On admin

Well I suppose this is where I mention that I’m relocating my money-soliciting endeavours to Ko-fi, because I think one-off donations are a better ask than ongoing patronage at Patreon. So go buy me a coffee! Please, because I’m very, very broke.

The problem with embracing unemployment, is that it often creates more admin than just having a job. An easy example is that, for some reason, British councils still haven’t quite figured out how to deal with people on Universal Credit, and so I’ve been going back and forth with my new council for months about an outstanding council tax bill that I can’t possibly afford to repay. They’ve finally conceded that I don’t owe council tax for the coming tax year, but are still chasing me for debt incurred before the application of council tax reduction, which they refuse to backdate. Well, at least they’re not utter bastards like my last local council, so hey.

There’s also the admin involved in maintaining a Universal Credit claim itself, which involves speaking with a very kindly-sounding lady on the phone every couple of weeks to explain that, no, I still haven’t found a job in this truly thriving economy, okay speak again in a couple of weeks, bye.

Where the admin was most egregious, is when I was trying to help my ex-partner claim the Personal Independence Payment a couple of years ago. See, my ex cannot and will not work outside the home. She has extreme anxiety, not to mention ongoing documented mental health issues, and at the time of her PIP application she was also still in transition and extremely dysphoric. But, because she managed to show up to the PIP assessment centre, and because she seemed slightly coherent, her claim was denied.

We then applied for a mandatory reconsideration, because everyone who actually knew her – her GP, her gender psychiatrist – knew that she wouldn’t work outside the home, nor should she be expected to. The mandatory reconsideration was also turned down, and the whole process so traumatised my ex that she opted not to take her PIP claim to tribunal, where something like 70% of the cases are decided in favour of the claimant.

But that’s how the show runs in Tory Britain nowadays – make the physical, mental, and economic cripples jump through ever-more ludicrous hoops or else risk penury and starvation.

Well, we haven’t used a food bank since moving, so small mercies.

Speaking of food banks, I’m hungry! Ha-ha!

Seriously though, I have no decent way to end this heavily-edited and sanitised blog post about poverty admin, so instead I’m just going to fuck off and make breakfast.