I will be the first to admit that I am not the most keen follower of the nation's politics, however every now and then something catches my attention and causes me to scream at the television. Today just happened to be one of those days. It's a rare occasion that I actually choose to watch the news over programmes that my dad would classify as "mindless crap", yet this evening I found myself engrossed in the debate about the housing benefit cap between Campbell Robb, Matthew Sinclair and John Snow on Channel 4's 7 o'clock news.
Having never really been a fan of David Cameron's I rarely agree with much the man has to say, but for once I can see that he is making sense - well at least to me.
At 21 years old I have graduated from University and have been left with a large sum of debt, something which I have accepted due to the fact its a decision I made in order to open more doors as my life goes on. Without meaning to look at "the glass half empty" it does appear to me that during no time in the near future am I going to be reaping the benefits of having a degree. Despite working in a 9-5 office position, and currently searching for a supplementry job I am still unable to afford to move out of my parents home whether it be to rent or to buy. I'm aware that I am not the only person in this situation as I watch many of my close friends, and my brother struggle to take that first step onto the property ladder even though they earn a considerably larger amount than i do. On the other hand I also have close friends who are being rewarded by the current benefits system for not having any qualifications or indeed have ever worked a day in their lives. Yet they live in houses and have lifestyles funded by the tax payer that I can currently only dream of.
To refer to my reason for writing this current post, I couldn't agree more with the things Matthew Sinclair was saying. I can't believe that the sole argument from Campbell Robb was that housing benefits should not be cut because it would mean 'real people' having to move out of their homes to less expensive accomodation. I felt a sense of pride when Matthew Sincair responded with 'commuters are real people too' highlighting that the majority of people commute to work as they live in cheaper accommodation outside of the cities.
When I graduated from University I uprooted from Birmingham to Suffolk then Suffolk to London and finally back to Suffolk in order to be able to work, and yet others seem incapable of deeming this an acceptable thing to do.
I feel let down by the previous government who have made it all too easy for people to sit on their backsides and "sponge" off the rest of society. Yet these same people (many of whom have never worked a day in their life) now have the nerve to moan about how they are going to be hard done by and don't know how they are going to cope. What right do they have to complain when everything they have is paid for by you and I? One woman featured on tonight's Channel4 news currently collects £1600 per month in benefits almost double my take home pay. I can't help but feel I am somehow being "a mug" in that I work hard and yet am gaining very little other than self worth.
In all honesty I think the Government are doing the appropriate thing and maybe the tax payers money could be spent more wisely in educating those who "sponge" off the rest of us. In no way am I going to feel guilty for those claiming getting less, and I will be seriously disgusted and let down by the Conservative Government should they back down on these current proposals.
