Shoddy Journalism
I hate sensationalist pieces but I was
particularly affronted by this one in the Independent at the weekend. The
headline screams at you; 'Life on benefits: The starving of the 11 Million'. It
charts how the journalist attempts to get through a week on £175. After he has
calculated his bills and travel expenses he is left with £30 to spend on food.
Firstly, I was shocked he could cover his bills and eat on that amount, stating
as he did that he lives in London .
My bills per week total £200 not including the cost of travel to and from my
two jobs, which is another £30. But having established that he now has just £30
to spend on food, he makes a meal out of it. Pun intended. £30 for one person
to eat for a week is AMPLE. I live alone and I tend to spend £20 a week on food
most weeks. He complains that he is hungry all the time and having to eat bad
food to make the money last. Utter balderdash. What a great bloody word, let's
bring it back. I have a VERY healthy diet filled with green veg, red meat and
fish. I have varied dinners and lunches; all it takes is a little planning. I
can't buy lunches on the hop as it's too expensive, it's also massively lazy
and for the most part, not good for you as you don't know what you're eating,
salt content and fat wise.
As a study piece aimed at defending the poor who are about to be picked on further by the current government, if that's what you'd call them, it was shoddy journalism. All it revealed was that the journalist in question is not used to having to live to a budget. In fact he came across as a bit of a dick. I love how the rich and wealthy like to weigh in about and for the poor. Put simply, he wasn't qualified to write that article; living in a totally different situation to the people he was defending.
I am an actor, I work two jobs. I live in the smallest of small studio flats known to man; I choose to live alone as I can't really cope when I don't get a
And yet, despite this, I am pissed off that some people, a small minority I hasten to add, live a life on benefits without putting much back in. I do agree that the system must be looked into thoroughly. I think the tax system which makes it better for people to claim benefits than work two or three jobs to make ends meet should also be looked into. It doesn't work. I get penalised for working hard, which is ridiculous. Whilst some people, sleep away a life on benefits.
Now don't get me wrong, I believe this is a minority. I know many people living on benefits and not one is doing it through choice or without struggle. Most of them are trying to get off benefits. I don't have anything but sympathy for those within the system who cannot find a way out. I do, however, have anger towards those who sit back and enjoy the free life. I know someone on benefits who brings home more a week than me in expendable cash. That is quite simply not fair. If you are living on benefits, of course you deserve to have a few luxuries when you can but it is not your right. I have to decide between social activities and food. Weeks when I am out, something is sacrificed along the line. It is the same for my Mum and my sister, both working full time career jobs. In the past, when I was young and reckless, I didn't make those sacrifices, I got out my credit card and pretended it was free money; until inevitably the free money ran out and started to chase me to the cliff edge. Budgeting is a part of EVERY ONE'S life. Do not sob to me that £30 means you can't go for a mid week pint. Do you know what I am doing mid week? I am working from 8.30am until 12am. That's what.
So if you want to moan about the cuts the government are making, I'd find a better argument than £30 a week on food equals a starving
Hear hear! When £30 a week to devote to food is perfectly doable; as long as you're careful and don't demand over-expensive mineral waters or coffees on the way to work etc, you can live well. And anyway, as a society we eat way too much. And way too much crap.
ReplyDeleteIt's all about personal responsibility and your priorities. Having said that, the government could easily help out by whacking a massive Fat Tax on junk food and ready meals with too much fat and salt in them, and use the money to subsidise fruit, vegetables and cookery classes. They could also help out the national debt if they made pay day loan companies illegal, made it more difficult to gamble, and also legalised soft drugs and prostitution and taxed the bejesus out of them - thereby boosting the economy at the same time as freeing up the police service to concentrate on more important things.
I totally and completely agree that there is definitely a radical need to overhaul the benefits system - it favours the lazy and punishes those of us who are trying to boost our CVs by doing casual work. Do not get me started on the STRESS I've had because I've claimed benefits but also tried to be hard working and honest about it. As soon as you earn tuppence in a week, they stop your benefits - most importantly housing benefit - then take months - yes, MONTHS - before they agree to start them up again. I've only survived because of the generosity of my family and friends - otherwise I really would be homeless by now. And all because I tried and didn't cheat the system. So yes, unless you get an above-minimum wage full time job, you really are better off on full time benefits. The system sucks big time.
Trouble is, any changes will be made by people who have no understanding of what it's like to struggle at the bottom. These are the sort of people who tell you that if you haven't got any money, you should dip into your savings. Yes, someone actually suggested that to me as a way of paying my bills. What part of "I have no money" didn't they understand?
Rant rant rant rant rant! You've set me off too! It's so damn easy to get totally infuriated by the comments of idiots who have no understanding of how good they've got it. Don't get me wrong, I'm a hell of a lot better off that I would have been, say, a hundred years ago, or if I lived in a poorer country, and I in my worst moments, I've learnt to count my blessings - any politicians out there who've bothered to do the same?
Sarah
PS I'm not really Anonymous - it was just the only way of commenting!