Quote Originally Posted by xsnaggle View Post
I know a few, and when I lived in the N East I knew even more, but when ever you want to avoid something you arenot comfortable with you always say 'back it up' or that you don't have that experience. If you don't know anyone who takes the piss out of the welfare system you must be in a very small minority, thats all I can say.
It's an honest question, what would you do about such a situation. Saying it's not your experience is just avoiding what might be an unpalatable answer
I have spent a good % of my life working at a carpenter for local councils / housing associations, I have met alot of people who play the system, it used to get me down in my younger years, i used to work with blokes who were genuinely struggling with money, yet they were working 45 hours a week ( inc a Saturday morning )

The time i realised the system wasnt perfect was in 1999, the launch day of the sega dreamcast, I was working on the Billy Banks in penarth for a few weeks doing refurbs ( despite rumours of the council going to move everyone out and redevelop the site ) my main workmate ( we worked from the same van ) was married with a young boy, interest rates were high and he was hurting, we had arranged to fit a new kitchen on one of the flats and arrived at 8.30 and knocked on the door, the guy had been up all night playing on the new sega dreamcast, he had got it at midnight and had played on it all night, got the console and 6 launch games, was playing it on a fairly big flat screen TV, the guy was decent enough when we got chatting, he had never worked a stitch in his life, he wasnt a drug dealer or a burglar, he just played the system, had a 2 kids ( who shared a room ), all the while my mate was caught in neg equity and couldnt sell his house, but couldnt afford his house, i would often pay for breakfast a few time a week, he would then pay me what he owed on Friday and then the whole process would start again

I found it easier when I realised the system was broken at times, but if i worked hard and got my head down, I would enjoy the rewards, I guess thats why i am proud of what Ive achieved in life ( The haters on here see it as bragging or flash, but its not, its just pride )