Why I hate this country!!!

[ajax_andy 0]

ON the Christmas list for her three young sons Siobhan Cady has an Xbox 360, a Wii, games for these consoles, a flat-screen telly, laptop and designer clothes.

 

Reading it you would think the 23-year-old has a stash of cash to be able to afford the £3,200 she will need for the extravagant presents.

But the stay-at-home single mum has not earned a penny of it.

She will be using her benefits and thinks she has the same rights to have a good Christmas as those who go out to work.

Siobhan, whose sons are between five years and seven months old, says: "I won't have my kids going without or getting bullied because they don't get what the other children get at Christmas."

Siobhan does not pay council tax or rent for her two-bedroom house in Truro, Cornwall, and receives Jobseeker's Allowance and child benefit.

She feels she should not be criticised as she has saved her benefits specifically for Christmas.

Siobhan says: "I am sick and tired of people with jobs moaning because I am on benefits.

"My family and I deserve it, I am a fantastic mum. I choose to spend time with my children and be a stay-at-home mum. I don't want to leave them with strangers and benefits means I can do this. I've saved for months to give them what they want this Christmas.

"Being on benefits doesn't mean I'm thick or lazy — I take the option because it is there. I am not lazy and I don't sit around doing nothing. I work 24/7 as a mother."

Siobhan admits she is not what most people consider a stereotypical benefits mother.

She says: "I was a great student at school and had big dreams. I got three As and two Bs in my GCSEs and went on to get an NVQ in childcare with the aim to set up my own business.

"I had big plans for my career but I accidentally fell pregnant and motherhood became my life.

"At first I didn't want to go on benefits and did everything I could to avoid them because I was too proud. But there is no work here and now nearly all my friends are in council housing and on benefits.

"I even see wealthy people in expensive cars at the DSS collecting their benefits — there are no jobs for them either."

Siobhan had her first son, Reece, five, when she was 18. She went on to have Kai, three, and Finley, seven months. Siobhan has split from the boys' father because they no longer get on.

She says: "I am a dedicated mother. That's my job and I am raising three lovely boys — which means being here every hour of the day for them.

"Receiving benefit allows me to do a brilliant job at being a mum, so why shouldn't I use it?

"Obviously I want to get a bigger house, because having three boys sleeping in one room is really difficult. But the council don't think I am a priority.

"This is why I have saved my benefits to make Christmas so special for my boys."

Last year, Siobhan spent £2,000 at Christmas — £500 on each of her two sons, £400 on herself and the rest on her family and parties.

She says: "The kids got toys, designer clothes, Nintendo DS handheld games and DVDs. I got myself a designer outfit and shoes and the rest went on food and parties.

"I saved a little and borrowed £1,500 on credit. I still owe £1,100 of what I borrowed but it doesn't matter. If I had a job or not, I'd still be in debt.

"I plan to do the same this year. I have been saving some of my benefits — around £10 to £20 a week — for months and will pay for the rest on credit.

"There are people on benefits going bankrupt, which says a lot. Larger housing needs to be provided, especially for people like me."

This year Siobhan has saved £500 for Christmas and will raise the rest by using high interest loans and credit cards, as well as some money lent to her by a relative.

And she's not alone — 33 per cent of Brits will cover the entire cost of Christmas on credit cards.

Siobhan says: "As long as I pay the minimum monthly payments on my credit cards, I am able to get more loans and cards. I also get money from local loan sharks, but they have higher interest."

Siobhan, who is given £359.10 a week by the Government — including money for her council tax and rent — has worked out that she would be £227 a week worse off if she worked and had to pay her own bills.

 

 

 

Stocking up ... Siobhan will fork out on gifts for her sons

 

She says: "If I got a job, it would only be on minimum wage and I would have to pay rent, bills and childcare. It would be a stupid thing to do.

"Why on earth would I want to work 40 hours a week, never see my boys and earn no money when I can pick up benefits every week and be a full-time mum?"

Siobhan's sons have all written their Christmas lists and the single mum admits she can never say "no".

She adds: "They tell me their mates at school have new trainers or the latest Xbox and Nintendo, so I want them to have that as well. It's only fair.

 

tagDart.wo({url:'http://ad.uk.doubleclick.net/adj/woman.thesun.co.uk/mainhomepage;pos=mpu;sz=300x250;cat=;tile=2;ord=1323172796814;'});

 

"If they don't have all the newest, coolest things, they will be a target for bullies. It would break my heart to know that they were getting picked on for going without.

"Luckily, picking up benefits means they don't have to. The rest of the world is doing it and if I can't pay it back, I'll simply do a Kerry Katona and go bankrupt.

"I read about one girl going bankrupt twice before she was 30 recently and as I'm on benefits I know I'll never lose my house.

"I live in one of the poorest counties in England. There is no work and even if I did have a job it would be minimum wage and I couldn't afford childcare.

"Being on benefits means I can buy what I want and be with my sons all day.

"It's the best of both worlds and will mean we will have a very happy Christmas."

 

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/3979976/Im-spending-3200-on-Christmas-its-paid-for-by-my-benefits.html

[Guest alex]

Broken Britain!

[ewerk 30677]

I've given up getting annoyed at articles like this. More than likely that she didn't say half of the stuff they've quoted her with, knowing that she can't afford a lawyer to kick up a fuss for her.

[Guest alex]

Aye, I hate people who take the Sun seriously tbh. No offence, Andy but that article is just meant to send people into self-righteous apoplectic indignation. Shouldn't have kids if you can't afford to look after them like.

[Ayatollah Hermione 13894]

She will be using her benefits and thinks she has the same rights to have a good Christmas as those who go out to work.

 

[Andrew 4774]

is she a toon fan or something?

[Guest alex]

The youngest two are advanced for their age like.

Siobhan's sons have all written their Christmas lists...They tell me their mates at school have new trainers or the latest Xbox and Nintendo

[Guest alex]

Siobhan spent £2,000 at Christmas — £500 on each of her two sons, £400 on herself

:lol:

[ajax_andy 0]

is she a toon fan or something?

 

Not sure how this ended up in here as definately posted it in the general forum?

[ajax_andy 0]

Aye, I hate people who take the Sun seriously tbh. No offence, Andy but that article is just meant to send people into self-righteous apoplectic indignation. Shouldn't have kids if you can't afford to look after them like.

 

True but sadly there a sooo many people out there who live their lives this way... they think it's fine to get in to debt, get in to more debt, buy things they can't afford and then just delare themselves bankrupt. Really boils my blood!

 

I actually admire here for saving up £500 from her benefits... but why does she then have to spend nearly 3k she doesn't have? fucking cretinous people like this are a why the country is so fucked and the rest of us suffer as a result.

[Happy Face 29]

_{It's funny because the response people should have to this is that credit is far too easily given to the poorest members of society.}

 

_{Rather than blame the powers that be though, people will cheer on their cuts...which force people to use kneecap finances entirely legal 45000% interest rate to get into shit and cause the financial collapse of the west.}

 

_Huzzah.

 

_{Speaking of which....}

 

 

_{Back to the glory days of Northern Rock}

 

 

 

 

 

_{“People buying newly built houses will need a deposit of as little as 5 per cent under measures designed by the government to help unstick the housing market.”}

 

 

_{Financial Times, Nov 22}

_{What’s the story here?}

_{We need to go back to the height of the credit boom, four or five years ago. Banks were handing out mortgages without requiring a deposit. In the case of the most brilliantly managed banks, for example Northern Rock and HBOS, mortgages were offered with loan-to-value ratios of 125 per cent, in effect allowing house buyers to go deep into negative equity the day they collected the keys.}

 

_{Was that a problem?}

_{Yes, it was. Somebody in negative equity may be unable to move house without defaulting on the mortgage loan, which makes them a risky proposition for the bank, as well as trapping them in other ways – making it hard to move to find new work, for example. There’s also a fair case to be made that loose lending standards in the UK helped drive house prices up to absurd levels. If people tend to get carried away when they see rising house prices, which seems plausible enough, then their spending will be limited only by the giddy enthusiasm of the banks.}

 

_{Oh. Sounds bad.}

_{It’s good for elderly people who happen to move to smaller houses at just the right moment, and it’s good for presenters and producers of vacuous home-improvement pornography. But it’s bad news for anybody who owns less house than they’d ideally like – which is most of us, given how pokey British houses are – and it’s also bad news for the stability of the financial system. The crisis was triggered by similar loans in the US, not in the UK, but that doesn’t make overstretched UK loans a good idea.}

 

_{Right. So what’s the problem that the prime minister is trying to solve?}

_{It’s very simple: this unsavoury state of affairs stopped a few years ago, and David Cameron would like to kick-start it again.}

 

_{I’m sorry, I must have misheard you.}

_{That’s what I thought when I heard the policy being announced, but I am afraid it’s true. Such mortgages only made sense – for both bank and homebuyer – if you had (false) confidence that house prices would continue to rise forever. The government has noticed that banks have lost this confidence and now insist on substantial deposits as a cushion in case house prices fall. So it plans to throw the taxpayer guarantee in there – on top of the deposit cushion, the taxpayer is a kind of airbag. If prices fall and the buyer defaults on the loan, the taxpayer will absorb some of the impact.}

 

_{On what planet is this a good idea?}

_{Let’s be fair: more house building would be an excellent plan. It’s a contribution to the long-term wealth of the country; unlike manufacturing it cannot be offshored and provides plenty of employment, even from the young and the unskilled. And there aren’t nearly enough houses, which is another reason why prices are so high – relative to earnings they are still roughly at the level at the peak of the catastrophic late-1980s housing bubble. Private companies are building about 100,000 homes a year – low levels not seen since the 1920s. A few hundred thousand more houses each year at a time when prices are high and unemployment is also high would kill several birds with one stone.}

 

_But?

_{But this is surely the stupidest imaginable way to stimulate house building. There are three fundamental problems: prices look high, so banks don’t wish to be exposed to their likely fall by lending either to developers or to house buyers; the banking system itself is fragile, exacerbating the sense of caution; and above all, planning permission is hard to come by, so if you have the money to build a house the local council probably won’t let you. The government’s response is to try to prop up prices with the following proposition: lend money to people who should not be buying such expensive houses, and if things turn sour you can repossess the home, sell it at a loss and the taxpayer will see you right.}

 

_{What does the opposition think of this plan?}

_{They think it should be much bigger. Not nearly enough taxpayers’ money has been thrown into it, apparently. Without a more determined effort we’ll never get back to the aggressive lending of the glory days of Northern Rock.}

 

_{What happened to Northern Rock again?}

_{Let’s just say it’s gone to a better place.}

 

 

 

_{Utter fucking lunacy. Business goes on raking in the cash.}

Edited December 6, 2011 by Happy Face

[Guest alex]

Aye, I hate people who take the Sun seriously tbh. No offence, Andy but that article is just meant to send people into self-righteous apoplectic indignation. Shouldn't have kids if you can't afford to look after them like.

 

True but sadly there a sooo many people out there who live their lives this way... they think it's fine to get in to debt, get in to more debt, buy things they can't afford and then just delare themselves bankrupt. Really boils my blood!

 

I actually admire here for saving up £500 from her benefits... but why does she then have to spend nearly 3k she doesn't have? fucking cretinous people like this are a why the country is so fucked and the rest of us suffer as a result.

I agree with you like. Just assuming (for arguments sake) it's all true though - Who's more in the wrong - her or the people allowing someone without a job to amass loads of debt?

[Nyff 0]

Yes. This is EXACTLY why the country is so fucked. Well, it is if you get all your opinions and stories from the Sun/the Daily Mail. Because it was people on benefits who sent us into the recession, right?

Edited December 6, 2011 by Nyff

[sniffer 0]

Aye, I hate people who take the Sun seriously tbh. No offence, Andy but that article is just meant to send people into self-righteous apoplectic indignation. Shouldn't have kids if you can't afford to look after them like.

 

So, do you think it should not be reported by any newspaper?

 

This is the tip of the iceberg that people don't want to face up to.

[Happy Face 29]

To be fair to her, The Sun probably paid for all the stuff she's bought rather than benefits or credit.

[Guest alex]

Aye, I hate people who take the Sun seriously tbh. No offence, Andy but that article is just meant to send people into self-righteous apoplectic indignation. Shouldn't have kids if you can't afford to look after them like.

 

So, do you think it should not be reported by any newspaper?

 

This is the tip of the iceberg that people don't want to face up to.

Aye, that's exactly what I'm saying. The angle's all wrong though imo. Which doesn't exonerate people with little or no social responsibility like her. Let people do stuff and they will though. Not everyone, but plenty. Surely a cynic like you doesn't need to be told that though.

[Monroe Transfer 0]

Anyone else read the entire article searching for a NUFC reference?

[manc-mag 1]

Sloppy journalism from The Sun-The Mail would at least have blacked her up.

[Asprilla 96]

Minimum wage needs to be about twice what it is now IMO. I'd be happier for the government to top up wages rather than pay out for people to do nothing.

[Happy Face 29]

Anyone else read the entire article searching for a NUFC reference?

 

I brought up Northern Rock to give it a tenuous link for you.

[sniffer 0]

Aye, I hate people who take the Sun seriously tbh. No offence, Andy but that article is just meant to send people into self-righteous apoplectic indignation. Shouldn't have kids if you can't afford to look after them like.

 

So, do you think it should not be reported by any newspaper?

 

This is the tip of the iceberg that people don't want to face up to.

Aye, that's exactly what I'm saying. The angle's all wrong though imo. Which doesn't exonerate people with little or no social responsibility like her. Let people do stuff and they will though. Not everyone, but plenty. Surely a cynic like you doesn't need to be told that though.

 

Realist. You don't see the difference, though.

 

It doesn't help Clegg asking for rich people to sacrifice bus passes in favour of parasites like this so they can buy the latest games for their Wii.

 

But keep your head in the sand.

[Happy Face 29]

 

Got my 5 year old nephew one of these bad boys.

 

I cannit wait for a shot of it.

[Guest alex]

Aye, I hate people who take the Sun seriously tbh. No offence, Andy but that article is just meant to send people into self-righteous apoplectic indignation. Shouldn't have kids if you can't afford to look after them like.

 

So, do you think it should not be reported by any newspaper?

 

This is the tip of the iceberg that people don't want to face up to.

Aye, that's exactly what I'm saying. The angle's all wrong though imo. Which doesn't exonerate people with little or no social responsibility like her. Let people do stuff and they will though. Not everyone, but plenty. Surely a cynic like you doesn't need to be told that though.

 

Realist. You don't see the difference, though.

 

It doesn't help Clegg asking for rich people to sacrifice bus passes in favour of parasites like this so they can buy the latest games for their Wii.

 

But keep your head in the sand.

I don't see the difference between what? Realism and cynicism? I'm a cynic myself. Although it doesn't take one to realise the Sun's angle. What is my head in the sand about exactly?

[Nyff 0]

my ma&da saved up for ages to get me a knight rider pedal car when i was 4-5, there's pictures of me happily playing in the box it came in throughout xmas day

 

honestly if your 5year old puts down a flat screen tv an xbox and a wii you give the kid a ball and a boot up the hole with "get oot and play" with maybe "santa was too busy making all the other presents for the less greedy children"

 

ya might get the kids that age one console between them or something but fecking hell

 

Too true. And it is in all the adverts around this time of year - makes me sick. They are all "get the family together!....around an xbox/wii/playstation". Christ, if you can't have decent family time without the help of a games console then something really is up. When I was younger all I would ask for is new football stuff, then I'd be straight outside no matter what the weather.

[Guest alex]

We couldn't afford Christmas when I was 5.