Why are the poor being targeted.

[WeX]

No one is forcing anyone to drink alcohol or smoke fags. Why are these always trotted out as unfair increases that effect the poor?

 

The rich are always going to have more choices than the poor, that is the net effect of being rich and arguing about it is like polishing a turd, utterly stupid.

[miss_boss]

Do the working class spend their money on booze and cigs?

 

Many people I know who are in work are spending any spare cash they have on keeping a roof over their heads, paying for the essentials and paying to get to and from work. AND - these people have been doing this for the past few years.

 

Are we mixing benefit claimants up with the working class? they are not the same thing

[TJC1]

If you are poor stop smoking and cut down drinking or drink at home mainly. I know it's a hard pill to swallow but the world doesn't owe you a living and the health service (public money) doesn't owe you a life!

[TJC1]

If luxuries are always to be beyond the reach of lower paid people where is the incentive to work at all?

 

At over £7 a pack cigarettes are a rich persons hobby. Also drinking is dirt cheap in this country, I believe you can get down to Aldi and spend £3 on a perfectly good bottle of wine, it's not out of reach for anyone.

 

Some people want to be drinking and smoking everyday though, get it in perspective.

[Tsar Chasm]

At over £7 a pack cigarettes are a rich persons hobby. Also drinking is dirt cheap in this country, I believe you can get down to Aldi and spend £3 on a perfectly good bottle of wine, it's not out of reach for anyone.

 

Some people want to be drinking and smoking everyday though, get it in perspective.

 

I agree but then I silently dispute that either are luxuries.

[Icanc4miles]

It's been explained before that if the Tories were only supported by the rich, they'd have a tiny percentage of the vote - not more than half.

 

The middle to lower end of the working class would be mad to vote for the Conservatives, who, instinctively, always work for the interests of the management, board room/shareholder "class" that seek to restrict workers rights and keep pay as low as possible; the Consevatives opposed the minimum wage remember!

 

 

Perhaps your post would be more accurate if re-worded along the lines of Tories support those who are willing to put in some effort and contribute to the system, Labour sells its soul to the voters of the underclass who want a free ride at the expense of tax payers.

 

What do you mean by "contributing to the system"? "contributing to the system" to me sounds like paying taxes for public services - a concept the Conservatives are ideologically opposed to; there wouldn't be much of a "system" left if the Conservatives had their way, they'd sell "the system" off to the highest (invariably it seems, foreign) bidder.

[teenyweeny]

Why is this suddenly about benefits? There are plenty of working poor who are entitiled to a few of lifes little luxuries. I presumed it was these people that the OP was refering to.

 

 

That was exactly my point there is sometimes a very fine line between the poor and working class.Why should ordinary working folk have to pay through the nose when they are surviving on a pittance,if any person needs to smoke or drink in moderation they should be able to do so without getting penalised.It seems the very wealthy win hands down because no matter how high these prices go they can still sit comfortably.

 

I am not talking about benefit scroungers that drink and smoke all day long,im talking about ordinary people that work,and or find themselves having to rely on benefits through no fault of their own.

[Mister M]

True, but should people who don't earn much be 'entitled' to luxuries? Where is the incentive to work harder and achieve more if people who earn very little have access to luxuries?

 

A good few years ago Social Attitudes did a large scale study into the opinions of British people on social security and what people needed. Interestingly enough while many people believed that welfare payments were way too high, when asked what people should have as a minimum requirement many of the things they quoted were well beyond the reach of the majority of those officially defined as poor.

It does make for interesting reading and worth looking up.

[Conrod]

A good few years ago Social Attitudes did a large scale study into the opinions of British people on social security and what people needed. Interestingly enough while many people believed that welfare payments were way too high, when asked what people should have as a minimum requirement many of the things they quoted were well beyond the reach of the majority of those officially defined as poor.

It does make for interesting reading and worth looking up.

Welfare payments and minimum wage are all way too high.

 

Over recent decades there's been a rather unhealthy rise in expectations from those who achieve little but expect everything. People in low-skilled, low-paid jobs used to have to accept that they'd never be able to afford their own home or luxuries, or even to have a family. Now life's under-achievers are rewarded at every turn with tax breaks, child allowances and benefits to give them a lifestyle comparable with people who who studied and worked hard for demanding careers.

 

Society's balance of effort/talent and reward has been cut to shreds, and that has led to much of the social decay we're living through now.

[SiSiSi]

20 fags a day = 40-50 quid a week= 160-200 quid a month= 1920-2400 quid a year. Is this a poor person?