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Austerity Kills People

The answer must be that it does, but why was austerity needed ?

The short answer is that it wasn't. The long answer is that it wasn't and it actively damaged our economy, our incomes and our collective ability to look after the sick.
 
The serious question remains: does austerity kills people?
In a word, yup.
Good thread BTW
Let's hope it doesn't sink into the usual false empathic, prejudiced views masquerading as intelligent wit by the usual suspects.

Austerity has certainly claimed it's death toll, suicide & homelessness being the most common cause, if your unable to work due to illness, your f^cked, the government has guidelines in place to make sure you go through pure hell to get the help, I know a few who work in this area, firstly, they don't read the forms that are sent out to individuals (this is fact, not my personal view), they instead, take a look at previous claims, illness etc & either send you a face to face or place you in the wrag group, at which point 50% of claimants will go along with the decision as they are either physically unable to or mentally unable to cope with the very differing information given out via phone help , the rest will appeal, half of which will lose, it's a great Tory system that has seen a major fall in unemployment, so it's working righ? No, it's causing so much distress to individuals it borders on cruelty against those less able, it really is the most despicable system I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with, the face to face is cruel, intolerable & full of false questions to catch out any unsuspecting claimant, the forms are in the same vein.

Get Corbyn in & fast I say, he would sort out this intolerably cruel & money wasting system.
Let's give those on benefits some respect for a change, 1% of claimants are false (most of whom are now celebrities residing on Channel 5), these are human beings with familes & friends who deserve much better than they receive, being unable to work or needing help when in work, to feed your kids is hardly a crime, it should be portrayed for what it is, not as some crime against the country, surely, as a nation we should do so, no one knows when they may need this help, ask the public, they would hazard a guess at 70% are scamming given the recent rhetoric from the tory regime of the last 7 years & stupid tv shows.

This doesn't even touch the tip, working families who cannot afford to feed their kids, losing homes, it's something this country has unfortunately become quite great at, for what though, what is being saved here, not enough to justify this crime against humanity.
 
It's a sad state of affairs. I'm all too familar with the trick questions on the form and in WCA interviews, and know how much anguish they cause to some of the most vulnerable members of society.

Oddly I haven't seen anything on the TV news about yesterday's report in the BMJ, although I gather Russia Today covered it at some point. I also just checked the BBC News website and can't find a single reference to it. However, a story about a Japanese train departing seconds early (forcing an apology from the operator) features prominently. And at the other end of the wealth scale the sale of a Da Vinci for £400m has caused a stir.
 
I can speak to this in some ways better than most as I am disabled. Although having said that I immediately also want to stress that I am far more fortunate than most in my situation as I have a good job, supportive family and friends and a very understanding employer. I earn a good wage, have a reasonable pension and get to do interesting, stimulating and exciting work with a group of wonderful and brilliant people (apart from Jeff in accounts who is a twat, obvs). Many disabled people in my situation are either without work or working mindless jobs for minimum wage.

For now I remain in work and plan to do so as long as possible. This would not be possible without the support of my employer who allows me to spread my working week across seven days and within that to more or less come and go as I please. Without this flexibility my job would be pretty much impossible and despite this every day is a literal struggle.

It would also be the easiest thing in the world for my employer to "let me go" at very little cost thanks to good old "flexible labour markets" without which we would surely fail as a nation. Instead they know this is probably my last job and continue to support me and make allowances well beyond their contractual or legal requirements. One could be cynical about this -- we compete by attracting high quality people in very competitive sector so whacking the sick guy may not be a smart move -- but my firm are by and large the good guys and are, to some extent, doing the government's job for them.

I am also lucky in that I don't need the various benefits that I am entitled to and can therefore ignore the whole awful process of attempting to claim them. And, from the people I have met in the last few years, I can tell you it is awful. These are, by and large, not feckless layabouts looking to milk the taxpayer for £££ so they can spend their days watching daytime TV on their government provided enormo TV. They are normal people with complicated and difficult lives faced with a process of getting some (minimal) help that is another complicated and difficult thing for them to deal with.

Finally to those people like the guy in the QT clip above or those who find themselves moaning about "people on benefits" all I can say is, well, **** off.


https://www.mssociety.org.uk/get-involved/campaigns/campaigns-blog/2017/10/6-weeks-action-ms
 
My daughter is severely visually impaired... and getting worse. She could lose her sight entirely. Yet, she has so far just got on with her life in a way that I can only describe as extraordinarily enthusiastic. She is a graduate with post grad professional qualifications. She works full time, is married and a Mum of two beautiful and very lively kids. I believe she gets a small amount of allowance in recognition of her disability. This goes some way to mitigating the fact that she was long ago prevented from driving and is therefore dependent on public transport to get to and from work. In a previous job, she was able to get funding under the Access to Work scheme. This paid for taxis minus a 'notional' bus fare, because there was no practical public transport option in our rural area. I'm sure she would give up all of her benefits in return for renewed sight.
 
Good post Matthew. There but for the grace of God. My eyes were opened to disability when our daughter didn't speak until nearly her 5th birthday. Thankfully she's doing very well now (you'd never know if you met her), though she still has some areas of significant struggle academically/cognitively. And she is one of the lucky ones: along the way several former (special ed.) classmates have disappeared off to special schools because the normal schools can't cope. I often wonder what became of some of them, and their parents - whether the parents are now on medication for depression and anxiety at the prospect of a lifetime of dependency and then who knows what after they're dead and there is noone to advocate for their adult child.

I despair of the direction that our respective governments are steering society, and the cynical way they use the genuine fear of economic insecurity that a huge percentage of the electorate has to turn us against each other. Race against race, religion against religion, and able bodied vs disabled. All distractions while the sociopaths at the top skim an ever increasing percentage of GDP. I hope I'll live to see a day when parents of disabled children can rest easy knowing that although their child was incredibly unlucky through no fault of their own, society will guarantee that child a comfortable and fulfilling existence as a contributing member of society.
 
Obviously people are being murdered by the Tory scum. Just another example of why Tories and all those who vote for them are lower than paedophiles.
 
I can speak to this in some ways better than most as I am disabled. Although having said that I immediately also want to stress that I am far more fortunate than most in my situation as I have a good job, supportive family and friends and a very understanding employer. I earn a good wage, have a reasonable pension and get to do interesting, stimulating and exciting work with a group of wonderful and brilliant people (apart from Jeff in accounts who is a twat, obvs). Many disabled people in my situation are either without work or working mindless jobs for minimum wage.

For now I remain in work and plan to do so as long as possible. This would not be possible without the support of my employer who allows me to spread my working week across seven days and within that to more or less come and go as I please. Without this flexibility my job would be pretty much impossible and despite this every day is a literal struggle.

It would also be the easiest thing in the world for my employer to "let me go" at very little cost thanks to good old "flexible labour markets" without which we would surely fail as a nation. Instead they know this is probably my last job and continue to support me and make allowances well beyond their contractual or legal requirements. One could be cynical about this -- we compete by attracting high quality people in very competitive sector so whacking the sick guy may not be a smart move -- but my firm are by and large the good guys and are, to some extent, doing the government's job for them.

I am also lucky in that I don't need the various benefits that I am entitled to and can therefore ignore the whole awful process of attempting to claim them. And, from the people I have met in the last few years, I can tell you it is awful. These are, by and large, not feckless layabouts looking to milk the taxpayer for £££ so they can spend their days watching daytime TV on their government provided enormo TV. They are normal people with complicated and difficult lives faced with a process of getting some (minimal) help that is another complicated and difficult thing for them to deal with.

Finally to those people like the guy in the QT clip above or those who find themselves moaning about "people on benefits" all I can say is, well, **** off.


https://www.mssociety.org.uk/get-involved/campaigns/campaigns-blog/2017/10/6-weeks-action-ms
Nice to hear some positive news regarding this issue, you sound a good sort Mathew, someone who is willing to work hard despite their limitations, you may have the benefit of an understanding employer but at the end of the day it's you who puts in the work, despite your disability,
I know where your coming from though, not all are as lucky in terms of help even though the government claim the help is there, it's not, it's a false dawn unfortunately for many, just a way to eliminate the numbers, nice propaganda though for the masses to eat up.

I see the current Tory Benefits regime as social cleansing, I cannot think of a more appropriate title for their dismantling of our civil liberties.

Long may your work continue Mathew, you obviously have not let your disability prevent you from living your life, long may it continue.
 
Tom Mills is the author of a brilliant book on the BBC, The Myth of a Public Service. It's a sober, even-handed account of the relationship between the Beeb and government, and it paints a very clear picture of the enthusiasm with which the institution has complied with and actively supported the government, from the General Strike, through the Miners' Strike, to the present day.

Even Mills seems shocked by the BBC's suppression of the BMJ report on the grounds that it is "highly speculative" and should be "treated with caution." He points out the credulity with which the BBC routinely treat the statements of highly dubious think tanks. Others point to the fact that they have in the past collaborated with the BMJ, and are happy to report the the malignant gossip of Guido Fawkes.

https://twitter.com/ta_mills?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author

It is unbelievably craven. A nadir. Time to dump the BBC.
 
Whilst we wait for Corbyn and cronies to learn to count and add up the major players make moves on the world stage.

Austerity is a joke if you ask 90% of the world's population. What they would give to be here instead.
 
Whilst we wait for Corbyn and cronies to learn to count and add up the major players make moves on the world stage.

Austerity is a joke if you ask 90% of the world's population. What they would give to be here instead.

What the rest of us would give to send "people" like you there instead.... I sincerely hope you and your cronies lose everything and experience food banks for yourself.
 
Whilst we wait for Corbyn and cronies to learn to count and add up the major players make moves on the world stage.

Austerity is a joke if you ask 90% of the world's population. What they would give to be here instead.
So you recommend that we solve this by a race to the bottom? Good plan. Bring back the workhouses, that will get people motivated to make something of their lives.
 
Whilst we wait for Corbyn and cronies to learn to count and add up the major players make moves on the world stage.

Austerity is a joke if you ask 90% of the world's population. What they would give to be here instead.
At least Labour tried. The Tory manifesto was uncosted.

Also, for seven years, the Tories have followed an ideologically driven "austerity" programme that 90% of economists agree is economically illiterate. The disastrous consequences are there for all to see (NHS falling apart, huge increase in rough sleeping, the decline in mortality right is bottoming out, massive job insecurity, disabled people driven to suicide & mental breakdown because of a punitive benefits system, rising child poverty, schools begging parents for money to buy books, a looming Brexit disaster, powered by internal Tory party feuding... and so on).

But don't worry, the wealthy and the powerful have done just fine and will continue to thrive. They are laughing at you.
 


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