Poverty in the UK

[the-gnole]

Well you really don't know what trials and tribulations I have had then.

I was out of work for two years and skint, I had to use all the inheritance from my grand-mothers will to pay off my debts, I had to fight tooth and nail to keep the roof over my head and start all over again from scratch following my divorce and buying out my share of the house from my ex.

I couldn't find work in my local town so had to go to the next town to find work, and borrow money to get me there, working for less than regular rate and hoping that I would fit into an established company and work damned hard to get enough to start paying everything myself again, nothing in the bank. Always in the back of my mind that if I lost that job it was back to square one, also having the CSA on my back for 20% of all my "disposable" income and an ex wife who would give Dracula a bad name when it comes to sucking the life blood out of someone.

When that started to go pear shaped due to a money grabbing boss I had to find another job before quitting, that was twice the distance away in the other direction, that lasted 7 years before the company went bust and put in the hands of the receiver, so out of work AGAIN and needing to find another job, age is not on my side these days, Three weeks later I got an offer, First day back the engine of my vehicle blew and that was £1200 to replace, borrowed from a relative as there was no redundancy payment for months to come and that was the minimum gov't payment.

So us Southerners who don't know what it is like strangely do know what it is like to be at the bottom fighting tooth and nail to keep what we have worked hard to get.

Yes I can count lucky, but it is through choices I have had to make, and sacrifices I have also had to make.

[Red Doe]

So us Southerners who don't know what it is like strangely do know what it is like to be at the bottom fighting tooth and nail to keep what we have worked hard to get.

I can appreciate that, and have known others in the same position. But sometimes, probably unintentionally, folks who have been through such times tend to assume everyone in trouble should do exactly the same, regardless of circumstance, and as we can see, often that just isn`t possible yet it doesn`t make us shirkers, idle or shiftless.
For someone in trouble with poverty and having none of the opportunties available to many to get out of it, having someone say "Get on your bike" and other phrases that are frequently churned out as if they are magical chants to give folks in trouble some kind of kick up the backside, can be like a red rag to a bull.
As you yourself pointed out, just as we didn`t know your circumstances and sacrifices, so you didn`t know mine and don`t know others.

[the-gnole]

It used to be that you got no money from the "Dole", now "Jobseekers" if you were not prepared to move to another area, for minimum wage, doing any job that was offered that you were physically cabable of doing, for what ever hours, shift work or otherwise, way back you were offered three jobs, if you didn't take one of them you had your money stopped.

I wasn't even talkin about individuals on this forum, a generalised point was offered, that we all have choices in what we do and how we do it, if we make bad choices we have to live with them or change them and hope for better next time.

Some interesting comments have been raised though.

[Red Doe]

It used to be that you got no money from the "Dole", now "Jobseekers" if you were not prepared to move to another area, for minimum wage, doing any job that was offered that you were physically cabable of doing, for what ever hours, shift work or otherwise, way back you were offered three jobs, if you didn't take one of them you had your money stopped.

It`s like that now, in fact, with the governments new policies on benefits and jobseekers. There`s a young adult near me who is on Jobseekers, try as she might, she can`t find work here. She lives with her mum who is chronically ill but, according to the government, not ill enough to be on disabled benefits. She look after her mum, and is all she has, so if she is forced to move, as the government now says she will be, to look for work, who will step in to look after mum? The government doesn`t take situations like this into account, no matter how much they have tried to explain, it doesn`t cut any ice with the powers that be who have already sent "compliance officers" to their home (government attack dogs, you should have seen their attitude btw) and the both of them feel very frightened for the future. I`m now trying to help the young adult become self employed, so she can stay at home to look after her mum, who already suffers not only her physical ailments (chronic arthritis, permanent vertigo and a badly deteriorating hip joint which doesn`t yet qualify for surgery yet gives her severe pain which painkillers help, but have side effects with) but emotional stress over the guilt of feeling she is ruining her daughter`s life.
Not so easy, is it?
Not everyone has choices. Some folks are trapped in situations they can`t do anything about. In fact, more people are in this situation than folks might realise. Not everyone is able bodied or even young enough to go looking for work in other areas, some have responsibilities such as young children or elderly parents, and of course not many have the money to go elsewhere because it does take money. People like this woman and her daughter, and yes, even me, have been treated like dirt by those who have succeeded in life and appear to think that our misfortune is down to our own `bad choices` or failures, when often, sh*t just happens and we`ve no choice but to live with it, and often, it can`t be mended or bettered.

Good discussion though, and hopefully it`ll help folks see that the cliche of those `pretending` to be in poverty whilst living it up at the expense of the taxpayer doesn`t apply across the board.

[diamond lil]

No, life isnt easy. It's a struggle for survival all the way. And no set of rules/answers can be fair to everybody. I think this year its set to get a lot worse - but let's not get bogged down here on this. If we start on politics then we'll all argue till we turn blue If we each always retain compassion and help individually where we can, then that all good.
Ah at this rate I'll be up for sainthood. Is too early to be so bloody good. I'm off for some more tea

[Carrot Cruncher]

Ah at this rate I'll be up for sainthood

No chance

I wasn't even talkin about individuals on this forum, a generalised point was offered

Gnole, I think it is worth taking a taking a bit more care with what is posted.

We all know that sometimes what is read into a post by others is not necessarily what was intended in the original post but thats one of the downside of forums....if that makes sense

As Lil said, probably best to let the subject lie now.....Please

Edited slightly for clarity...I hope

[Red Doe]

No worries, and I apologise to gnole and anyone else for any offense or upset I might have caused.
Be easier if someone could just politely say "shut up ye daft mare" on occasion