Well here goes another Labour year

Well 2008 was the grimmest year I remember. The summer was humid, dull and overcast and the winter has been the coldest I can remember for a while. Yesterday it was -5c where I live. Even the winter's are bad under Brown's Labour. Well apparently things are only going to get worse as we plummet into a dark bitter recession. Gorden Brown's practical admitted now that he's not going to be able to save the economy (even though he has been saying he as a plan to save us) because he is now saying the recession will be a test of character (not his character though) Yet again the responsibility falls to us because the government are incompetent.

Firstly it's all the dole scums fault as they are getting to much benefit, apparently. Well it's the government who set the rate of benefits so it's the government fault. Most people who receive benefits get £47.95 up to the age of 24 and £60.50 for over 25's a week, plus housing and council tax benefit.

When I was single I got £43.50 a week. When I moved to a council flat, it cost £5 a week electricity, £7 gas, £4 water, a couple of quid tv licence, about £15 on food from Aldi so I had about £11 a week for whatever else I needed. I would buy clothes from the charity shop and shoes at the market for £5 a pair that never lasted long as I would walk alot as I didn't want to waste money on the bus. It hardly give me enough to do anything, let alone go out drinking. I still don't get enough to do that. So I've learned how to make my own clothes. I have mis-matched furniture that I either been given or found in skips or on the street. Even my computer is really old and was given to me by my Mum's boyfriend which he got free from work when they were updating their computers, but it works. Lately I've discovered Freecycle where people give away unwanted stuff for free. So do you still think it's great living on benefits? It's already a test of character.

My partner had times where he had no electricity and would only have a bag of spuds and went out to some waste ground to make a fire to cook his food, this was only 7 years ago. Before that he had worked in heavy industry, and got injured, even though he should claim incapacity benefit he doesn't nor does he claim carer's allowance for me. He did voluntary work for a while until the place shut down. He can never find decent work because he is a big man, and always gets asked if he has a criminal record, which he hasn't. That was why he could never get on a university course because he looks thuggish, but he is the kindest person I know. Yet me on the other hand got given more opportunities because I'm a woman. I did try but I was too ill.

One of my friends who was struggling with a drug problem on benefits was so ill that she committed suicide at the age of 19, she was a lovely girl, so kind hearted, she just had a tough life and was in a really dark depression. This is the reality for many of us living on benefits on council estates, and on top of that we get bitter middle class people telling us we are scrounging scum. (My partner has piles of pay slips and had contributed for many years until he got injured) Yet I'm sure they wouldn't want to swap places with us. I'd would have loved to have had a non abusive upbringing and then cushy college and uni, then have an easy peasy office job. It may be boring but it's better than living with so much mental pain that I don't want to live most of the time, and have spent most of my adult life on medication.

I've totally digressed from what I was going to blog about, not that it matters as no one reads my blogs anyway. My point was that it's no bed of roses living on benefits. I agree that people shouldn't abuse the benefits system but they are making us all look bad when their are plenty of people who genuinely claim. But it will be us taking the brunt of the abuse when this recession bites. There's no room for empathy under Labours government. And to all you middle class out there who fear losing your jobs and homes so you don't have to live with people like me, we are not that bad, as long as you don't act like snobbish pricks we would get along with you, as we don't like to patronised we are human beings too.