As a person dependant on benefits it doesn’t get much better - 10k would be enough to put me over the threshold and stop me getting those benefits, but wouldn’t be enough to live on for longer than a few months, at which point I would have to apply for benefits again (a distressing and traumatising process that can take a year or two easily, during which time you don’t get paid).
And even if I got several times that amount, enough to put down a 15-25% deposit for a mortgage - no one will give me one because I’m on benefits. Never mind that what I already pay in rent is higher than any mortgage repayment would be, or that my income is more stable and secure than most (people lose jobs all the time, I’m guaranteed my income for life, unless, of course, I dare save some money for my future. Or, as they may, change the rules, but that’s no bigger risk than getting fired).
And this isn’t to turn my nose up at that kind of money, it is a lot and could make a huge difference to many (paying bills, buying food, covering debts), but even in those cases, it’s highly unlikely to provide a long term solution simply because it doesn’t address the core of the problem, it’s just a band-aid.
To say the system is rigged feels like an understatement, the more you dig, the worse and more intentional the keeping-the-poor-poor gets.
As a person dependant on benefits it doesn’t get much better - 10k would be enough to put me over the threshold and stop me getting those benefits, but wouldn’t be enough to live on for longer than a few months, at which point I would have to apply for benefits again (a distressing and traumatising process that can take a year or two easily, during which time you don’t get paid).
And even if I got several times that amount, enough to put down a 15-25% deposit for a mortgage - no one will give me one because I’m on benefits. Never mind that what I already pay in rent is higher than any mortgage repayment would be, or that my income is more stable and secure than most (people lose jobs all the time, I’m guaranteed my income for life, unless, of course, I dare save some money for my future. Or, as they may, change the rules, but that’s no bigger risk than getting fired).
And this isn’t to turn my nose up at that kind of money, it is a lot and could make a huge difference to many (paying bills, buying food, covering debts), but even in those cases, it’s highly unlikely to provide a long term solution simply because it doesn’t address the core of the problem, it’s just a band-aid.
To say the system is rigged feels like an understatement, the more you dig, the worse and more intentional the keeping-the-poor-poor gets.