[cl_steele]

would you ever claim benefits such as JSA etc.?
personally id hate to have to sign up for such a thing id feel completely humiliated living off hand outs.
whats everon elses views on this?

[Elwyn]

I'd rather live off handouts than live on the street put it that way.

[JongKey]

If i was eligible for it then why not? I wouldn't be humiliated at all - for the people who would look down on me, well they really need to get off their high horse. I wouldn't want to stay on JSA for too long though, a job would be much more worth my while and i do like to work for my money.

[ReMos]

I hope i am never in the position that i have to claim benefits, and i will do everything(within reason) in my ability to not claim benefits as i do not feel it is right.

I do however think that if someone cannot find work and has tried and IS STILL TRYING they do deserve the benefits if they choose to claim them (and other similar cases..).
There are always 'Justified' cases i believe. But when i see (and know) people living off benefits and sitting on their arse all day doing nothing, it makes me angry.

basically, as long as the person claiming them is not sitting around doing nothing and is trying to earn sufficient income (or whatever else they need) to resolve the situation and come off benefits, it is 'okay' (i believe). IMO it should be treated as a temporary solution, and not a way that people can use taxpayers money to live without doing anything.

[crazyunicorn133]

Yes and have done. Only for about 3 weeks in between jobs, but I really needed it at the time. The way I see it, you pay money in taxes when you're working, you may as well take some of it back when you really need it.

[roh]

For stuff like child tax credit I think pretty much everyone gets them at some point.

And if I had a terminal illness I'd hope to receive the disability benefits just as I'm more than happy to pay taxes to help such people whilst I'm healthy.

If JSA was the only way of feeding my family? Yeah, I would, though I'd do everything in my power to avoid it, if it was the last resort then yes.

[OU Student]

Those saying no - would that mean you wouldn't claim benefits for your child, if you have one?

I currently am on benefits and probably will be for the rest of my life. Assuming the goalposts aren't moved too much, that is.

[Mr Dangermouse]

As a last resort to scrape by then yes I would.


Although another part of me thinks that if the welfare state is manipulable(for example claiming JSA between school and uni) then why not do it?

[g_star_raw_1989]

Not if I could avoid it and I had exhausted every other possible means to support myself.

[cambio wechsel]

Back in the day, university students could claim unemployment benefit during the summer holidays, this until the late 1980s. And pretty well everyone then did, this at a time when students were typically from wealthier homes than is usual now (that because 20% rather than 50% of 18 year olds went into higher education). How, then, to explain a seeming difference in generational attitudes? Has the media's pushing the 'claimants = scroungers' line affected thinking? Perhaps. My own suspicion, though, is that it's a lot easier to high-mindedly refuse an imaginary grand than a real one.

[weirdwakkidolli]

I have, and would again. I lost my job, moved house, and was having trouble finding a new job. I couldn't pay rent or anything. So I started claiming JSA, and put a claim in for housing support. I wasn't happy about it, but had to. Housing support still hasn't been sorted out, so I'm still struggling, because when I eventually got a job (been in it over a month now) all my wages went on paying back money I'd borrowed to pay rent when I was unemployed...

[Cicerao]

Benefits are just for scroungers!

...say certain hypocritical students sitting on their student loan, which they will mostly likely never pay all back.

[Herr]

Never been on any sort of welfare nor had I ever had a student loan.

When I was out of a fulltime job during the height of the recession (granted it was my own doing there was a voluntary headcount reduction and the payout was rather generous) it never occurred to me that I should go to the JCP to ask for a job or fill out forms for benefits..... wouldn't had qualified anyway.

In my lifetime my parents never quite took any benefits either, for starters we never lived in UK or EU so no Child Benefit payments In any case they would have scorned at the thought of it.

Higher education, first degree I had an athletic scholarship that covered for almost everything and since it was an American university and I had no rights to any financial aid my parents paid out what was stated in the i20 since it was their dream to have a child graduate from an American uni, well since it was their dream they should pay for it too. 2nd degree, wasn't eligible for UK or EU student funding due to the long absence from UK, thankfully received a few waivers and essentially paid around 2k for fees. Living expenses were on my own as I already had a fulltime job and I just continued with that.

If I was jobless again I still wouldn't go on welfare, the shame of it is just too much for me to bear.

[daisydaffodil]

I am currently receiving lower rate disability allowance.

I live with my mum and wee sister who receive a lot of things - when you're ill ill, you qualify for a lot of things like winter fuel and that so don't know whether to list it all!!

[Wilfred Little]

(Original post by Cicerao)
Benefits are just for scroungers!

...say certain hypocritical students sitting on their student loan, which they will mostly likely never pay all back.

haha

Also I think everyone would claim benefits, if you were starving and had the option of £50 a week or whatever it is you're not gonna say no just because of the stigma.

[Miryo]

People that wouldn't want to claim it because they'd feel ashamed deserved to be unemployed. If you're that egotisical and you think your too good for benefits, maybe this is why your unemployed.

[SpicyStrawberry]

I'm living off earnings from a part time job I don't pay tax on and a government funded student loan... yeah I'd consider that accepting benefits. If you are eligible I don't see the issue, but if you're on JSA you have to prove you're searching for work otherwise it gets stopped.

Benefits are designed to be a spring-board to keep you afloat as you search for a better job/keep you in education etc. they are not designed to be your life support for the rest of your days. There is nothing to be humiliated about.

[sarahthegemini]

Some of you lot are pathetic. You need to stop looking down on people, because believe it or not, sometimes people need benefits. It doesn't mean they are lazy and do nothing but sit on their arse all day. I am on high rate disability allowance because I have Cystic Fibrosis, diabetes, oesteoporosis and osteopenia and acid reflux. For the last three years I have been on pretty much constant antibiotics (with perhaps a week or two in between) some of them orally, some of them intravenously, I've also been in hospital countless times, had hundreds of appointments, several investigative procedures and what not, so I physically cannot work at the moment. Want to look down on me because I claim benefits? **** off.

[JulietheCat]

I wouldn't rule it out. Something bad may happen such as a car accident or yet another financial crisis or cancer. You see, some people need benefits and we all need that safety net behind us to catch us if we fall.

[Bobo1234]

(Original post by OU Student)
Those saying no - would that mean you wouldn't claim benefits for your child, if you have one?

I currently am on benefits and probably will be for the rest of my life. Assuming the goalposts aren't moved too much, that is.

I imagine the answer would be no to the question of claiming child support too. Personally, if I needed the benefits (i.e. if I couldn't find a qualified job anywhere in the country or menial work anywhere near where I lived) I would claim them. But if I had enough to money to live without benefits, I don;t see why I would have to claim them for a child I might have- I don't ever plan to become a parent before I can financially support the child, and personally I feel that people who do become parents whilst in a financially untenable position are idiots, UNLESS it's an accident that they conceived or they suffer some form of unexpected hardship once they've conceived. We have enough children already in care and waiting for adoption without the need for parents who can't afford to support their children on their own bringing yet more into the world, but that's just my opinion.