利物浦—凯瑟琳·维兰德于2021年加入英国的福利名单。她有情感创伤史，焦虑到不敢外出，甚至无法完成如洗澡这样的简单任务，她如是告诉政府。
LIVERPOOL—Catherine Wieland got on Britain’s welfare rolls in 2021. With a history of emotional trauma, she was too anxious to go outside or carry out simple tasks like washing herself, she told the government.
很快，她每月领到约700英镑（相当于1000美元）的残疾人福利。而事实上，她外出得相当频繁。
Soon, she was receiving about £700, or $1,000, a month in disability benefits. And, it turns out, going outside quite a bit.
利用针对残疾人的纳税人补贴项目，维兰德支付少量押金获得了一辆免费宝马汽车，她常用这辆车去理发店、在餐厅用餐、参加布赖顿骄傲游行以及游乐园。根据她诈骗定罪的法庭报告，她还飞往墨西哥坎昆，在那里她发布了自己滑索和骑四轮摩托车的照片。
Using a taxpayer-subsidized program for those with disabilities, Wieland paid a small deposit for a free BMW, which she used to regularly visit the hair salon, dine out at restaurants, attend a Brighton pride parade and visit an amusement park. According to court reports in her fraud conviction, she also flew to Cancún, Mexico, where she posted pictures of herself ziplining and riding a quad motorbike.
维兰德的案例是英国新现实的一个极端例子：残疾救济不再仅限于最需要的人群；随着工资停滞和物价上涨，它已成为大量人口的经济依靠。
Wieland’s case is an extreme example of a new reality in the U.K.: Disability payouts are no longer just for those most in need; they have become a financial crutch for a large swath of the population as wages stagnate and prices rise.