£3,000 spent on Christmas & 'guess what - you're paying for it'

[myke]

Like many mothers, Eloise Little has been stockpiling her four children’s Christmas presents for months.
She’s had to budget, too: what with the designer clothes and expensive gadgets on their wish lists, she needs to spend at least £300 to £400 on each of them in order to meet the demands for laptops, computer games, trainers and bikes.
Then there’s all the food and drink required to see the family through the festive season.

That, she reckons, will set her back several hundred pounds, on top of the thousand pounds or so she spends on other presents and festivities over the season.
They’re the sort of figures that would surely make the average working parent stare gloomily into their Christmas eggnog - few, after all, are in a position to contemplate spending such a sum.
But then, as 27-year-old Eloise, from Penryn, Cornwall, admits, she’s not a member of your average working family.
She’s on benefits, meaning that effectively it’s your money which is paying for her children’s Christmas - Xboxes and all.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz18pQ36gML

Posting this to see what ideas and debates it brings up

[Recursion]

Bloody rediculous IMO, yet another product of our glorious (ex)Labour government.

[Cheryl]

Surely it's her decision as to what she spends her benefits on?
I know this will bring up the argument, "get the stupid ***** off benefits" but surely us spending money on her benefits now will prevent her or her children dropping into a state of disrepair, needing hospital treatment and so on, thus saving money

[Recursion]

Surely it's her decision as to what she spends her benefits on?
I know this will bring up the argument, "get the stupid ***** off benefits" but surely us spending money on her benefits now will prevent her or her children dropping into a state of disrepair, needing hospital treatment and so on, thus saving money

No, no one needs multiple laptops or gaming consoles. And is it her decision? yes. Should it be? no, if she can afford to live AND buy all these things, her benefits should be significantly reduced. It's like all the people who are on benefits yet still have iPhones and 50" LCD TVs on their wall, they should be taken off benefits too rly.

[cocaine]

As she puts it: ‘I went to the JobCentre and we worked out that if I went back to work I would actually be £10 a week worse off. I receive £21,528 in annual benefits, and I’d need to earn 30 grand a year before tax to match that

aka the unemployment trap - where people realise they're better off on benefits rather than working
i say we cut her ******* benefits, look at how smug & spoilt her children look

[AgnesIO]

Surely it's her decision as to what she spends her benefits on?
I know this will bring up the argument, "get the stupid ***** off benefits" but surely us spending money on her benefits now will prevent her or her children dropping into a state of disrepair, needing hospital treatment and so on, thus saving money

No take the stupid ***** off benefits and tell her to work

[Inseriousity.]

aka the unemployment trap - where people realise they're better off on benefits rather than working
i say we cut her ******* benefits, look at how smug & spoilt her children look

The benefit system needs reform. I think the coalition's doing this anyway so that it's a lot more beneficial to work than live on benefits. Can't really blame people for not working if you get more money doing naff all.

Although finding a job in the current climate isn't as easy as some people would like to make out.

[cocaine]

The benefit system needs reform. I think the coalition's doing this anyway so that it's a lot more beneficial to work than live on benefits. Can't really blame people for not working if you get more money doing naff all.

Although finding a job in the current climate isn't as easy as some people would like to make out.

i found a job when i had very little to no experience - whats other peoples' excuse?

[Snatter]

This whole 'EMA' and benefit system is really up the left.

People on these disability allowances are driving about in their cars and jumping out like any normal person. There's physically nothing wrong with them!

People on benefits and the like are probably more richer than those that are hard working, dedicated to their job and are actually trying to raise an income for their family.
I'm getting really sick of hearing 'Oh, s(he)'s on the sick!' when they're driving about in big fancy cars and wearing designer clothes.

This woman is rediculous. If I was that family, I would have bought one game consoles for the whole bloody lot of them. That is the only way to treat them instead of wasting my parents and the UK tax payers money.

[Catzsy]

What you haven't thought about is that she probably gets all this stuff on credit. People with poor judgment like buying all the children consoles often are up to their necks in it - ie doorstep lenders like provident. Looking at the room behind the presents perhaps she needs to sort out her priorities and my guess is that the paper paid her for the story perhaps they shouldn't encourage her.