“Jobless better off on sickness benefits,” scream the headlines this morning. It was inevitable that the next chapter of the sickness and disability benefits debate would move in this direction. It deserves a proper response and I’ll try to provide it in the most balanced way possible, whilst also trying to get into the detail. Let me start by saying that we’re in the middle of one of the most complex and challenging times I’ve ever seen UK society go through. Post-pandemic… high cost of living… poorer health… NHS stretched to the limit… a stuttering economy that’s not quite sure of itself in a modern world stricken by consumist and environmental/climate concerns… wealth inequality… a housing crisis… educational failure for millions… AI and technology… a lack of adequate investment (and vision) by successive Governments including a period of deep austerity… global instability… run-down high streets… millions in debt… millions of people in poverty... millions of people in arrears with rent, energy, water, council tax… councils on the brink of bankruptcy… prisons are full and failing… In short. It’s bleak. And deeply worrying for the future of UK society. You can feel it, everywhere. You know, I know it. There’s uncertainty, there’s anger, and there’s not a lot of hope. “But Lee,” I hear you ask. “What has this got to do with sickness and disability benefits?” EVERYTHING. It’s got everything to do with it. Let me explain why. You can never ever look at the social security system without understanding how society is structured. How it’s SUPPOSED to function. What those ‘unspoken’ values and rules are. Society in the UK has always been based on the idea of self-sufficiency through WORK and PENSIONS. There’s even a clue in the name of the Government department. ‘Work and Pensions’ is not just a catchy political name. It actually explains how our society is structured, how we’re supposed to look after ourselves and our families, once we become adults. So if we’re supposed to look after ourselves through work and pensions - what’s the point of our social security system? Well, it’s our societal ‘safety net.’ Life doesn’t quite work out perfectly for everyone. In fact, as humans we can be vulnerable to A LOT. Our skills and abilities vary. We have disabilities. We get sick. We get unlucky sometimes with our jobs, being made redundant or getting the sack if we don’t perform. We have to care for a loved one. We start a family. We raise kids. We might divorce or separate. Our partner might die. We reach retirement without enough retirement provision. We might suffer an industrial injury or illness. It’s pretty clear then that life doesn’t always run smooth. We need a safety net - an INCOME safety net - for people vulnerable to life’s ups & downs. That’s what our social security system provides. You see, you can’t just look at the headlines this morning without understanding the system AND how we’re supposed to look after ourselves. This is why we need to do better than just shout headlines that inflame and distract. It’s a deeply complex set of problems that requires the deepest understanding of where we’re at as a society. It’s not a new phenomenon that if a disabled or sick person gets EVERYTHING they are entitled to - like UC with the correct health element and housing costs, PIP, council tax support, a blue badge, NHS costs support etc etc… that they will have enough money to live on. It’s not even a headline really. In fact that’s what I’ve spent my entire thirty year career fighting for - as a DWP decision maker at age 19, to a nearly 50 year old Founder and CEO of IncomeMax who now has an army of kind-hearted advisers and super smart AI helping the UK’s most vulnerable people claim everything they are eligible for. That’s a GOOD THING. When someone is disabled or sick I want them to BE OK. I don’t want to see anyone living in poverty, struggling or poor. I don’t want to see anyone cold, hungry, or in debt or living a miserable life. Every single person I’ve ever helped - or that my team has helped - has been genuinely disabled or sick and in need of financial assistance. In fact, so much of my working life has been spent helping disabled and sick people challenge terrible decisions, or appeal against a system that can leave people without the help they need. Disability and sickness is a DRIVER OF POVERTY. It always has been and probably always will be. So now let’s get into the argument. “You’re better off being sick or disabled than working.” Here we meet the age old problem. The root of the ‘scroungers/skivers narrative.’ The headline grabbing, anger inducing, emotion laden narrative which pits humans against humans. “Work is supposed to pay.” “You shouldn’t be better off not working.” It’s a feeling very few people in UK society would disagree with, and one that makes total sense from a perspective of fairness, responsibility and self-sufficiency. But here’s where it gets interesting. What if BOTH viewpoints - on disabled and sick people being OK and having enough to live on - and work being enough to live on - are RIGHT? Someone working should be able to live… and so should someone with a disability or health issue. Why would we want ANY HUMAN not to be OK? Politics always takes us back here though - dividing lines and divisive rhetoric - human against human, right vs wrong, It’s both infuriating and endlessly frustrating. It’s like politicians can’t and won’t dare to look at the bigger picture. Or perhaps they do, but they don’t dare to want to admit their own failings. It doesn’t have to be like this. With love and kindness there’s a better way. But it takes bravery and courage to take this approach. It means not thinking in terms of right, left or centre. It means seeing things AS THEY ARE. And what MIGHT ACTUALLY BE POSSIBLE. We need a new vision for UK society. One grounded in reality. And LOVE. There’s room for us all as humans. There’s room for us all to thrive. To have purpose. To have enough to live on. To work, volunteer, care, study, work on ourselves, care for our health. To be OK. The first step is to agree that we all have the right to BE OK. Everything can be worked out from there.