I have no problems with paying my way, everyone has to. I do not believe that things should just be handed out to people. I do, however, believe that in a society we have to work for the society. I dislike this government's war on vulnerable people. Throughout their term I have heard none stop about "benefit thieves" sucking all the money out of the governments pockets. I believe benefit fraud should be tackled, but the way it has been made out to be huge problem erks me. Benefit fraud accounts for 2% of the annual fraud in the UK. That's a lot when you put it into monetary value, some £1.2 million. However, it is the second lowest type of fraud in the UK, with tax fraud costing the UK economy a whopping £14 billion. And yet our government is throwing about tax breaks to everyone, and condemning everyone unlucky enough to be on benefits.
On the same note, Ian Duncan Smith's shiny new "universal credit" has already cost the tax payer £40 million by December 2013. It was reported that it would cost a further £91 million to rectify this failing system. A system that hasn't even been fully rolled out yet. The system needs updating, that much is certain from anyone's standpoint. I actually thought that the framework of universal credit was a lot simpler and easier to navigate than the current system, which has just been added to endlessly making it a swamp of paperwork and bureaucracy. I do NOT understand why this system has become some sort of black hole of money. Just like Labour seem to throw money into the welfare system in hopes it'll get better, so too has this government thrown money into their newer, "better" system with just as much success.
(I could equally go on about parliamentary expenses. Which, in 2013, cost tax payers nearly £100 million. This is up from £89 million in 2012. Seems everyone needs to tighten their belts but our MPs. And don't get me started on handing out bonuses to executives and bosses who's business ventures have ended up LOSING their company money.)
I favour no political party. I just simply wish that the FACTS were set to us simply, not hidden behind propaganda and exaggeration. The actual state of affairs our country is in is very difficult to find and evaluate because every statistic, every finding, is skewed to prove some kind of political point. Austerity may seem to be working, in our government's eyes, but as far as I can see since 1974 there has been a grand total of 8 whole years where our country managed to balance the books. That's not very promising. No one seems to know what to do to balance our books, and I fear the country I am leaving to my children AND the hands of the government's I am leaving it in.
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