The current benefits system used to be called Social Security and it was designed as a net to catch any member of society that had fallen on hard times due to unemployment or illness.
The Liberal Party introduced the welfare state around 1907 and by the 1920’s a new perspective was developing among society; the idea of lifting low income families out of poverty. The Second World War introduced the idea that the state might be able to solve problems across wide areas of society, and Family Allowance was introduced by the Labour Party in 1945.
Fast forward to the run up to the 2010 general election. The mainstream media is flooded with tory fuelled “benefit scrounger” themed stories alongside the rise in “poverty Porn” TV… fly on the wall series and intrusive exposes into the lives of those people within our society most in need of our support and compassion.
Now, I’m not saying there was a multi-level agenda here. But there was definitely a multi-level agenda here! How easily Labour lost its grip when the working poor were encouraged to hate on the non-working poor. It got peoples blood boiling, and the climate was fast rising to 100 degrees KARENHEIGHT!
I work in a corporate environment and have often heard the phrase “don’t have kids if you can’t afford them” banded around, like it’s acceptable to apportion someone human rights based on their social status.
The current pandemic has forced lots of those self-considered “hard working” people to turn to the government for their “handouts” and the tables have turned as fast as the eligibility criteria.
Suddenly, people who’ve enjoyed success and financial stability are, through no fault of their own, unable to work and heavily reliant on the state for “benefits”.
There will, for sure, be people who’ve perhaps managed to retain some clients and income, who didn’t hesitate to log on for their furlough application at 8am that Saturday morning. Perhaps the same people have also taken on some freelance work during lockdown. But as it stands, the government make the rules and they are doing nothing wrong, because they’re eligible.
Now I’m not here to tell you who’s right and who’s wrong. I’m just exploring how quickly life can change for people, through no fault of their own. But I do think society as a whole could benefit from more conversations about subjects such as benefits and debt.
Let’s normalise claiming benefits, whenever and whoever may need them. Let’s normalise talking about debt, like we’ve normalised mental health. Let’s try and see things from the individual’s point of view, rather than the tory media’s point of view.
Kindness is cool, and I promise you, no one receiving £400 a month from Universal Credit is taking your organic hummus off the shelf.
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