Channel 4 and Channel 5 have been obsessed with Benefits Porn for a while now, Benefits Street, my 40 benefit children and all the other rubbish.

But I have just seen an advert for a new low - Benefits pets!! They have actually gone to the effort of making a programme purely dedicated to showing people on benefits who have the audacity to have a dog, Cat or Snakes etc.

They really are scraping the barrel now.

I don't understand why people actually willingly go on these shows - OK Channel 4 treats them fairly well, but the narration on just about every channel 5 is so downright nasty, and sneering, I just cant believe people continue to go on them, unless they were all filmed before any have been broadcast.

It is almost literally stuff like "Jane is off for a haircut today, paid for by the blood, sweat and tears of hardworking taxpayers, but Jane is OK, she can sit on her fat ass all day on benefits" And they have to point out the most obscure parts of their lifestyle and ram down our throats that benefits are paying for it, in case we didn't realise from the title of the programme, and the 88 other mentions of the word Benefits to that point.

I would like to see Channel 4 (from the evidence so far, C5 is incapable of seeing beyond "scroungers") do a couple of shows on the working poor, on the people working minimum wage who also have to rely on benefits to top up, as their employers arent prepared to pay a decent wage.

But then, I would like to see HMRC or whomever pubish a yearly list of all the companies, at least the national/franchised ones who only pay minimum wage, and thus the corporate coffers are shored up by taxpayers benefits - stuff like working tax credit is not a benefit to the individual, it is very much a benefit for already wealthy shareholders and CEO's.

Don't worry because next year all these middle class sponger turkeys on WTC and CTC who look down on the poor will regret voting for Christmas.

Don't worry because next year all these middle class sponger turkeys on WTC and CTC who look down on the poor will regret voting for Christmas.

I don't understand why people actually willingly go on these shows

They have to get their 15 minutes of fame somehow...

Next advert for Chan 4?

Is your pooch on the scrounge? is your feline a skiver? Is your budgie taking the hard working person for a ride? Then call channel 4, you know they love this!

Next possible titles for Channel 5, My big fat Benefits Xmas; Benidorm on Benefits; Benefit Bikers;

TV should broadcast the reality of the benefit system - where some claimants score zero points during their health assessment and are forced to start looking for employment because they are told they will no longer be paid in respect of their illness.

Claimants score zero points based upon a silly little interview that lasts for 10? 20? 30? minutes? The interview is undertaken by a nurse or a doctor.

This interview undermines the claimants own GP who has declared the claimant unfit for work.

The most vulnerable in society such as people with mental health problems are told they are fit for work when they are not fit for work.

I question the ethics of the medical professionals interviewing claimants. The doctors or nurses interviewing have a duty of care to their patient. Far too many people have died as a result of being declared fit for work when they are not fit for work.

I claimed benefits in 1993? for a few weeks and remember I had to jump through hurdles for those few weeks. The system has become a lot worse since 1993 and that is shown by the number of deaths of people who were declared fit for work.

There are benefits scroungers, there are genuine people and then there are genuine and vulnerable people.

For the benefit system to show a complete disregard of the vulnerable people is abysmal and unforgivable.

Apologies for rant! This makes me very angry as I see vulnerable people being demonised and told that they are fit for work. GPs all over the country are being undermined by some silly little DWP tick box exercise interview. Claimants are dying because the system is unjust.

I got zero points on a recent assessment, despite having an obvious period of sickness prior to the interview and a very obvious right sided weakness - I should have had at least 4 points for living in sheltered adapted accommodation!

Channels 4 and 5 need to get of their ultra right wing stance on benefits and look more to the middle road.

I got zero points on a recent assessment, despite having an obvious period of sickness prior to the interview and a very obvious right sided weakness - I should have had at least 4 points for living in sheltered adapted accommodation!

 

Channels 4 and 5 need to get of their ultra right wing stance on benefits and look more to the middle road. Most Definitely

Work is a great therapy so long as someone is actually fit enough to do some work. Others who fall through the cracks patently unfit, but some jumped up Professional decides they are fit after a chat deserve better.

They are airing what the watching public want.

Sadly more a comment on the state of the nation than the TV stations that are catering for what that nations wants to watch.

Notice they avoid the real crisis in benefits; the Working Poor on pittance pay with Tesco, Asda, Poundworld etc on part time and Zero Hour contracts. They need Tax Credits, and latterly Universal Credit to survive. I know one disabled worker on part time hours with caring responsibilities, being harrasssed by Scope (who act as a back to work conduit for disabled for DWP) to chuck in the job that pays them more for two days and 24 hours than 4.5 at Asda, to take a job that pays less for double the hours over 5 6 hour shifts totally ignoring the caring responsibilities.

Interesting that the care industry is now throwing 'care will become unaffordable and we won't be able to employ as many people if we pay the carers the living wage' into the hat.

I find this kind of program disturbing TBH, it creates the fiction of a them and us culture, which throughout history has preceded some of the worst atrocities .

There but for the grace of god go I in my opinion.