Here's what's wrong with Britain...

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http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/04/14/it-s-really-hard-115875-22184595/

Disgusting really. This kind of stuff does anger you when you read it. Couples like this continue to spit out children like a human conveyor belt, without the means or even intention to support them themselves. They just lean on the British taxpayer. Just to put this into perspective for the Americans, this is about $1,500p/w USD.

My mum and dad had 3 kids, and scripped and scraped through life surviving on very little, just what my dad was earning as a miner, which wasn't much (plus he got caught up in the rail strike at one point, so wasn't getting anything). They never expected anyone else to bail them out of their responsibilities. This kind of thing just goes against every grain of what I think of as 'fairness'.

The more I think about it, the more pissed off it makes me to be honest. We could learn a thing or two from the Peoples Republic of China and ban these people from having any more kids. It's hideous that our system could be manipulated like this, without anything being done about it...

 

My mum was told that, even though she's worked all her life, because she's a widow, she can have a state pension OR a widows pension. Plus, because she has a widows pension, if she loses her job she can't get income support and when me and my sister were growing up she wasn't entitled to any help with schooling costs or childcare BUT if she went on the dole and gave up her pension we'd get free school uniforms, school lunches, increased family allowance, she'd get free medical care and free chilcare/nursery places

It blows

 

A small part of my brain think we should just reverse the entire contraception debate so you would have to apply or at least go to the doctor to be able to conceive and not go to the doctor to not be able to conceive. I balk at putting requirements on who can have children and how many but just make it so the default status of people is "infertile" and if you want to have a child you go to the doc and turn on the system or something again. That would remove pretty much all unwanted or unplanned pregnacies and it would actually force people to think once or twice before they start squirting out kids they can't take care of.

 

Where I don't think Joacquin's example would work, mainly because I don't think it would ever become a law, I like his line of thought. Too many keep having kids just to keep the welfare coming. It's disgusting.

 

Welcome to the Republican Party (although you are in the wrong country)

 

Such nonsense cannot work in the long term -- some common sense must be injected into these situations. There should be some drastic changes to the system to stop abuses such as this. As has been discussed before, such abuses are rare in the grand scheme of things, but this crap has a way of snowballing and needs to be nipped in the bud. It's a total slap in the face to the working, taxpaying poor.

And in a way I find myself agreeing with Joacqin -- his idea is draconic but it has a lot of merits and would cut down on a lot of suffering in the world. And a lot of stupidity. But it would never make it past the Human Rights people.

 

...The party that keeps the rich in their country clubs at the expense of the U.S. taxpayer.

 

Hey, I used to keep a 2nd job bartending at a nice Country Club, Hopewell Valley CC, outside of Princeton. There was definitely more Dems than Reps in that membership.

 

So, you expect to find more Republicans in Princeton, NJ, than Dems? Isn't that the headquaters of the East Coast "liberal elite?" Mitt would be the "expert" on that line. Also, since it is a Dem stronghold we should have Glenn analyze that sign, the one with the horse on it, since there could be hidden "socialist" and communist messages and meanings within it.

http://www.hvgc.com/club/scripts/view/view_directions.asp?GRP=11993&NS=PUBLIC&APP=60

 

That was in jest Chandos. It is Dem territory. Nice link though. It brings back some fond memories for me, as I got hammered on that very porch with who is now my wife. It's where we met. Not the porch, but the club. The tips alone from that place floated her through grad school.

Sorry o' great leader, back to topic....

 

Ditto, BoV.

 

Not just Britain, it's the same in Ireland and there was an almost identical story in the tabloids just a few months back. I was trying to compare to see which is worse but it's difficult. There's a lot of differences between what's provided for free in each country and what you're given cash for.

The system is far too lenient on those who do not wish to contribute. It should be much more weighted to a sliding scale. Benefits should be good at the start but should go downhill if you don't get a job.

 

My thoughts on this aren't fit for outside the MUG. I shall try to PG-13 them;

I am very angry about this story. The most galling quote of them all was "Life's tough for us."

OH POOR YOU, YOUR LIFE MUST BE SO DIFFICULT WATCHING YOUR FREE SKY TV AND SHAGGING ALL DAY ON MY ****ING TAXES. Jesus ****ing christ, they want shooting.

 

Ooh CJ, be careful! We must all be very caring towards the spongers in this world, it's only fair. It's tough for them to not get off their lazy arses and attempt to get a job. You know the rules in this country: take political correctness to such extremes that the victim gets jailed for the crime someone else comitted

 

Holy crap... they make in one year off of the British taxpayers the equivalent of what my dad makes in a year busting his back in a middle management job and we can't even afford half the stuff they have. Then again, my parents are still paying on a mortgage, just finished paying off two cars (both used when they got them too and neither of them a Mercedes - closest we come is my dad's VW Jetta), plus utilities, etc. Hell, they're still paying off a good portion of my sister's college loans too. Must be nice to get all of that for free.

 

It's useless excuses for human beings like those that make people criticize social policies and the welfare state. Some people really need some help to make ends meet whereas those [censored by poster] are just taking advantage of the system and it's even worse when you read that the woman has the nerve to complain about not getting enough money... In the long run it's shameless persons like those who will make it harder for people in need to get any kind of help. Regardless people shouldn't get a free ride just because they are spawning kids every year, that is stupid, shocking and shameful. That man should get a vasectomy, a job and become an effective role model for his offspring.

 

I agree. What kind of standards and life lessons are they teaching their children by abusing the system in this manner? All of them (and God help us if they actually end up with the 14 kids she wants) will believe that they have the right to use and abuse the system as their parents have. They're just spawning that same self-serving attitude that they have on the younger generation. Not only that, but as I was reading the comments left by other readers on the news site, someone stated that the mother was trying to get the government to pay for taxi rides, etc., because she chose to have her kids go to the school across town instead of the one close by, and doesn't want to pay the expense of transporting them herself. Also, just think of what kind of repercussions this will have on the children, since the parents are so proud of how they're taking advantage of the system, that they had a picture of the whole family displayed for all to see. I'm sure they're going to be teased unmercifully because of their parents' decisions. This is solid proof that too many times, people act before they think, and don't realize what kind of an impact their decision may have on themselves and others.

 

A guy I listen to on the radio had a great point about this. In the old days "welfare" and "assistance" was handled at the local level. This meant that your neighbors and friends knew you were getting welfare and assistance. After a certain amount of time there was shame involved. Someone who was getting money from their neighbors wouldn't have the chutzpah to buy a big television or go on vacation as everyone would know and they would hear about it. Now welfare is handled at the state or even national level and the "shame" part of it is gone.

 

Great Snook, I don't think that people who are in a tight spot should be ashamed of receiving some form of help from the government. If you take a single parent who is struggling to raise her kids while working two jobs she shouldn't be ashamed if she is getting a cheque to pay for her children's schooling expenses. What is shameful is people just waiting for a handout.