[kirklancaster]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

Well now you're deviating the thread from overweight welfare claimants to addicts.

Oh.. sorry you haven't factored in water, gas, electric, phone, bus fares (to interviews) a wonga loan to get the cooker fixed, laundrette (no washer in the flat) and bedroom tax.

Now you're moving the goalposts - The statement which included your question was; "I would love to see a costing for one of your culinary delights,if you were 23 and on £57pw jobseekers what would you have for tea?" And I answered your question. Which you make no mention of or comment on.

Anyway, are we assuming that this 23 year old claimant has never worked at all then for 8 full years and has no possessions at all?

If his accommodation is a bedsit, the cooker is the responsibility of the landlord. If not there are grants available for essentials and also schemes which provide free white goods.

The rest of your list are all things which everyone has to pay and budget for. A 23 year old man working a 40 hour week for minimum wage has all the same outgoings and expenses as your 23 year old non-working man, but in addition he has bus fares to work, work clothes to buy and wash in addition to his non-working clothes (so much more expense because work clothes need more frequent washing) and he has his lunch to buy at work or packed lunch to cater for, and he has his rent and council tax to pay, and I will wager that when all deductions and payments are made, the working guy is not much better off - if at all - than the non-working guy. Which is a very real reason why SOME people do not want work at any price.

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by kirklancaster

Now you're moving the goalposts - The statement which included your question was; "I would love to see a costing for one of your culinary delights,if you were 23 and on £57pw jobseekers what would you have for tea?" And I answered your question. Which you make no mention of or comment on.

Anyway, are we assuming that this 23 year old claimant has never worked at all then for 8 full years and has no possessions at all?

If his accommodation is a bedsit, the cooker is the responsibility of the landlord. If not there are grants available for essentials and also schemes which provide free white goods.

The rest of your list are all things which everyone has to pay and budget for. A 23 year old man working a 40 hour week for minimum wage has all the same outgoings and expenses as your 23 year old non-working man, but in addition he has bus fares to work, work clothes to buy and wash in addition to his non-working clothes (so much more expense because work clothes need more frequent washing) and he has his lunch to buy at work or packed lunch to cater for, and he has his rent and council tax to pay, and I will wager that when all deductions and payments are made, the working guy is not much better off - if at all - than the non-working guy. Which is a very real reason why SOME people do not want work at any price.

No I'm not it's a normal everyday scenario,you have to factor in other outgoings in the budget don't you?
He has no parents and no qualifications and lives in a 2 bed council high rise flat in Birmingham.
There are no grants available anymore and yes he pays a percentage towards council tax from his JS. He can't afford insurance and was burgled last month so no he has nothing of value.
The difference between him and the guy working 40hrs is that once the guy working full time has paid his weekly or monthly expenditure there's money left for food and other things, with JS there isn't.

[AnnieK]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

No I'm not it's a normal everyday scenario,you have to factor in other outgoings in the budget don't you?
He has no parents and no qualifications and lives in a 2 bed council high rise flat in Birmingham.
There are no grants available anymore and yes he pays a percentage towards council tax from his JS. He can't afford insurance and was burgled last month so no he has nothing of value.
The difference between him and the guy working 40hrs is that once the guy working full time has paid his weekly or monthly expenditure there's money left for food and other things, with JS there isn't.

Therein lies another problem which is minimum wage. I've just done some quick calculations and once someone has worked 40 hours on min wage, paid full council tax, full rent, paye and NI contributions, utilities etc (even bring conservative on rent and council tax payments) that will leave approx £50 per week for commuting to and from said job, food and any other expenses. Then just say this is a single parent factor again child care costs which will be more than tax credits it's crazy how anyone is expected to live on.