Benefits street. (NLC)

[point n squirt]

Programmes like this tend to show the more extreme sides of the situation.
There's plenty of hard working people claiming benefits and desperate to be working. Getting shot of the terminally lazy from the system is a major challenge. How you do it without alienating those actually using the system as intended is the issue.
Rather than handing out money I reckon the benefits should be in the form of non- transferable tokens for food, clothing etc.
Granted that this would cost more to run than the present set up but if being on benefits only pays for life's necessities then hopefully it would see people looking for work. Benefits done this way would not pay for drink, drugs, sky tv etc.
Or do you reckon they would just turn to crime to pay for the extras?

Nice idea but would just sell a £50 food stamp for £20 creating a black market.

[flyingscot68]

Non transferable.

[BiggestNizzy]

Non transferable.

Dodgy shopkeeper's will always do it, if you remember Chrissy from the scheme he recently created a scene in the local morrisons because they wouldn'tlet him pay for alcohol with some sort of food pre paid card thing (not up the the specifics) and they sold him it anyway to get rid.

[flyingscot68]

I think I only watched the scheme once, that was enough!

There'll always be ways round things like this bit that doesn't mean we shouldn't introduce them. Over time they could be
made better.

[Ferg]

Better half was out last night and I flicked past this. I'm not sure whether I felt sad, appalled, sympathetic etc. and whether that was by design of the editing or not. I certainly felt that it was portrayed with more sympathy than some of the reports I've seen gave it credit. But maybe they've re-edited since the feedback was so vociferous.

I expect that in any system designed to help the less well off, there will always be an angle that can be played by a minority, as sad a reflection on human nature as that may be.

Don't feel compelled to watch another anyway.