This story takes places in Europe, so it sounds like those social safety nets aren’t really doing shit here, as OP implied.

It takes place in the UK, which many Europeans (British and non-British) do not include when they say "Europe."

	▲	kulahan 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Imagine Chinese saying they aren’t Asian, or Brazilians saying they aren’t South American! It would be equally as hilarious and important to ignore.