I've just got through, and the lady who answered put me through to the appropriate department.....they'd gone home. They did at least bother to put their answerphone on. I think they'll probably regret it by Monday morning. Hopefully, they'll ring back, as I requested, and explain to me what the fuck they're doing taking money away from the weakest, whilst the strongest and the richest are still getting Winter Fuel Payments, regardless of if they're million/billion/trillionaires or not.
Bonzo...for your information:
I'm a carer. I look after my ex-mother-in-law pretty much 24/7, as she lives with me. If I earn ONE penny over £433 a month my carer's allowance is stopped immediately.
What I need, of course, is a 16 hour job, because this would enable me to keep my carer's allowance and get working tax credit. But to find a job of 16 hours is sooooooo hard, almost impossible actually.
Many employers won't give out 16 hours, because they don't want people who are only interested in claiming working tax credit, and they know that if you're a carer as well, you probably won't be able to work extra hours for them 'at the drop of the hat', because again, you will lose £200 a month, instantly.
Down here in the West Country most jobs pay basic minimum wage. It's 'tradition' mainly, because Corporate and InUnCorporate Bastards know that jobs are desperately wanted and down here they'll work for peanuts, so even if they can afford more, most won't pay higher amounts because they're mean, scroogish buggers who don't give a shite about anyone or anything, other than their profits.
So, you get jobs for 15 hours, even 15 1/2 hours, or 19, 20...etc...OR you'll get loads for just an 8 hour contract, but they want you to be 'flexible' 24/7..and the job description is 7am to 10pm Monday - Sunday.
Well, fuck that! GEEZ! Things never used to be this way.
Many people down here don't even *HAVE* contracts in the first place, so they have no protection, yet they are STILL expected to be available as and when. They take these jobs because if they didn't, so many of them would basically starve to death, lose their houses and be out on the streets, almost instantly.
Meanwhile, we're also paying TWICE the amount that you do for our Water..a life-giving substance which we should all be paying exactly the same for...
But hey, don't let that put you off your second home in the West Country, with its pretty beaches and quaint villages..Just don't look too deeply behind the curtains..
Come to Torquay and see the people here, the hard, line worn, worry worn faces, the missing teeth of the young men and women, the drug addicts, the drinkers, the used and the abused.
We have become the Land That Time Forgot down here...And meanwhile, our Mayor (spit!) wants to build another Casino, another posh hotel...whilst his town is dying on it's feet and his people get angrier and angrier...
The Mayor and I exchanged many emails, but trust me, he thinks he's the beesknees...and doesn't give a fig that so many folks here loathe him for what he's done..
Anyway, I digress...
There are many disabled people down here, and I guess they're now going to be suffering even deeper, whlist those at the top toast their toesies in front of their fire, fires which they have probably lit with crisp, clean £20 notes from their winter fuel bill, so they can laugh at how much they're given when they're already rolling in bucket loads of dosh!
And as for The Daily Mail.....
Well, today their main headline was about the Royal Family getting an increase from all these cuts and tuts....and how disgusting that is, in a time of such finanacial need. inside this paper they discussed the total unfairness of the new pension age of 66, the crapness of the University fees..etc..etc......amongst many other things. In fact, they are NOT happy bunnies. So maybe there are some in here who need to read what they're actually saying, rather than cling to the old idea of 'The DAILY MAIL!!!!!!!!' as they tend to think of it.
I read a variety of papers, depending on which way the moon is glowing at night, so I don't suffer from Newspaper Prejudice as some in here do.
We should be on the streets about so many things...And how dare they raise the pension age, for who the fuck is going to employ me or pretty much anyone else at 60, let alone 66? There are no jobs. And HOW are the young to get *any* jobs if all the old folks have them...???? Talk about dividing a society up...Yeesh!