Saturday, December 22, 2012

The Right To Other People's Money

Why the outrage over plans to restrict what benefit claimants can spend those benefits on?

If it is authoritarian to ring fence what people can spend welfare payments on then surely existing benefits such as housing benefits should also spark outrage- forcing the claimants to use the money for accomodation rather than fags even if they prefer the latter. Instead, most people accept that it is a good thing that money given over to provide housing is spent on housing.

The same is true of money provided for food and clothing.

Taxes are collected by force with the moral justification that they are redistributed for essential services, such as providing food and clothing to those in need, it is hardly excessive to ensure that this money is not spent down the bookies and off license.

9 comments:

JuliaM said...

I totally agree. Want a choice on how to spend your money? Get a job and earn it!

Anonymous said...

And then they came for the hypocrites.

A K Haart said...

If we are going to ring-fence benefits, we could begin with MP's expenses.

banned said...

Bring back Luncheon Vouchers.

Ripper said...

"Taxes are collected by force with the moral justification that they are redistributed for essential services"

Oh yeah? You mean, like Road Tax for example? Since when has that ever been spent on the roads? And how much of taxes in general is p****d away on foreign aid each year? Do you really think that giving billions to dictators and countries with space programs is essential?

The trade I work in, by its nature means that I regularly get laid off, and it gets more difficult each time to find work, even low paid temporary work. And when I do get laid off, I'm ENTITLED to that benefit, else I wouldn't get it. 73% of MY money is extorted from me so I figure I've already paid in advance. So, if I want to spend it on fags, alcohol or a new bloody iPhone 4G and starve to death, it is none of the business of those robbing hipocrytes in Westminster. Jesus, anyone would think that living on £64 a week is the lap of luxury the way they harp on about it. How about they try it.

Tell you how to save the taxpayer a fortune - build a complex of modestly furnished flats in London and make them stay there (then you'd have all the sh*t in one convenient place). No 2nd homes or mortgage claims, no cross renting, and travel would be by smart car or easyjet. They get paid enough to pay their own living expenses, so no need for expenses at all then.

SadButMadLad said...

Once the money has been handed over it's no longer ours, the tax payers. If people want to starve to death watching sky sports, then let them. The whole point is that we allow people to make mistakes, we don't control them by telling them how to use money given to them. Now many people do use their benefits to survive on, but it's the few who waste it. We don't set policy based on the few and penalise the many because of it.

James Higham said...

Taxes are collected by force with the moral justification that they are redistributed for essential services, such as providing food and clothing to those in need, it is hardly excessive to ensure that this money is not spent down the bookies and off license.

Very much. Merry Christmas too.

Furor Teutonicus said...

XX Julia M
I totally agree. Want a choice on how to spend your money? Get a job and earn it! XX

As others have said, it is money they would get any way. To restrict what they spend it on is pure faschist/commy shite.

They want to starve to death to watch a load of queers playing with their balls on sky T.V, let them.

"Get a job and earn it!" applys well to those trying to find work, I will agree.

BUT ONLY when they are not been undermined by a dictatorship that constantly imports scum by the bucketload, who will "do the job" for less than your bloody rent!

Peter Risdon said...

"... it is hardly excessive to ensure that this money is not spent down the bookies and off license"

But you can't ensure that. All this measure would do is make it necessary for people to trade the most marketable permitted items, like decent safety razors, at a loss for cash to spend in the bookies or wherever. They'd wind up with *less* cash for food and other essentials.

I have a better idea. Drop the level of benefits and let people on the dole take work if they can find it.