To the Woman Behind Me in Line at the Grocery Store

First topic message reminder :

Dear woman behind me in line at the grocery store,
You don't know me. You have no clue what my life has been like since October 1, 2013. You have no clue that my family has gone through the wringer. You have no clue that we have faced unbelievable hardship. You have no clue we have been humiliated, humbled, destitute.
You have no clue I have cried more days than not; that I fight against bitterness taking control of my heart. You have no clue that my husband's pride was shattered. You have no clue my kids have had the worries of an adult on their shoulders. You have no clue their innocence was snatched from them for no good reason. You know none of this.
What you do know is I tried to buy my kids some food and that the EBT machine was down so I couldn't buy that food. I didn't have any cash or my debit card with me. I only had my SNAP card. All you heard was me saying "No, don't hold it for me. My kids are hungry now and I have no other way of paying for this." You didn't judge me. You didn't snarl "Maybe you should have less kids." You didn't say "Well, get a job and learn to support yourself." You didn't look away in embarrassment or shame for me. You didn't make any assumptions at all.
What you did was you paid that $17.38 grocery bill for us. You gave my kids bananas, yogurt, apple juice, cheese sticks, and a peach ice tea for me; a rare treat and splurge. You let me hug you and promise through my tears that I WILL pay this forward. I WILL pay someone's grocery bill for them. That $17.38 may not have been a lot for you, but it was priceless to us. In the car my kids couldn't stop gushing about you; our "angel in disguise." They prayed for you. They prayed you would be blessed. You restored some of our lost faith. One simple and small action changed our lives. You probably have forgotten about us by now, but we haven't forgotten about you. You will forever be a part of us even though we don't even know your name.
You have no clue how grateful and embarrassed I am that we pay for all our food with SNAP. We eat well thanks to the government. I love that. I love that the government makes sure my kids are cared for. It is one less worry for us. I also struggle with pride and embarrassment. I defiantly tell people we are on SNAP. Daring them to judge us.
Only those closest to us know why we are on SNAP. They know my husband is a hard worker who was laid off after 17 years in a management position with his former company. They know we were moved from our home to a new state only to be left homeless since the house we had came with the job he lost. Only those closest to us know my husband works part time while looking tirelessly for more; that he has submitted more applications than he has received interviews for. Too many jobs are only offering part time work anymore. It is not easy for a 40-something year old to find a job that will support his family of five kids.
You know none of this but you didn't let that stop you from being compassionate and generous to someone you have never met.
To the woman behind me at the grocery store, you have no idea how much we appreciate you. You have no idea the impact you had on my kids. You have no idea how incredibly thankful I am for you. Your action may have been small, but to us it was monumental. Thank you.
Thank you for not judging us. Thank you for giving my kids a snack when they were quite hungry. Thank you. Just thank you.
Forever,
Andrea, the woman in front of you at the grocery store with the cart full of kids who are no longer hungry
This post first appeared on Andrea's blog truestoriesofamidwestyankee.wordpress.com


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrea-gardner/to-the-woman-behind-me-in_b_5082769.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063




The more people in the world who are this kind, the better it will be.

Raggamuffin wrote:

Syl wrote:

Depends on your life style  whether you need an upstairs room heated or not.
I use a bedroom as a work room....the laptop is in here, as are projects I'm working on.
And what about people who are bedridden...not everyone is able to get downstairs.

We're talking about someone on JSA though - or I thought we were. I'm just interested in how much someone really needs to get by - hopefully temporarily.

well that all depends doesn`t it
people who live further north tend to have more cold days that there south living equivalents

korban dallas wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:

We're talking about someone on JSA though - or I thought we were. I'm just interested in how much someone really needs to get by - hopefully temporarily.

well that all depends doesn`t it
people who live further north tend to have more cold days that there south living equivalents

Correct KD, which was my point pages ago.
Unfortunately some people (well one) think that if you dont agree with their "facts" and figures you are fabricating your own.

Just a thought, but the amount of time some people spend on various forums would suggest that if they are of working age they are either posting at work (tut tut) or they are themselves unemployed.

Syl wrote:Just a thought, but the amount of time some people spend on various forums would suggest that if they are of working age they are either posting at work (tut tut) or they are themselves unemployed.

They could be self employed or have a ton of money.

Raggamuffin wrote:

Syl wrote:Just a thought, but the amount of time some people spend on various forums would suggest that if they are of working age they are either posting at work (tut tut) or they are themselves unemployed.

They could be self employed or have a ton of money.

Even self employed people actually have do something to earn their money.

Yep, they could be rich....I think Stormee is loaded.

edit....Sassys thread has been a very interesting one.

Syl wrote:

korban dallas wrote:
well that all depends doesn`t it
people who live further north tend to have more cold days that there south living equivalents

Correct KD, which was my point pages ago.
Unfortunately some people (well one) think that if you dont agree with their "facts" and figures you are fabricating your own.

indeed
its 2 degrees hear at the moment yesterday was colder ........

korban dallas wrote:

Syl wrote:

Correct KD, which was my point pages ago.
Unfortunately some people (well one) think that if you dont agree with their "facts" and figures you are fabricating your own.

indeed
its 2 degrees hear at the moment yesterday was colder ........

Where are you?
I am in Manchester....it's cold and gloomy and has hardly stopped raining for weeks.

Syl wrote:

korban dallas wrote:
indeed
its 2 degrees hear at the moment yesterday was colder ........

Where are you?
I am in Manchester....it's cold and gloomy and has hardly stopped raining for weeks.

East scotland its rained solidly all day hear, and i can see snow on the hills to the north of us

Brrrr...wrap up warm then.

It's bad enough here but you get it a lot colder in the winter.

Syl wrote:Brrrr...wrap up warm then.

It's bad enough here but you get it a lot colder in the winter.

" />

this is a snapshot of temps since the jan  3rd- 7th from my weather site

personally i don`t do well in the cold my "office " is 26 degrees at the moment .....think i will put on a jumper as well


edit

3rd to the 4th ....my bad

So it's dipped below freezing on a few ocassions ?

If someone was living in an old victorian house near you I doubt whether wearing an extra jumper and a hat would suffice.

The heating bills are quite expensive in my part of the country, and thats without being over indulgent. I imagine they are even more expensive in your part of the world.
Which proves it's daft to try to generalise.
Though if you haven't read the thread through you wont know that that has been happening throughout this thread KD.

Syl wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:

They could be self employed or have a ton of money.

Even self employed people actually have do something to earn their money.

Yep, they could be rich....I think Stormee is loaded.

edit....Sassys thread has been a very interesting one.

Yes, but self employed people can often choose their own hours. If they work at home, they don't necessarily need to be doing a 9-5, or 8.30-5.30 as it seems to be these days.

I reckon Stormee is loaded too.

It's interesting to discuss this because there's a bit of a movement for people to live more simply and stop buying so much stuff they don't really need, and to cut down so they don't waste money, even if they actually have money.

Syl wrote:

korban dallas wrote:
indeed
its 2 degrees hear at the moment yesterday was colder ........

Where are you?
I am in Manchester....it's cold and gloomy and has hardly stopped raining for weeks.

I think it's the same everywhere - that's January for you.

Syl wrote:So it's dipped below freezing on a few ocassions ?

If someone was living in an old victorian house near you I doubt whether wearing an extra jumper and a hat would suffice.

The heating bills are quite expensive in my part of the country, and thats without being over indulgent. I imagine they are even more expensive in your part of the world.
Which proves it's daft to try to generalise.
Though if you haven't read the thread through you wont know that that has been happening throughout this thread KD.

Those old Victorian houses can be lovely - lots of character and all that, but people don't think about how cold and gloomy they can be too. I think I prefer modern houses these days.

Yes Rags, it's been a good thread.

I agree that many people are extravagant today compared with a couple of decades ago and before. Needing something and wanting it are two different things.
If you are earning your own money you can do what you want though.

Ty would have been good on this thread.

Syl wrote:So it's dipped below freezing on a few ocassions ?

If someone was living in an old victorian house near you I doubt whether wearing an extra jumper and a hat would suffice.

The heating bills are quite expensive in my part of the country, and thats without being over indulgent. I imagine they are even more expensive in your part of the world.
Which proves it's daft to try to generalise.
Though if you haven't read the thread through you wont know that that has been happening throughout this thread KD.

Oh yes it`s dipped below freezing on a few occasions. and although i haven`t really read all the thread i can guess at the Jist

people on benefits are scroungers and work shy louts and only deserve to be warm/fed if they have a job

Syl wrote:Yes Rags, it's been a good thread.

I agree that many people are extravagant today compared with a couple of decades ago and before. Needing something and wanting it are two different things.
If you are earning your own money you can do what you want though.

Ty would have been good on this thread.

Oh boy - Ty would have loved this thread.

Of course people can do what they want if they earn their own money, but so many people seem to live from one paycheck to the next. If they didn't waste their money and saved a bit each month, they would have something to fall back on if times get tough.

Raggamuffin wrote:

Syl wrote:So it's dipped below freezing on a few ocassions ?

If someone was living in an old victorian house near you I doubt whether wearing an extra jumper and a hat would suffice.

The heating bills are quite expensive in my part of the country, and thats without being over indulgent. I imagine they are even more expensive in your part of the world.
Which proves it's daft to try to generalise.
Though if you haven't read the thread through you wont know that that has been happening throughout this thread KD.

Those old Victorian houses can be lovely - lots of character and all that, but people don't think about how cold and gloomy they can be too. I think I prefer modern houses these days.

The one my son was in (he has bought his own since) was lovely. Stained glass doors and fanlights, incredibly steep stairs, lots of little alcoves and high ceilings.

I'm like you though, I prefer living in a modern house with all mod cons.

korban dallas wrote:

Syl wrote:So it's dipped below freezing on a few ocassions ?

If someone was living in an old victorian house near you I doubt whether wearing an extra jumper and a hat would suffice.

The heating bills are quite expensive in my part of the country, and thats without being over indulgent. I imagine they are even more expensive in your part of the world.
Which proves it's daft to try to generalise.
Though if you haven't read the thread through you wont know that that has been happening throughout this thread KD.

Oh yes it`s dipped below freezing on a few occasions. and although i haven`t really read all the thread i can guess at the Jist

people on benefits are scroungers and work shy louts and only deserve to be warm/fed if they have a job  

You got it.

Raggamuffin wrote:

Syl wrote:So it's dipped below freezing on a few ocassions ?

If someone was living in an old victorian house near you I doubt whether wearing an extra jumper and a hat would suffice.

The heating bills are quite expensive in my part of the country, and thats without being over indulgent. I imagine they are even more expensive in your part of the world.
Which proves it's daft to try to generalise.
Though if you haven't read the thread through you wont know that that has been happening throughout this thread KD.

Those old Victorian houses can be lovely - lots of character and all that, but people don't think about how cold and gloomy they can be too. I think I prefer modern houses these days.

i live in a modem house rags unfortunately they don`t build houses like they used to
i don`t have cavity walls and the outside wall is only one brick thick and even though its supposed to be just as good with a frame and insulation on the inside ...its not
my bedroom gets very cold at times so much so that i actually get the rigors till i can warm up under the covers

Raggamuffin wrote:

Syl wrote:Yes Rags, it's been a good thread.

I agree that many people are extravagant today compared with a couple of decades ago and before. Needing something and wanting it are two different things.
If you are earning your own money you can do what you want though.

Ty would have been good on this thread.

Oh boy - Ty would have loved this thread.

Of course people can do what they want if they earn their own money, but so many people seem to live from one paycheck to the next. If they didn't waste their money and saved a bit each month, they would have something to fall back on if times get tough.

I think some people are like that...someone in our family (not my son ) is exactly like that....they waste money then complain they cant afford this or that, and if they spent wisely they could well afford it.

On the other side some people are genuinely struggling. Not including unemployed people who are looking for work (they have been covered here) but low paid people who earn just above the threshold to claim any benefits, some are finding it hard to manage.
Why are more and more food banks opening up? why would anyone get a payday loan out if they were not desperate?

Syl wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:

Those old Victorian houses can be lovely - lots of character and all that, but people don't think about how cold and gloomy they can be too. I think I prefer modern houses these days.

The one my son was in (he has bought his own since) was lovely. Stained glass doors and fanlights, incredibly steep stairs, lots of little alcoves and high ceilings.

I'm like you though, I prefer living in a modern house with all mod cons.

Ah, high ceilings - a sure way to make sure it takes a lot to heat a room.

Character is all very well, but lots of little alcoves usually means that you can't get anything to fit in them.

People on jsa also get a winter fuel bonus of about 100 quid I think...and I think if it's really cold for a number of consecutive days then they get another bonus payment... although I'll have to check f this still happens and what the details are...


I remember British gas telling me I had an extra 100 quite credited to my account because unemployed round winter time!


And it might be a little bit colder in some places sometimes but it is a lot cheaper in some places too so money goes a bit further!


I work and post from my phone!

I have been on here a lot over Christmas because I was off work from the Wednesday afternoon just before Christmas to Monday the 4th... but before this not really on as much... and havent really been on much for months since earlier in the year when I was off work through illness and on esa...


I know about surviving on benefits because I have had to do it!

It is well do able if you live like a Monk and you won't be on jsa long if you are really doing the expected level of job searching, looking for any and every type of work as expected , and prepared to take any work offered as you to get off the dole, as you are also expected to do, and then carry on trying to get a better job from the position of being in a job and no longer reliant on benefits!!!


Gone are the days where you can say you are used to doing a certain type of job so will only consider doing that particular job again and allowed to sit on benefits doing nothing until that role comes up for you again!

You must apply for all jobs that you could possibly do regardless of status or wages so as to get some work and be off the jsa as quick as possible...!!!

Raggamuffin wrote:

Syl wrote:

The one my son was in (he has bought his own since) was lovely. Stained glass doors and fanlights, incredibly steep stairs, lots of little alcoves and high ceilings.

I'm like you though, I prefer living in a modern house with all mod cons.

Ah, high ceilings - a sure way to make sure it takes a lot to heat a room.

Character is all very well, but lots of little alcoves usually means that you can't get anything to fit in them.

Yes thats true.....modern houses are bland in comparison though.
But on the plus side they are easier to manage, better to clean, and a lot warmer.

I think it's only OAP'S that get Winter fuel pay ments and that is £200 per household, £300 if over 85.

Quite right Nicko:


3. Eligibility

You’ll qualify for Winter Fuel Payment if:

• you were born on or before 5 January 1953 (for winter 2015 to 2016 - this date changes every year)
  

https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/eligibility

https://www.gov.uk/cold-weather-payment/overview


And I'm telling you straight... I was told by British gas that I was to be given an extra 100 quid credited to my account tduring winter because I was on esa!

http://www.saga.co.uk/magazine/money/spending/deals-and-saving-money/135-pounds-off-your-electricity-bill


Not just older people nicko... low income households with young children or households with a disability. ..


Winter fuel payment is different to the payment I listed in previous post...

Cold weather payment IS NOT THE SAME AS WINTER FUEL ALLOWANCE and IS NOT £100.   In fact, if you are a pensioner living by yourself, the Winter Fuel Allowance is £200.   Because it is per household, if two pensioners, married or not, are living in the same property, they get £100 each, as it is £200 per household and is NOT paid to people on ESA/JSA

IT IS NEVER PAID TO THE SUPPLIER, it is paid into the bank account of the pensioner.

If you qualify for the Cold Weather Payment you receive £25 for each week of cold weather between the 1 November and 31 March (2014-2015 season). The payment applies for any consecutive seven days period during which the temperature is on average zero degrees Celsius or below.  The Cold Weather payment is paid to people on JSA but has to conform to the above, is only ever paid for each week that the temperature averages at zero degrees Celsius or below, so you never get more than £25 at a time AND IT IS NEVER PAID TO THE ENERGY SUPPLIER, it is always paid into the bank account of the person it applies to.

3. Eligibility

You may get Cold Weather Payments if you’re getting:

• Pension Credit
  
• Income Support
  
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  
• Universal Credit
  

Pension Credit

You’ll usually get Cold Weather Payments if you get Pension Credit.

Income Support and income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

You’ll usually get Cold Weather Payments if you get Income Support or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance and have any of the following:

• a disability or pensioner premium
  
• a child who is disabled
  
• Child Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe disability element
  
• a child under 5 living with you
  

Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

You’ll usually get Cold Weather Payments if you get income-related ESA and have any of the following:

• the support or work-related component of ESA
  
• a severe or enhanced disability premium
  
• a pensioner premium
  
• a child who is disabled
  
• Child Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe disability element
  
• a child under 5 living with you
  

https://www.gov.uk/cold-weather-payment/eligibility


Winter Fuel Payment

• Overview
  
• What you'll get
  

1. Overview

You could get between £100 and £300 tax-free to help pay your heating bills if you were born on or before 5 January 1953. This is known as a ‘Winter Fuel Payment’.
Most payments are made automatically between November and December. You should get your money by Christmas.
You usually get a Winter Fuel Payment automatically if you get the State Pension or another social security benefit (not Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, Child Benefit or Universal Credit).
If you qualify but don’t get paid automatically, you’ll need to make a claim.
Any money you get won’t affect your other benefits.

https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/overview

Think this sums it up rather well:

What is the Cold Weather Payment?

The Cold Weather Payments scheme runs every winter from November 1 to March 3, and is designed to help people in receipt of certain benefits cope with higher heating bills.

If you are eligible, then these payments should be paid automatically into the same bank or building society account as any other benefits you receive - you do not need to apply for the scheme.

Who is eligible?

You may be entitled to Cold Weather Payments if you are receiving certain benefits. These are Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit.

For example, if you receive Income Support and income-based Jobseeker's Allowance and you have a disability, a child who is disabled, Child Tax Credit that includes a disability element or a child under five living with you, you'll usually receive Cold Weather Payments.
 
If you receive income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), you should be entitled to Cold Weather Payments if you also qualify for the support or work-related component of ESA, a severe or enhanced disability premium, a pensioner premium or have a disabled child.

When do you get it?

Cold Weather Payments will only be made when temperatures drop below a certain level for a set period of time.

A network of weather stations gathers temperature information to ascertain when there is a “period of very cold weather” in any postcode area.

A “period of very cold weather” is defined as when the temperature is either recorded as an average of 0 degrees Celsius or below for seven or more days in a row, or if it is forecast to be an average of 0 degrees Celsius or below for seven or more days in a row.

When this is the case in your postcode area, a Cold Weather Payment should be paid into your account within 14 working days.

How much will you receive?

If you're eligible for Cold Weather Payments, you will get £25 for each seven-day period of very cold weather between November 1 and March 31. So, if there are four of these periods between November and March, you'll receive £100 in total.

How do Cold Weather Payments differ from Winter Fuel Payments?

The Winter Fuel Payment is an annual payment you get when you are aged 60 or over to help pay your heating bills.


The payment is made regardless of weather conditions, and is worth between £100 and £300 each year, with those over 80 receiving the highest payments.

http://www.moneysupermarket.com/gas-and-electricity/cold-weather-payment/

I know cold weather payments are different to winter fuel allowance you twat!!!


I never said they were the same!!!


And it is not just old people who get winter fuel allowance as it says in the saga link I posted.


And I maintain that I did get £100 awarded to me FROM British gas one December. .. something to do with me being unemployed on esa and it being winter... can't remember any more than that.

All this baffulz me.

I go by that which people say??????????????????????

Someone who is unemployed can be allocated a two bedroom house if there are no one bedroom houses available and have the rent paid in full under discretionary payments made by the council.

And just for the record welfare payments always go up under the Tories and down under Labour by providing more better paid jobs that make people less reliant on benefits.

Irn Bru wrote:Someone who is unemployed can be allocated a two bedroom house if there are no one bedroom houses available and have the rent paid in full under discretionary payments made by the council.

And just for the record welfare payments always go up under the Tories and down under Labour by providing more better paid jobs that make people less reliant on benefits.

They go up under any goverment as the cost of living goes up, or have you not worked that part out yet?
Also welfare spending under Labour's last Governement


These show that in 1997/98 spending on social protection was £114.5 billion, while in 2007/08 it had increased to 187.5 billion, a 64 per cent increase in nominal terms. This translates to a 29 per cent increase in spending in real terms.

Irn Bru talks rubbish as usual... "it was the tory s wot done it".. followed by lies and spin!

Tommy Monk wrote:Irn Bru talks rubbish as usual... "it was the tory s wot done it".. followed by lies and spin!

He certainly wasn't talking rubbish about an unemployed person living in a two bedroom house and having their rent paid, something that you quibbled about for ages.
I said at the start of the thread there were more 2 ups 2 down Victorian houses than single apartments or bedsits in this area.

Oh for ducks sake!!!


Read the caveat he put in about only if there were no one beds available to house someone... and that would be in an extreme case!!!


And I already said that if your sons rent was less than the max payable for a single person then that is why he got it paid!!!

I'd it was more expensive than what the housing benefit paid for a single person then he would have had to make up the shortfall!!!


How many times!!? ?


Now we are still waiting for you to explain why you say jsa isn't enough and how much more money your son needed and for what! ! ?

Tommy Monk wrote:Oh for ducks sake!!!


Read the caveat he put in about only if there were no one beds available to house someone... and that would be in an extreme case!!!


And I already said that if your sons rent was less than the max payable for a single person then that is why he got it paid!!!

I'd it was more expensive than what the housing benefit paid for a single person then he would have had to make up the shortfall!!!


How many times!!? ?


Now we are still waiting for you to explain why you say jsa isn't enough and how much more money your son needed and for what! ! ?

I had already said early on in the thread in the area where he lived there was more houses than flats....that was way before you started back tracking....and long before you accused me of fantasising.

As for your last sentence, I already gave a breakdown of what he needed to pay out days ago, another thing you accused me of lying about.

I came to the conclusion long ago on forums that the people who often and without consideration accuse others of lying, do so because they are themselves liars.

It has nothing to do with being more houses than flats... just that his rent was under the max payable for a single person! !!


And you haven't detailed all this extra money you said you had to hand out to your son or what for! ?

You told me to mind my own business!!!

Good for her, because you would only have rubbished it.

Tommy Monk wrote:It has nothing to do with being more houses than flats... just that his rent was under the max payable for a single person! !!


And you haven't detailed all this extra money you said you had to hand out to your son or what for! ?

You told me to mind my own business!!!

yes I did....so do it.

sassy wrote:Good for her, because you would only have rubbished it.

He would, just as he had rubbished you, Nicko, and others who told of their own personal stories or those of their family........obviously in Tommys little world if they dont reflect HIS experiences they are not true.

But if you look at Syl s post a little while ago, she is claiming to have already given this information...!!


You can't bleat about how little jsa is and how much more money was needed to survive without telling us how much and what for!!!???

Tommy Monk wrote:Irn Bru talks rubbish as usual... "it was the tory s wot done it".. followed by lies and spin!

No I'm not talking rubbish Tommy and I don't tell lies either. Owing to an acute shortage of one bedroom houses it's not that uncommomn for people to be living in two bedroom houses with the rent topped up with discretionary payments paid for by the council. It's more common in areas where there was a high degree of counciil house being built which was two, three and four bedroom properties for families. Single bedroom houses in council estates were actually quite rare in these areas.

Irn Bru wrote:

Tommy Monk wrote:Irn Bru talks rubbish as usual... "it was the tory s wot done it".. followed by lies and spin!

No I'm not talking rubbish Tommy and I don't tell lies either. Owing to an acute shortage of one bedroom houses it's not that uncommomn for people to be living in two bedroom houses with the rent topped up with discretionary payments paid for by the council. It's more common in areas where there was a high degree of counciil house being built which was two, three and four bedroom properties for families. Single bedroom houses in council estates were actually quite rare in these areas.

You either did talk rubbish or you lied:


And just for the record welfare payments always go up under the Tories and down under Labour by providing more better paid jobs that make people less reliant on benefits.

ALWAYS?

Do you wanna retract now?

Richard The Lionheart wrote:

Irn Bru wrote:Someone who is unemployed can be allocated a two bedroom house if there are no one bedroom houses available and have the rent paid in full under discretionary payments made by the council.

And just for the record welfare payments always go up under the Tories and down under Labour by providing more better paid jobs that make people less reliant on benefits.

They go up under any goverment as the cost of living goes up, or have you not worked that part out yet?
Also welfare spending under Labour's last Governement


These show that in 1997/98 spending on social protection was £114.5 billion, while in 2007/08 it had increased to 187.5 billion, a 64 per cent increase in nominal terms. This translates to a 29 per cent increase in spending in real terms.

You need to look at the overall social security bill to get the real figures Didge not just cherry-picked figures.

Here's the real figures courtesy of the ONS and prodiced under the Tory watch.



It's down. Cheers bud

Richard The Lionheart wrote:

Irn Bru wrote:

Tommy Monk wrote:Irn Bru talks rubbish as usual... "it was the tory s wot done it".. followed by lies and spin!

No I'm not talking rubbish Tommy and I don't tell lies either. Owing to an acute shortage of one bedroom houses it's not that uncommomn for people to be living in two bedroom houses with the rent topped up with discretionary payments paid for by the council. It's more common in areas where there was a high degree of counciil house being built which was two, three and four bedroom properties for families. Single bedroom houses in council estates were actually quite rare in these areas.

You either did talk rubbish or you lied:


And just for the record welfare payments always go up under the Tories and down under Labour by providing more better paid jobs that make people less reliant on benefits.

ALWAYS?

Do you wanna retract now?

See last post

Irn Bru wrote:

Richard The Lionheart wrote:

They go up under any goverment as the cost of living goes up, or have you not worked that part out yet?
Also welfare spending under Labour's last Governement


These show that in 1997/98 spending on social protection was £114.5 billion, while in 2007/08 it had increased to 187.5 billion, a 64 per cent increase in nominal terms. This translates to a 29 per cent increase in spending in real terms.

You need to look at the overall social security bill to get the real figures Didge not just cherry-picked figures.

Here's the real figures courtesy of the ONS and prodiced under the Tory watch.



It's down. Cheers bud

I do not need to look at anything else Irn other than the welfare billwent up millions under Labour.
That is not going down under Labour is it Irn?
How many millions again Irn did it go up?

Irn Bru wrote:

Richard The Lionheart wrote:


You either did talk rubbish or you lied:


And just for the record welfare payments always go up under the Tories and down under Labour by providing more better paid jobs that make people less reliant on benefits.

ALWAYS?

Do you wanna retract now?

See last post

Sorry buddy, you sank faster than the HMS Hood with your last feeble reply..
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