| trashleg said: my dad was a taxi driver until a few years back, and while the pay wasn't brilliant, it was enough for a family holiday every couple of years and a decent car in the driveway etc.. then his car was hit by a police car in a crash which caused nerve damage in his leg, he had to give up work. then got diabetes and all those related problems... my mum had to quit her job to look after him for a while. so, both my parents were on benefits for ages.. my dad got depression and bought himself a £1000 HD TV with his compensation money from the crash when it came through. definitely not the right choice to make, but he probably figured that it was the last time in many years he would ever have the money to buy something like that. it made him feel better at the time. whether people spend benefit on food or rubbish for themselves makes no difference to me. i used to be angry at it, but not any more. the tax i pay (when i do start paying taxes) is to cover MY costs throughout my life - NHS medical treatment, pension, etc. what a couple of people posting in this thread seem to be overlooking is the fact that those people spending their checks on crap probably paid taxes the whole time they were working too. give them a break. yeah, they probably should be squirreling that money away to ensure their survival in the future, but ultimately its up to them, right? |
Your wrong when it comes to people paying taxes the whole time, as well as the notion that the taxes you pay goes toward your own govt. expenses. They go for everyone. Also, it's of note that you don't pay taxes at all yet. Wait till you pay taxes to start commenting. You'll be surprised how much you pay for things that will never, ever, effect your life.
Furthermore, many of the people in dire straits didn't pay taxes, or greatly reduced taxes. If they were anywhere close to the poverty level, they were already getting many tax breaks and credits from the government to offset their losses. For example, if you make low wages, you usually will get (in the US) much of it back after your tax return. Some countries also use progressive taxation favoring the poor(er) which again compounds the fact that they didn't pay out.
Some cases are absolutely understandable, such as your dads. However, many times this is certainly not the case, and government ends up bankrolling bad behavior. In America, we've done that with a lot of people lately - banks, homeowners, and more. It's not a good thing for government to put money with people that can't take care of it.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
