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Friday 4 October 2013

There is Nothing 'Fair' About This Government's Treatment of Sick and Disabled People

‘It’s about being fair’, said a Tory on Channel 4 news tonight. What does this government know about being fair?!

Is it fair that sick and disabled people are losing their independence and forced into poverty, or even a premature death, after having their benefits removed?
I find it convenient that the Department for Work and Pensions will not reveal the latest death figures for those who have died after being found ‘fit for work’. They no longer keep count apparently. What does that tell you about their approach to transparency?
Is it fair that people, including the sick, disabled and elderly, are being turfed out of their homes due to ‘Bedroom Tax’?! They promise exemptions, but very few have been put in place.
Is it fair to exploit unemployed people by forcing them to work for free on ‘workfare’ with the threat of having the only means to support themselves (their benefits) being taken away from them?!
It’s slave labour if you ask me! Get a person to work for less money than you would pay in wages. And how is that supposed to help the economy? It doesn’t! The only people it helps are employers and big business to get free labour and cut their wage bills, and it takes paid jobs away from those looking for work.
How is taking housing benefit away for people under twenty-five fair?! It will only lead to more homelessness and hardship. A situation which has are already seeing in towns and cities across the country.
Subjecting ill, disabled, and vulnerable people to a Work Compatibility Assessment which has been set up to make us fail, (including those with degenerative conditions and those that won’t improve) – how is that fair!?
Victimising the poorest and most vulnerable people in society by calling them ‘scroungers’, ‘fakers’ and ‘fraudsters’ based on highly questionable figures – is that fair!?
Telling the public that benefit claimant’s get ‘something for nothing’, when in reality every single one of us pays to live in this society through taxes on things we have to buy – is that fair!?
We struggle to live every single day of our lives against pain, exhaustion and illness. None of which I would wish on my worst enemy! We are ‘strivers’ – despite what this government would have the public believe! We have to ‘strive’ for every…little…thing!
Ignoring the truth that the majority of benefit claimants have worked at some point in our lives and contributed to society – is that fair!?
No,.. it isn’t fair! None of it is fair, and it needs to stop, now!
Nobody chooses to have a disability or to be ill, and nobody deserves to be treated like this government are treating us!
We are not second class citizens! We are not scum! We are people! We deserve the same respect, compassion and consideration as anybody else! I for one am sick of being a scapegoat for the mistakes of this government, big business and bankers. Tax them, not those that can least afford it!
It’s about being fair is it?! If this is fair, I would hate to think what unfair is!
We are paying with our lives! I am sick of being judged and being made to feel like I am worthless, just because I have a disability, and on top of that, illnesses which add to what I already go through.
I want this government to show me some respect!. I want to feel like I am valued in society!
One thing is easily forgotten: Illness and disability can happen to anyone,.. at any time. This government would do well to remember that!

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