The Dole Queue

I was a freelance graphic designer in Manchester for two years. Towards the end, work completely dried up and I was struggling to get through a week living on my overdraft. The bank then started charging me as bills were coming out and I didn’t have the money. Eventually I signed on. I lived in a small one bedroomed flat, I didn’t drive, I had no TV or Sky or anything overly swanky. They paid my council tax, my rent and gave me £106 a fortnight. Not bad?
I managed to get one days work after the 4th week of being on the dole, I declared it and paid tax on it but they stopped all my benefits. I made £50 for one days work, so they eventually took that out of my dole money. What was the point in working?
The fact is, the system is rubbish. I hated every second of going into the job centre, being told that I needed to get a job. It disgusted me that I was signing on and sponging off society. I’d always worked, it gave me a reason to get up and do things. It gave me a routine and my life which I loved. It disgusts me that people choose to live riding the benefits system. My friend works for the council dealing with people’s council tax issues. He says he gets no end of phone calls from people saying they can’t afford to pay their council tax, but when he examines there finances to work out alternative options, he sees Sky TV, two family cars, extortionate mobile phone bills and store cards. This has to stop! People need to realise that we can’t continue to live like this. When I see people making no effort, it makes me sick. We’re in a seriously stupid age full of greed and unless something is done to encourage people to be more understanding then I really can’t see how any of this is going to get much better. The banks need to do their jobs better and educate people about their finances, to encourage people to think more wisely about their spending. But first of all, people need to be encouraged to get stuck in and help others in their community and get off the dole.

Where do we go from here? I don’t have all the answers, but I just wish somebody would stand up and take some responsibility and attempt to sort this awful mess out.