Rejected petition Our benefits don't work.

‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights’ (UN-UDHR). In what society does that exist? Not ours. An individual working 40 hours a week on minimum wage, after tax will take home almost £10,500; they then pay their mortgage/rent, bills, car maintenance, and put food on the table. What do they have left to live on? Not survive, live. The current benefits system encourages people not to work, have no stress about paying bills and enables them to smoke and drink in the pub at three in the afternoon; why would they want to work? It pays not to! We need to reform benefits; do not hand out houses to teenage mothers as that is their parents’ responsibility. Instead of handing out money, provide tokens that can be spent on food, appliances and other basic necessities but not on superfluous items such as Sky TV, alcohol or cigarettes. These need to be worked for. There is nothing wrong with a benefits system to help those in need; there is a problem with ours.