indeed we dont bert but except for the logic of the few, this is pretty easy for most normal people to agree on.
The story has made the foreign news. Found this with google, looks like Dutch.
It's cases like this that make my blood boil, along with the sensationalist way they are reported. As a carer for my wife, who is disabled, I avoided claiming benefits for years, piling up debts, going through multiple insolvency hearings, using up all of our meagre savings, losing the house we were in the process of buying and generally going through years of hell, and why? Because every time a case like this comes up, those who are in genuine need are tarred with the same brush as those who defraud the system and neither one of us wanted to be perceived in that way, despite the validity of our claim.
Thanks to the actions of people like those involved in Lori's case (was it her? Her wicked stepmother? The fraudulent claims goblin? I don't care, TBH), and the sensationalist tabloid reporting surrounding such cases, after we finally buckled and were forced by circumstances to claim benefits a few months ago, people now treat us with resentment and suspicion. As if my wife and I are some kind of benefit fraudsters and it's just a matter of time before we're caught out. Even worse, are those who act as if my wife and I are scroungers and chancers, milking a system set up to allow for a life of ease for the lazy and indolent. I can tell you from bitter experience that this is not the case. The information asked for during a claim process is exhaustive and the monies paid are nowhere near enough to live a life of luxury, whatever papers like The Sun, The Mail and The Express would have you believe. To claim money fraudulently, you must deliberately and with forethought set out to do so. Yet another high profile case of benefit fraud only makes it harder for genuine people to be taken seriously and gives more ammunition to those who wish to make the social safety net for those in need even smaller and harder to land in should things go wrong for them.
So what makes me angry about this story? Everything. The greedy actions of whoever the hell filled in the form, the greed or gross stupidity of Lori if she in fact was in error and never bothered to query why she was being paid monies from the DWP every two weeks, the shrieking denouncements of the reportage from The Sun, everything about this story makes things just that little bit harder for those who are genuine with their claims. Harder because the DWP become more suspicious with each passing fraud, and because the general public get more resentful of those who are on benefits for genuine reasons with each successive high profile case of benefit theft. It's exactly this sort of case that gives everyone in genuine need a bad name.
Blimey! At this rate she could sell her story to the
News of the World, pay back the fine (with interest), and still be quids in.
As per usual Mr G sums it all up in one excellent, intelligent post.
(02-09-2010 16:56 )Ally4Paige Wrote: [ -> ]Finally if it was a close member of your family I bet you would defend them to the hilt and try your damnedest to keep them out of prison!!
I can assure you that if it were a member of my Family on the fiddle i'd be the one who dropped them in it.
I have no objection to paying utterly ridiculous amounts of tax to fund Care & benefits for the elderly or disabled. However, i detest the fact that a portion of my hard-earned goes to the workshy and the sort of people who think they're entitled to a bit more whilst earning bloody good money by most people's standards.
If i had my way anyone caught fiddling benefits would be doing an automatic 5 year sentence.
I sincerely hope that anyone who has called this person during her time on the Channels never does so again.