Saturday, 22 October 2016

Another Of Frances Ryan's 'Deserving Cases'...

They are always illuminating:
It’s been a year and a half since her troubled husband left the family, leaving Sally to look after their five children alone.
The youngest of the girls is only three, and 11-year-old son Connor (“obsessed with computers”) is autistic.
Five children. And why not? Not only does she not pay, we pay her to have them!

And it gets even better:
For Sally, it was back in September 2015 that it first started. Her husband had been gone five months – taking any wage, as well as the working tax credits he brought in, with him – and she was struggling to stretch what they had left.
He was on a wage so low the governm... no, wait, you and I... made up the difference! What a catch, Sally!
For a family such as Sally’s, losing this money adds to what is already a struggle. On the 10th floor of a tower block, all six are crammed into a one-bed flat. Four of the children sleep in the one bedroom; two have a single bed and two share another; Sally sleeps in the sitting room, with her toddler next to her.
Yes, well, that's a consequence of expecting the State to be husband to your brood. You go where they'll put you.
Without the child tax credits, she’s had to go back to using Connor’s disability living allowance (DLA) to pay for small meals. “It’s very hard to get enough money for food,” she says. “We don’t eat much. Rice. Fish. Maybe chips.”
Disability living allowance isn't for food. Nor is it for fripperies:
The DLA used to go on things like console games for Connor (what for other children is a treat is, to him, a rigid routine that calms him). He cries when his mum reminds him they can’t afford it now. An autistic child doesn’t understand benefits being stopped, says Kim. “It’s just, ‘Mummy won’t let me play with it’.”
I confess, I stopped reading there. I mean, given governmental incompetence, there must be some genuine cases of 'no fault' hardship out there.

So why does it seem as if Frances Ryan and the 'Guardian' can't find any?
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6 comments:

  1. Antisthenes22 October 2016 at 14:37

    There are many causes for hardship. Self inflicted being the most common because bad luck, poor choices and accident can all be attributed to that being the case but not always. Attributed when all three could have been avoided by rational thought and actions. Other factors can be blamed. Factors that the individual or individuals could not possibly foresee or plan for. Such as the actions of others that those individuals have no control over. Those others can cover a wide range of people, groups and institutions from parents through to the state.

    We accept as a society that we have an obligation to help those in need. However we are not very good at doing so as we do not do it in a way that is in the best interests of those being helped or those doing the helping. We are not selective enough in what and how we give and how we obtain the resources that we give. Acceptance of personal responsibility and effort at self reliance should be attributes those needing help should display prior to any material help offered. If absent then their adoption should be insisted upon and if resisted help denied. As we do not then we pay the price as we do of our taxes being wasted on an ever increasing group of entitlement seekers.

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  2. Ed P22 October 2016 at 15:01

    And when daddy does return to, ahem, discharge his irresponsibility once more, these waifs will all be in the same room. How vile these humanoids are!

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  3. Tim Newman22 October 2016 at 15:52

    You'd have thought that the expense of raising a disabled kid would have caused them to think twice about having too many more. But as you said, it's not them that are paying. Plus:

    Four of the children sleep in the one bedroom; two have a single bed and two share another;

    She not heard of bunk beds?

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  4. James Higham22 October 2016 at 21:44

    Because they're Frances Ryan and the 'Guardian'?

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  5. Lynne at Counting Cats25 October 2016 at 14:53

    Shame that family planning and birtch control isn't free at source.

    Oh, wait...

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  6. JuliaM30 October 2016 at 06:33

    " We are not selective enough in what and how we give and how we obtain the resources that we give. "

    Of course not. That requires judgement, and judgement is bad.

    "You'd have thought that the expense of raising a disabled kid would have caused them to think twice about having too many more. "

    Why play at the roulette table if you think the wheel might be rigged?

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