Ewetube Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Channel 4, Mondays 9 pm. "This documentary series reveals the reality of life on benefits, as the residents of one of Britain's most benefit-dependent streets invite cameras into their tight-knit community" "According to some politicians and media coverage, benefits are an easy route to a life of luxury, foreign holidays and lavish homes furnished with widescreen TVs - all at the expense of hard-working taxpayers. But as austerity continues to bite, jobs remain hard to come by and benefits are squeezed, this observational documentary series reveals the reality of life on benefits, as the residents of one of Britain's most benefit-dependent streets invite cameras into their tight-knit community. The series follows residents as they navigate their way through life on the bottom rung of Britain's economic ladder. Despite the challenges the residents face, the street also has a strong sense of community. This is a place where people look out for each other and where small acts of kindness can go a long way." Has anyone seen this, what do you think? Personally I think this is a highly divisive series that panders to the Mail reading public's stereotypes of people claiming benefits. Participants in the series have already said that scenes are heavily edited to tell the story the production company wants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsmini Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Saw it for the first time this week. The only ones who seem to want to work are the Romainians. Why 'White Dee' and 'Black Dee' are not looking for work is crazy. As they seem quite capable of working. As do quite a few of them in the street!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duracell Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Disappointed in the series, there's absolutely no balance to it. I thought better of Channel 4 than airing Daily Mail propaganda. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyinLiverpool Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Disappointed in the series, there's absolutely no balance to it. I thought better of Channel 4 than airing Daily Mail propaganda. You're kidding right? Channel 4 excel in exactly this kind of cheap voyeurism dressed up as sociological insight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duracell Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 You're kidding right? No, I'm young and incredibly naive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alph Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 No, I'm young and incredibly naive. You're 2/3 my ideal girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimbeard Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Daily mail propaganda eh? Well maybe, but that doesn't necessarily make it untrue. I personally know several people that have no intention of working, yet they live in relative comfort. Equally, I know people that hold down a steady job and struggle to make ends meet. Benefits are supposed to be a safety net, not a life choice. Near to where I live there are households with three generations of working age people none of whom have worked for more than a day or two at a time. I don't say that it is easy to find work, I know that it isn't, but that's no excuse not to try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrivateDerby Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Used to stay a mates on Wilmot Drive in Knutton... https://maps.gstatic.com/m/streetview/?panoid=Nfl1eSC3oMKaDDZPHtamcQ&cbp=0,122.8557219503161,,0,0 The doorbell was going every half hour with residents asking if you wanted anything from town or any special orders, amphetamine, your car washing, for their ball back, to borrow some milk or a fight for looking at their brother funny earlier. Funerals turned into fierce fighting, bbq's turned into full on street brawls and they used to smash your windows if you were working and 'looked down on them' Only difference, it was all white British! Anyone with a tan moved out in a fortnight could guess why from street view. Sounds just like benefits street, haven't watched it yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrivateDerby Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Looking at that street view, believe it or not, they've done it up since I last went. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uttoxram75 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Programmes like this are voyeurism at its worst but they basically follow the papers agenda of vilifying the poor. Benefit cuts can easily be justified if the perception is people like this are the only ones affected. The truth is that most benefit cuts will hurt the working poor. Getting a job is no longer a way of getting out of the poverty trap. The cost of housing (buying or renting), utility bills, food, council tax, if you are earning £6.31 an hour on minimum wage, make life very harsh for many. We all know idle, feckless ***** who milk the system, but lets not use them to batter the working poor. The government should be targeting these areas for creating jobs, tax incentives for small businesses, regeneration, local public transport, infrastructure, affordable house building, etc, etc. Create reasonable jobs for people then hammer their benefits if they don't take them. Successive governments have deliberately allowed this benefit culture to fester by pandering to the multi-national corporations and money markets rather than sorting out the problems closer to home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrivateDerby Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 It's a struggle isn't it, especially when you hit 16 and you look at your mam and dad who have lived it for so long. What the fook are you going to do in a Midland/Northern Town or City when manual jobs are going and you're not bright enough to get a job in an office? I'm so glad I never got caught up in it all, somehow managed to get a re-pointing job at 15, saved like mad for a car and test and then everything opened up for me. Think that's half the battle, which is bloody wrong... and near impossible for most. Don't envy that life one little bit and i'd take some of the lads involved in it all (shoplifting, messing about, drugs and dossing) over some bellends I know any day, most have got massive hearts, are very loyal and extremely kind. Well, when they're not nicking your bike and you see it a few weeks later sprayed black with a bag on the seat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
froggg Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Programmes like this are voyeurism at its worst but they basically follow the papers agenda of vilifying the poor. Benefit cuts can easily be justified if the perception is people like this are the only ones affected. The truth is that most benefit cuts will hurt the working poor. Getting a job is no longer a way of getting out of the poverty trap. The cost of housing (buying or renting), utility bills, food, council tax, if you are earning £6.31 an hour on minimum wage, make life very harsh for many. We all know idle, feckless ***** who milk the system, but lets not use them to batter the working poor. The government should be targeting these areas for creating jobs, tax incentives for small businesses, regeneration, local public transport, infrastructure, affordable house building, etc, etc. Create reasonable jobs for people then hammer their benefits if they don't take them. Successive governments have deliberately allowed this benefit culture to fester by pandering to the multi-national corporations and money markets rather than sorting out the problems closer to home. Good points but I'd go a stage further, Forty hours work a week or a training scheme to get your benefits That'll get the idle thinking about a job that pays more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewetube Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 I really fear for the future; the young and the poor are becoming increasingly disenfranchised and demoralised. How much longer will decent families, either working or not, struggle with rising costs and stagnating incomes? I see a two tier society developing where the "haves" vote for the government they want and the "have-nots" totally mistrust government and abstain. This leads to the government ruling the country for the benefit of the "haves" and to the detriment of the "have-nots". I can only see this leading to a downward spiral of increasing civil unrest, conflict and lawlessness. So far the government's (and Bank of England's) measures to boost the economy seem to have disproportionately boosted the banking sector's fortunes. An example is the Bank of England's low base lending rate: Has this been passed on through the banks to the people of England to boost the economy? A small part of it may have with a small decrease in the APR. on variable rate mortgages, but the majority of it has been used by the banks to increase their profits. I think the way we are heading, revolution is just over the horizon and i doubt it will be pretty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrivateDerby Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Feel exactly the same Ewe, I see Theresa has let Boris buy water cannons ready for this summer and beyond... It's coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rams71 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I'd give them vouchers for bread,milk,nappies etc Then they couldn't spend the money on fags,booze,scratch cards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyram Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Lazy people. Perfectly able to do a job but have no intentions of ever having one. They really annoy the hell out of me. Get. A. Job. You lazy, doledwelling tossers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewetube Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Lazy people. Perfectly able to do a job but have no intentions of ever having one. They really annoy the hell out of me. Get. A. Job. You lazy, doledwelling tossers. Whilst I agree there are people out there who are quite capable of doing work who choose not to, preferring to rely on state handouts. These are a small minority group (i'm sure we all know examples). The problem with this sort of program is that it propagates the feeling that everyone on benefit is the same, which is frankly a massive untruth. Most of the people on benefits are there through no fault of their own. Big industries that whole communities directly or indirectly rely on have been allowed to close by successive governments creating benefit ghettos. Investment to support our industries which could keep whole communities alive has been a big no no while massive investment in corrupt financial institutions to the benefit of very few has been order of the day. Nationalised Industries provided work for vast areas of the country; provided affordable energy for homes; put decent money in people's pockets; reduced the need for imports. These were sold off to private companies, many of which were foreign, to be raped, pillaged, asset stripped and closed as they saw fit. This put money in the governments coffers but at what price to local communities? Even large traditional private industries such as textiles has been decimated by profiteering store groups outsourcing their goods from sweatshops in third world countries. Costs being cited as the major factor, yet strangely the outsourced goods were never sold cheaper than the locally produced goods. Aside from unemployment there are people who are disabled or incapacitated. Again we've all heard the stories of people who've cheated the system. The government's reaction to The Mail's "public outcry" on this subject: hire a private company and give them a quota of people they've got to get off these enhanced benefits.This has lead to people with severe health problems being told they've got to get a job and put on job seekers' allowance. Sorry for the rant but I feel very strongly that our country is going to the dogs, manufacturing skills and expertise have been lost and our once proud manufacturing nation has been reduced to "service sector" jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
froggg Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 I only have a problem with the capable shirking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyram Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 That's who I mean, just the shirkers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewetube Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 That's who I mean, just the shirkers. That's the way I read your earlier post too, and I agree with you on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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