Are you poor?

[Old Greg]

Clothing. Bus fares. Personal hygiene. Cleaning products.

Occasional replacement of TV, radio, washing machine.

[ladymuck]

This is real poverty.

A family of nine survives on GBP480 a month - because their benefits were cut when a cap was introduced - Manchester Evening News

Luckily they have a gofund going and have raised nearly 4k.

The poor father has anxiety and can't work.

The comments on that article don't show much sympathy

[mb31]

The comments on that article don't show much sympathy

Yes, I typed something out earlier at length and decided not to post it because I'm trying to avoid

It was something along the lines of I think this thread is in bad taste. Wealthy contractors debating the poverty line and passing judgement over unemployed people with 'anxiety'. It's Daily Mail stuff.

[vetran]

Doesn't seem to include child care which would wipe out the disposable income with delights like Council tax, energy and transport taking you into the red. So they probably really are poor.

The way to remove the benefit cap is to get a job. You can no longer breed more kids to up your benefits as the Conservative government removed the link with fertility to benefits. Difficult to sympathise with them when a mate who has a similar number of kids works every hour to pay for them.

[NotAllThere]

Occasional replacement of TV, radio, washing machine.

Nah - that's always on the never never to the tallyman, isn't it? Or whatever the modern version of Radio Rentals is called.

[original PM]

Nah - that's always on the never never to the tallyman, isn't it? Or whatever the modern version of Radio Rentals is called.

BrightHouse

[woohoo]

The comments on that article don't show much sympathy

Probably tax payers.

[psychocandy]

What's the mother doing, too busy sh***ing out babies?

Absolute scrotes.... 9 kids at age 25. Seriously.

Not being funny, I'd be skint with 9 kids.

Don't know if this guys mental problems are real or not but, surely, if you're aware there may be a household income problem you stop having kids? Like others I guess this mum knows if she keeps popping them out they can't force her to work.

Mentioned before I've got a nephew like this. Hes got 3 kids now. His mrs never worked. He worked for a bit then realised he could be his wifes "carer" for some made up illness. So they both don't work. Best of all they moan like hell the house the council give them for free isnt big enough...

Oh and hes got a brand new iphone, new tattoos every time I see him. Great, eh?

[Old Greg]

Absolute scrotes.... 9 kids at age 25. Seriously.

Not being funny, I'd be skint with 9 kids.

Don't know if this guys mental problems are real or not but, surely, if you're aware there may be a household income problem you stop having kids? Like others I guess this mum knows if she keeps popping them out they can't force her to work.

Mentioned before I've got a nephew like this. Hes got 3 kids now. His mrs never worked. He worked for a bit then realised he could be his wifes "carer" for some made up illness. So they both don't work. Best of all they moan like hell the house the council give them for free isnt big enough...

Oh and hes got a brand new iphone, new tattoos every time I see him. Great, eh?

Cancel the Loan Charge and get one of these families to move into the home of a dodgy loan contractor, who becomes responsible for their welfare and upkeep. A neat solution to a couple of otherwise unconnected antisocial behavoiur problems.

[mb31]

There are people out there who genuinely fall on hard times because they are not well enough to work or their particular skillset becomes redundant. There are no jobs at the local supermarket because an entire steel industry has gone down the pan and all the foreman are already pushing trolleys.

The right wind rags like to focus on the rough arsed family with 9 kids so the tax payer will cry in righteous indignation but there's a far higher number of worthy causes that are below the breadline.

There are so many variables in what defines poverty that it's fruitless debating it on this forum. I expect that most contractors on here a long way removed from it.

I don't think this sort of thread helps improve the perception out there that contractors are mercenary and to hell with the rest of us.