I want to tell you a story of two Bobs. One worked hard all his life. He lived in a modest house. Provided for his wife and children.
He always paid his bills and was never in debt. When he retired, he paid off his mortgage and continued to save hard for his old age.
Then illness struck and his wife and he were forced to move into a nursing home. He was told he would have to sell his house and give up all his savings to the authorities to pay for the home he and his wife had to live in.
Then there was the other Bob. He was a waster. He spent most of his life out of work and down the pub. He smoked and drank.
Somehow he managed to run a very nice car and had a great television.
But he was okay because he was claiming all sorts of sickness benefits.
When he went into a home, his bill was picked up by the authorities. He even managed to get a taxi from the home to his old pub twice a week.
So I wasn’t surprised this week when the Government announced that they are stamping down on benefit scroungers and they would all have to undergo a new medical test as part of the Coalition welfare reforms.
Guess what happened?
Almost 900,000 have dropped their claims to receive taxpayer-funded benefits rather than undergo the new test.
The new cap for benefit allowance is now £26,000 a year – which seems pretty good to me. It’s a lot more than many people in full-time work are paid.
When I was growing up, my father lost his job and my sister and brother and I had to leave school and get jobs.
I learned a valuable lesson in life that you have to work hard for what you get in life and not expect hand-outs from the state.
For too many years, benefit scroungers have been living off the state.
You and me – who are still working – are funding the scroungers. Hopefully all that is about to change. And not before time.
I nearly choked on my cornflakes this morning when I read police elsewhere in the country are now giving bouquets of flowers to any victims of burglaries and muggings if the police are unlikely to solve the crime. The flowers are supposed to “soften the blow”. I personally would prefer the police put a bit more effort into solving the crime than paying out money for flowers. Last year 55,693 burglaries took place in London and only 6,793 were solved – that would mean nearly 50,000 bouquets are ordered by police in London alone!
Now there’s a business to get into!
I was amazed to read that Tory councillor Andre Gonzalez De Savage’s eight-year-old son had a playground in East Hunsbury ‘Adam’s Park’ named after him.
He claims his son, Adam, had been part of the council’s ‘planning team’.
The unauthorised sign was removed over the Easter weekend after complaints from the local community and he has been branded “arrogant and egotistical” by some fellow councillors.
Councillor Gonzalez de Savage justified his actions by saying he had contributed £3,525 towards the cost of the plot and sign.
We live in a democratic society where rules have to be followed.
Writing out a cheque is not acceptable, Councillor Gonzalez.