Why the hell can’t these people work? I know I can do almost everything physical that my peers do (There’s no way I will able to run a mile in under 6 minutes). That includes all the walking, lifting, jumping, running, etc.

My parents and I live off of ~$35,000 per year. They still can afford to send me to private school (That costs $10,000 per year. What can I say, the public school system sucks where I live!) and we still have more than enough money to get by. I think these people are just not budgeting their money correctly, but then again I don’t know how much more expensive things are in the UK compared to the US.

Send em to Africa! Let the Lions chew on all that fat!

Makes me feel bad for everyone that has to pay the taxes for these lazy ******’s!

150 years ago, these guys would be gladly taken to a field and left for the wild dogs!

The fact that they seem so smug about it just pisses me off!

Lets just hope none of them reproduce!

Now – I would love to just add that these people were fully able and fit to appear on the X factor, not once but twice. The whole family.

I won’t put to paper what I think these sloths of the earth should do… as it would be too nasty.

These people need to realise who and how they live their life, and appreciate every penny.

They are ridiculous.

“I’m a female of average height (5?1”)”

Uh since when is 5’1″ average height!?

Average height in the uk and the us for women is about 5 foot 4.

Even in Japan the average height is 5 foot 2

You make a lot of good points and I feel more sadness for them now than my initial response. I would venture that most of us here dont think they are evidence that welfare programs need to be cut. I think this is just a tabloid story written for sensationalism. I wonder how such information became public in the first place. “welfare family asks for more money” seems like it would be private information. There may be an agenda behind such stories but I think they can be useful as conversation starters.

My anger is directed at these specific people not welfare recipients in general. Maybe others feel differently. I do not think this family is typical of people that need disability benefits, unemployment etc. They do, however, effect the public opinion of other people that need to use the safety net that you describe.

Most people on welfare have had to swallow their pride to accept the limited benefits that they can get. The story presented is one sided so maybe this couple is not as ungrateful as they seem but based on some of the stories people have shared here I just find it hard to accept them asking for more after a eleven years of help. I can see your point about them losing self respect or feeling defeated. Im sure if the world tells you that you are a lazy jerk enough you may start to believe it. If I had a story like this written about me I would use it as motivation to show the world that I was not lazy. I dont think they need to take a grueling job just to stay off welfare but there are plenty of jobs that they can do.

I have seen many people heartbreakingly hang their heads in shame as they paid for their groceries with food stamps. My heart always goes out to them as I feel like they sought out public assistance as a last resort. If it were not for stories like this, maybe others would not have to hang their heads thinking that everyone was judging them to be lazy and ungrateful.

As for their weight I dont care. Hell, gain as much weight as you like it’s your body. I wouldnt want anyone telling me what to eat or how to live but if I choose to eat excessively Im going to do it on my own dollar.

Sheesh Im a long-winded airbag :/ I like chatting with the Neatorama crowd though

On a lighter note this reminded me of The Simpsons episode where Homer choose to eat himself into disability so that he could get paid to work from home.

I knew one of these “I’m fat because of my genes” people. She was adopted so the excuse held up until a friend saw her eating a BOWL OF COUNTRY CROCK margarine like it was ice cream! Last I heard she was having to go through doors sideways.

I think just about everyone has probably said what I wanted to say.

I’ve always wondered why the foodstamp(U.S. example) program hasn’t tailored themselves after the WIC (Women, Infants, Children) program. WIC distributes a strict list of foodstuffs that can be purchased as to fit the needs of the participant. Meaning, they can only buy what’s made available to them.

If you are under the care of your local government(receiving foodstamps, etc), they should be able to institute some control over what you do with the aid they provide.

Poor Diet = Illness and Obesity
Illness and Obesity = Continued Health Care Cost
Continued Health Care Cost = Inflated Insurance
Inflated Insurance = Rise In Cost
Rise In Cost = Problems For The Taxpayer

Domino effect.

You want to be able to empower people to get back into the workforce. Self-sufficency.

That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of places to get cheap veg, but farmers’ markets don’t come close.

What they should really have is an allotment – fruit and veg for very little outlay, and lots of exercise as well.

Oh, wait, never mind. In order to get on welfare in the states you have to be a crack head too.

They don’t have farmers’ markets in the UK to get cheap veggies?

I use the term “lazy” very conservatively, as I know a lot of people have genuine issues, but I have to say that these folks really fit the word.

You guys are LAZY. Go out for a walk! Sweat a little. A LITTLE. Huff and puff some. Feel strained! That’s the point of exercise! Change your fatty food laden eating habits just a little.

These types of stories always come up in a recession to help bolster conservative arguments that people on welfare are fat, lazy, ungrateful, swindling the gov’t, etc. It’s a huge myth akin to the US “welfare mom” who is tricking the gov’t into cash she “didn’t earn”. The truth is that the safety net most people have available to them IS small and limited, and in order to get it they have to roll over and become as helpless and dependent on the gov’t as possible. It’s not perfect, but using these types of examples to somehow prove that welfare programs should be cut is ridiculous.

Anyway, they are giving back to the community: they can use their bathroom as a stress-test for the local sewer system.

Once upon a time I had a very lazy friend, very smart but fat and lazy. His laziness got him fired from every job he ever had. He gave up, now he’s on welfare and lives with his mom who supports his video game habit. The fat and lazy seem to have a sense of entitlement rivaled by no-one. As a chubby guy myself, it irritates me to no end…

Nor are we scrounging – we saved too much while we were working to qualify for most benefits.

Or lose weight

I lived all spring, summer, and fall one year on almost nothing but oats, bulgar, and rice. I was very lean, and very healthy and it cost me almost nothing.

There is no reason not to be working due to being fat.

The parents I am thinking of here as they’ve been on the scrounge for over a decade, while the daughters were 8 and 10 when this all started so are just a pair of big lasses nothing more.

It’s the shamelessness with which they scrounge that gets me, their weight is not an issue it is a feeble excuse not a reason.

All of this must be viewed with one very important point in mind.

IT IS THE DAILY TELEGRAPH.

I am laughing because the usual suspects that like to bash Americans every time there is a story about food or fat have nothing to say.

Oh, and JonnyCat…I didn’t think there were any real Nietzschians left in the world. Here’s to enlightened self-interest !

I mean, unless you are too fat to walk, I don’t see a problem. Even if your diet isn’t that great, the most important thing for weight loss is exercise. (and lipo-suction)