In reply to abr1966:
> My mate I was in the forces with is on benefits currently, he did 24 years as a soldier. I gave him my old phone and pay a sim contract for him. So sad to hear how badly he'd be judged by you if you walked past him. >
I'm genuinely sorry your mate is now on the dole, I'm well aware that anyone could be made unemployed, I've been there myself. How would I judge him? Depends on a lot of things which simply walking past him wouldn't reveal.
I don't know how long he's been unemployed or how long he will be but I can't believe that after 24 years of continuous employment he wasn't able to put a few grand aside "just in case". Perhaps he did, perhaps he didn't which brings me to my point that considering that anyone could become unemployed remarkably few people ever make any provision for it.
None of this applies specifically to you or him as I don't know you, but there are plenty of people out there spending money like water on stuff they don't need. As an example there's been record car sales recently, how many people are spending £15-20K on a new car when £2-3K car would do whilst they haven't got a bean saved up?
Too many people assume its the state's job to step in and provide for them. Well as a last resort it should, but only a bare minimum otherwise it removes the incentive for individuals to take responsibility for themselves.
The problem is not that our benefits system isn't generous enough, its that too many people have lost their resourcefulness, have too great a sense of entitlement and have forgotten what real poverty looks like.
> You wouldn't even imagine some of the situations he's been in.... >
Actually, I probably can
> I'm confident he p##s all over you in most aspects of life. >
You know next to nothing about me but frankly that's irrelevant anyway.
> Better hope bad fortune and poor health doesn't come your way.. >
You don't know that it hasn't or what provision I might have made for it or the choices I made to do so.