Benefits

Firstly, let me just say, that I am not very au fait with people on benefits.  I don't mean that to sound snobbish; it's just that, although I have come into contact with many people throughout my life, who have been on benefits - until now I didn't actually realise just how much money one could get from not doing anything??!!

I have a friend OK I have quite a lot of friends who is about 64 years old.  I've known him for more than 20 years (but probably haven't seen him for more than 15 years)...........................

To give you a bit of background here; when I first met him, he was a bit eccentric, appeared highly intelligent and was a bit of an inventor.  He'd invented something which I personally thought had the potential to be a 'best seller'.  Together, we went to the 'patent office', and registered the said invention.  That was more than 20 years ago.

And now it's 20 years on and he's still talking as if this latest invention is going to be the best thing since sliced bread.  I really must google sliced bread?!  Obviously it's not, because over the last 20 years a lot of things have been invented. Lol!

Anyway, all this is totally irrelevant to my rant about benefits.

Since I last saw him, he's deliberately made himself homeless, and is now living in a fantastic spacious, council owned, two bedroomed flat, with far reaching views.  In the area that this flat is; it would easily sell for at least £250,000 - £300,000 if not more.

Apparently, he's getting £210 from the state every week.   And this is after all his bills have been paid.  Ie, electric, TV licence, wifi.  He doesn't have to pay council tax, he's just had a new heating system installed, the kitchen was refurbished three years ago, etc, etc, etc.  So he has £210 per week pocket money?!

Today I went to visit this 'spacious, 2 bed flat with far reaching views'.  And very lovely it was too.
 
..........At least it would be if he actually took the care to look after it.   It stank, it was dirty, there was rubbish all over the place, there was a leak/damp patch on the ceiling which obviously had just been left to fester, it was like a sauna because the heating was cranked up to full well why would he worry - everything is paid for.

I cannot believe that someone who has been offered such a fantastic opportunity to live in such a fabulous abode does not take the care to look after it.  The place was an absolute tip.  The 'new' kitchen (installed only three years ago) was caked in grease, as was everything else in the kitchen.  The carpet in the living room looked as though it hadn't been hovered since he moved in.  In fact the whole place was absolutely disgusting.

And the sad thing is......................  This actually belongs to someone I know, who I thought had the same values as me.

Well, to be honest, even 20 years ago, I guess I realised that he didn't have the same values as me.  I was brought up to work for everything I wanted and that's what I've done.  But when I met this particular guy.................... he was clever, intelligent, and had ideas for the future.  I believed in him.  I thought he was going places.

The reality - he's never worked since I met him, the fabulous invention that he had more than 20 years ago (and I have to admit could have been fabulous then)...................... is still what he thinks is going to make him into a millionaire today.

I have to ask myself - just what has he being doing for the last 20 years?

When I try to ask him, I don't get any kind of answer that makes sense.

In fact to be honest, it's very difficult to have any sort of 'normal' conversation with him at all.  But that's maybe me just being a very 'snobbish middle class, middle-aged woman'???  Personally I think years of alcohol abuse have addled his brain.

He looks like a tramp!

From what I can make out; all he does all day...................... is get up late, go to the pub, drink a few bottles of wine with his mates, but are they really mates? come home, go to the local garage to buy more wine, sit at home, drink the wine, go to bed.

What sort of a life is that?

From my point of view; it's no life.  But it's his life and who am I to say that my life is any better than his life.  BUT, what I'm ranting about here is..................................

BENEFITS.

I truly believe that everyone has the right to live their lives how they want to live their lives.

BUT, I also believe that to live your life, how you want to live your life, then you need to support yourself in order to do this.

Much as I love my very eccentric friend, I personally feel that instead of 'saving him', the benefits system have failed him.  He's been given 'everything' and ultimately that will be his downfall.

..................And remember this isn't someone from a 'sink' estate or a bad background or an abused childhood.  This is someone who had the intelligence to make 'informed' choices.  He made the choice to make himself homeless so that he could get a council house.  Unfortunately, somewhere along the line that choice has turned him into the person that he is today.

From my point of view;  the person he is today is................................. an alcoholic who is living day to day, living in the past, totally out of touch with reality and yet still believing that one day his inventions will make him a million.

I think the benefits system is great for people who are in dire straits.

But how the benefits system can be monitored, so that the people who really need help get it, is a very different question??????