What it's really like to live on benefits

David Cameron opened the debate last night with a list economic priorities. No 1 on his list were benefit scroungers - whom he ranked ahead of bankers as the folk who have brought the country to its knees. So this piece on "shirking scroungers" by the Guardian's David Conn is  timely.

Ask around among people comfortably off, agreeably in work, how much they imagine unemployment benefit is in these recession-bitten times, and, in my experience, they guess, generally, about £100 per week. Enough for a difficult life, not servicing any luxuries, but paying, just about, for necessities until the job market picks up. These people are invariably as palpably shocked as the newly unemployed themselves are when they turn up to sign on, to discover that jobseeker's allowance pays £65.45 a week to a single person over 25. Those under 25, hardest hit in this recession, including thousands of graduates struggling to find work, must make do on just £51.85 a week.To read the rest of David Conn's article click here

This is much worse than the early years of mass unemployment under the Thatcher government. I remember a good many people then getting work under the Manpower Services Commission scheme, which paid a basic wage, and often funded some quite worthwhile community projects such as summer childcare schemes and pensioners lunchclubs. MSC jobs were, however, filled by young people. What of the older unemployed, depicted in Alan Bleasdale's Boys from the Blackstuff?  Yosser, or at least Bernard Hill the actor who played him, went on to find gainful employment as King Theoden, ruler of the mighty horsemen of Rohan in Lord of the Rings. The real world is not so accomodating to the redundant middle aged. I remember "older people" in their forties and fifties at that time who never worked again.

The 1980s will seem like luxury compared to what's in store once the cuts come. These are cuts none of the parties will detail  - hence the SNP dubbing this the Iceberg Election.  Whoever wins will pay in the long run though. The victor next Friday will be unelectable for a generation because of the austerity measures he will be forced to apply, according to the Bank of England governor Mervyn King whose private thoughts were reported in The Times today. The bankers will be fine though.

 

 

Comments

[Vronsky]

Surely worth mentioning that Job Seekers' Allowance is only payable for 182 days, or about 6 months. I am a well-qualified graduate, but I'm over 60 and have been unemployed for over a year. I'm living by surrendering endowments, but that can't go on much longer. The government statistic of 'out of work and claiming Job Seekers Allowance' is quite meaningless. People come off the allowance because they have exhausted their 182 days, not because they have found work.

I spend about two hours per day trawling websites and applying for jobs, probably applying for an average of 5 a week. In the last 12 months I have had three interviews. I have set up my own business but it will take time, probably a couple of years, to provide an income. Most people do not have my options in this direction.

I have no problem with others being wealthy - I made my choices in life and on the whole I'm happy with them. I do worry that there seems to be a small clique who hold down all the highly paid positions in public life - you know - politicians, that sort of person. They annoy me. I met many very highly paid executives in the course of a career in the private sector and while some were talentless bluffers there were also a respectable number who probably deserved their pay cheques.

But I'm not so convinced of the worth of the quangocrats and their ilk - and they tend to be of the fraternity that decides that the state provided income of others is excessive.

[Jo]

GA, I hope you get a job soon. I had seven months out of work from July 2008. I worked in the Mortgage Industry. Enough said eh? Thankfully I'm working again. I got no mortgage help as at that point you had to wait nine months or something? Then when I was just about to go back to work the government reduced that to three months because of the havoc the recession was causing for people with mortgages.

Yes I heard Cameron last night going on about the "waste" we could capitalise on. He is wrong. Any "waste" that existed in the public sector was dealt with and they were slashed to minimum staff in most departments. This applies right across the Civil Service. The days of overmanning were over a long time back.

The other favourite target, benefit claimants, are on the rack already under the present government. That includes people who are ill.

As for Clegg. He keeps talking about making people £700 a year better off with the £10k tax threshhold. What will pay for that? All Parties have ruled out "tax cuts" for some time to come so how can he do this unless the intention is to RAISE the basic rate of tax to pay for it? Is this the surprise in store for those earning more than £10K pa?

[GA]

Good points, Ive seen Cameron's 'Cut benefits for those that refuse work' posters in Glasgow, I thought anyone who refuses work at the moment didnt get any benefit, that chance would be a fine thing.

I was paid off from a good job in construction last year after 14 years and the redundancy money from that ran out a long time ago despite being very careful with it knowing there are not many if any jobs around. Been searching since last summer and have a list of over 100 jobs world wide that I have applied for (most are abroad as theres very little here in Scotland.) I even walked through Glasgow yesterday looking for any vacancy adverts in shop or pub windows without success.

I get the £65.45 a week to assist with the following.

Mortgage - £100 to pay after benefit pays the rest.
Insurances - £45
Power & Gas - £60
Phone (House & Mobile) - £45
Council Tax - £44 reduced rate due to unemployment.
TV Licence - £12.12

Not sure how average that is but Im by no means living a life of luxury.

Theres other bills but that comes to £306
per month and Id say all of the above are essential.

Job Seakers allowance helps with £261.80
of that.

That leaves nothing for food, never mind having a life or socialising to try and maintain some level of sanity.

I appreciate there is people not searching for jobs, I see them every two weeks but the £64.45 is far too little.

Luckily family members are helping me out but the guilt from getting help from them and having to rely on them is huge.

Im very thankfull they can do it but wonder and fear how others manage to get bye on that £65.45.