn you alive to keep some git at the top rich?
Do I LOOK that bloody stupid?!
My Grandpa got crippled for life doing such stuff, damn right I learned from his and many other's misfortune *shudders at way some poor sods died or were maimed, ick!*
if society was sane and honest THEY'D have been the ones paid the most NOT some jackass nob! don't anyone dare tell me that the "boss" deserves the most, utter bullshit, it's just a job, stressful/tricky one that deserves fair pay but not making a mint when others risk their damn lives
We're *Human Beings* but we got conned and forced into being slaves for evil bastards at the top
see how the Industrial Revolution was where the first actual concentration camps began, in England "work houses"
they couldn't get enough sods to do dirty deadly labour for peanuts, so they arrested them, abused the law to round folk up and herd 'em into concentration camps to slave to death.
You don't God damned hear that much talked of when they spout of about the "Glorious" Industrial Revolution :/
Friggin Duke who owned most of this area and the mines/steelworks had 2000+ slaves around Barbados, so when slavery was outlawed the slimy bastard demanded repaid their worth he got about £8 million for "freeing" them.
The "Protestant Work Ethic" was a huge con game with propaganda to mould folks beliefs into accepting being slaves. The assholes at the top laugh themselves silly every time dumbasses at the bottom keep voting in Right wing demagogues who remove any social safeguards they can and line the peons up to be cannon fodder and slaves for their corporate/noble masters.
Everyone needs to do something beneficent to self and community with their lives, but that doesn't mean they have to be a "disposable wage slave"!
4) I could try and explain how the economic system is a con and about to collapse but it take too long
basically they make money up on computers now, another enormous con but one that's running away from them, the politicians are largely jackasses now they do not get the realities of it all, or where their blind stupidity will lead.
so, the "London Housing Bubble" is going to implode, the second financial crash is coming and some other stuff cause the pricks in Westminster are to busy snorting cocaine, screwing kids and selling the country's assets off they're even planning on selling the ROADS off, now!
Eisenhower was a *genuine* conservative and he pushed the building of US road networks as he knew how vital they were, great for trade etc and must NEVER be held in private hands, like putting handcuffs around your bollocks and giving the key to a loan shark!
They privatized the maintenance of the hydrogen bomb store where the UK keeps its nukes...oy vay!!
so, anyway
unless the general Public rises up against the US and Uk governments and the bankers, oligarchs etc who own them....except to be wiped out one way or the other
2) Because of this and other issues we have return of the mentality at the "top" that brought the Nazis to power
3) I got ridiculed and ignored for years warning folk nearly all their jobs were on the way out years ago
and why SHOULD people do dirty dangerous drudgery unless they *want* to?
It's insane, why should people be burned alive making metal, drowned cleaning sewers, etc now when machines can do so much of it? Advances in robotics are going to or have wiped out a lot of jobs
Fine if a person enjoys say, metal working, personally I love welding and crafting steel and brass etc
but pouring tons of molten metal that can burn you alive to keep some git at the top rich?
Do I LOOK that bloody stupid?!
My Grandpa got crippled for life doing such stuff, damn right I learned from his and many other's misfortune *shudders at way some poor sods died or were maimed, ick!*
if society was sane and honest THEY'D have been the ones paid the most NOT some jackass nob! don't anyone dare tell me that the "boss" deserves the most, utter bullshit, it's just a job, stressful/tricky one that deserves fair pay but not making a mint when others risk their damn lives
We're *Human Beings* but we got conned and forced into being slaves for evil bastards at the top
see how the Industrial Revolution was where the first actual concentration camps began, in England "work houses"
they couldn't get enough sods to do dirty deadly labour for peanuts, so they arrested them, abused the law to round folk up and herd 'em into concentration camps to slave to death.
You don't God damned hear that much talked of when they spout of about the "Glorious" Industrial Revolution :/
Friggin Duke who owned most of this area and the mines/steelworks had 2000+ slaves around Barbados, so when slavery was outlawed the slimy bastard demanded repaid their worth he got about £8 million for "freeing" them.
The "Protestant Work Ethic" was a huge con game with propaganda to mould folks beliefs into accepting being slaves. The assholes at the top laugh themselves silly every time dumbasses at the bottom keep voting in Right wing demagogues who remove any social safeguards they can and line the peons up to be cannon fodder and slaves for their corporate/noble masters.
Everyone needs to do something beneficent to self and community with their lives, but that doesn't mean they have to be a "disposable wage slave"!
4) I could try and explain how the economic system is a con and about to collapse but it take too long
basically they make money up on computers now, another enormous con but one that's running away from them, the politicians are largely jackasses now they do not get the realities of it all, or where their blind stupidity will lead.
so, the "London Housing Bubble" is going to implode, the second financial crash is coming and some other stuff cause the pricks in Westminster are to busy snorting cocaine, screwing kids and selling the country's assets off they're even planning on selling the ROADS off, now!
Eisenhower was a *genuine* conservative and he pushed the building of US road networks as he knew how vital they were, great for trade etc and must NEVER be held in private hands, like putting handcuffs around your bollocks and giving the key to a loan shark!
They privatized the maintenance of the hydrogen bomb store where the UK keeps its nukes...oy vay!!
so, anyway
unless the general Public rises up against the US and Uk governments and the bankers, oligarchs etc who own them....except to be wiped out one way or the other
SilverbladeTE
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and for anyone who doesn't get it
http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/...-are-genetically-different-to-the-rest-of-us/
Right Wing "think tank" suggest that those on benefits breed more "benefit scroungers".
Oh where oh where might that ideology lead, ya think?
Quite frankly, given the choice between Belsen being built again, but in the UK, or Westminster getting turned into a radioactive crater by a tactical nuke, I know which I prefer!
Sigh
http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/...-are-genetically-different-to-the-rest-of-us/
Right Wing "think tank" suggest that those on benefits breed more "benefit scroungers".
Oh where oh where might that ideology lead, ya think?
Quite frankly, given the choice between Belsen being built again, but in the UK, or Westminster getting turned into a radioactive crater by a tactical nuke, I know which I prefer!
Sigh
jimells
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It would completely transform society. No more fear of destitution, of living under a bridge. Workers could negotiate with the boss on a more-or-less equal basis for the first time, since they could actually tell the boss to "Take this job and shove it" and not end up on the street. Artists, musicians, writers could actually pursue their crafts and eat at the same time. What a concept.
But this can never be allowed to happen under the current regime, because fear of destitution is used to keep people under control. The entire "social services" system of control would disappear. Folks who are financially independent may not understand what I'm going on about. Anybody who is poor knows the drill. Getting benefits means constantly filling out forms and trying to understand ever-changing limits and rules and appealing denials and so on. It's purposely demeaning so fewer people will apply.
jimells
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It's pretty sad to think that the most important goal of living is to have a job, to be a wage slave, at least according to the propaganda machine. It looks to me like more and more people spend nearly all their awake time working, going to work, or getting ready to go to work. This is certainly how I have had to live at different times.
I see a lot of wildlife outside my trailer house, and as far as I can tell, people spend a lot more time trying to obtain the necessities of life than the wild critters do.
alex3619
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Just as failing to research ME and CFS is not about the money. The collective loss is many orders of magnitude higher than an adequate research budget.
alex3619
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Its a witch-hunt. Who doesn't like a good witch-hunt? [Sarcasm]
alex3619
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This attitude is fostered by the powerful. Its always false. Its accurate in the sense that one individual has very limited power. However if a hundred million like-minded individuals decide enough is enough, everything changes.
Power and resources tend to congregate in the hands of fanatics and workaholics, who can't understand nor accept why the rest of us are not suffering the same affliction as them.