Scrounger Danger!

It's becoming something of a dirty word; scrounger: countless times it's reared its head in discussions over the country's economy, and so often in tones of anger. So often it's the voice of the moderate, turned vexed by the thought of someone getting something they're not entitled to, while they themselves are losing out (so hungry and emaciated, so homeless and destitute, with bleeding gums no doubt).




It seems to be the moderate position to take, at least within my small bubble. No doubt it's vaguely representative of a larger portion of society, and even if it's not and anything I have to say on the matter only registers with one person, it would be worth it.

It cannot be more plainly stated: any economic loss caused by immigration benefits and the so-called benefit 'scrounger' is but a drop in the ocean compared to the amount of money the UK is losing through lobbyist, corporate cuts and government waste. The fact that the moderate man-on-the-street gets so worked up over someone benefitting a little too much from the welfare system, rather than staging protests against the corporate lobbying of our government in favour of beneficial cuts to tax and advantageous loop-holes, just shows what a good job the government, and the mainstream media, is doing of deflecting these issues.

There's yet another counter-argument too; what would these people have be done? Clamp down with tighter restrictions on welfare and you risk impoverishing those who are truly in need, namely children and the vulnerable, all for the sake of appeasement because a minority of people either take advantage, or need lessons in money-management (and honestly,if you have a heavy-reliance on welfare, then there are probably underlying factors). Having worked within Cardiff Council's Fraud Department; I've seen first-hand what people try and get away with - bottom-line, there are systems in place to investigate dodgy claims, and claimant after claimant, while I was there, had their day in the interrogation room.

But I say it again; this revenue is but a drop in the ocean compared to the millions lost through overseas tax havens, waging expensive wars, bailing out bankers (but not the steelworks!), and investing heavily in Trident instead of committing to a course of action that would see us lead by example and reduce the nuclear arsenal. There's even a solid target for the anger - hello Tories, hello Blairites - but hey, everyone's favourite show, Benefit Britain is on, and there's something about some mother having her 12th child on the front page of the newspaper to read. It's no wonder where the anger is targeted, really.