Benefit penalty shows empty heart of Cameron’s Big Society

With reference to JW Buckley’s comment (Yorkshire Post, March 4) “if you are out of work, you are employed by the State to work for the community”, this is not true.

If JW Buckley tries to work for his community while claiming benefits, he will lose his benefits.

If JW Buckley is in a position to work for the State for nothing then good luck (if bad luck for those people who would like to be paid for working for the State), but this argument illustrates what is at the empty heart of David Cameron’s Big Society: the Government does not make it possible to live the Big Society.

If people who already work for nothing (and they definitely are not employed by the State) were to receive, for example, a tax allowance for their voluntary contribution to society, then it would start to demonstrate some joined-up thinking.

Unfortunately, the Government is not interested in Big Ideas; it is intent on breaking up our welfare society and the economic climate is perfect cover for its purposes.

From: Trevor Mumford, St Giles Close, Thirsk.

We should not be surprised at the damage that David Cameron and George Osborne are inflicting upon our country and in particular, the most disadvantaged in our society.

During their time at Oxford, both were members of the Bullingdon Club, a club which allowed intellectually challenged super-rich toffs to indulge in excessive drinking.

The only problem is that rectifying the damage to the country being caused by these two clowns and their Cabinet chums may well be beyond the wallets of even their super-rich relatives to rectify.

From: David Treacher, Nelson Road, Hull.

THE TUC is organising a march and rally in London on March 26 in which they expect many people from all over Britain to attend to show their contempt for this Government’s policies of cuts in services and jobs.

Many people from the North of England and the North East would like to attend to support this cause but it is a long way to travel and there could be a cost.

May I suggest that in the future a similar event be organised in a city in the North such as Manchester, Leeds or York to name a few?

From: JG Bottomley, Western Road, Huddersfield.

IN your report on local authority funding (Yorkshire Post, March 5), you state that council tax bills will be frozen across Yorkshire.

Technically true – but here in Kirklees the council have seen fit to cancel a concession that was made some years ago whereby those over 65 received a reduction in the tax of three per cent. So those over 65, some in many cases least able to afford it, will, in fact, see their payments increase by three per cent.

Not quite a freeze, is it?