The Daily Mail is playing somewhat to their target audience but

I don't buy that there is some conspiracy between the Mail and the Government to paint benefit claimants as a breed apart or as some sort of criminal underclass as you suggest and can't say i am horrified at the headline no. I think in this case the link between the dependence on the system and the crime is there. Yes its a bit sensationalist but its a newspaper headline so whats new there!

It may be a small minority that actively abuse the system but I think there is a wider issue of people who are capable of working becoming dependent on the system and not really being incentivised to work which i think needs to be addressed and that is down to all manner of factors, not just the presence of a benefits system that is open to abuse but also the education system for a number of years having steered people away from traditional trades and other technical skills into degrees that often don't really lead them anywhere, the fact that many British people now view certain jobs as beneath them or that those jobs or sectors are underfunded (whilst we inexplicably send millions overseas to regimes who either don't need it or don't apply it for the purposes intended) and don't pay well enough with the void for those jobs consequently being filled by cheaper migrant labour. Its a whole combination of things and I accept its not a straight forward situation to rectify but that does not mean we should not look hard at the benefits system we have and ensure that as well as protecting those that really need it the system also incentivises people to work as much as it can.

Posted By: Jim, Apr 3, 11:19:13