Housing benefit rise inline with rent rise?

divastrop

I also don't understand this affording children stuff. Do upper/middle class people buy their children?

Oldernotwiser

divastrop wrote: »

The only 100% reliable form of contraception is abstinence as far as I'm aware.
Lifestyle choice? That also sounds like having children is the same as choosing a car or deciding to live in a certain area.

What greater lifestyle choice can there be than when a couple choose to be childfree or to have one child or to have half a dozen? This is a choice that will make a difference to every aspect of their lives, in the way that choosing a car will not.

Deepmistrust

divastrop wrote: »

I also don't understand this affording children stuff. Do upper/middle class people buy their children?

Seemingly some of them do

I totally agree, I will never understand the pseudo-snobbery of 'affording to have children'. Affording to, is all relative anyway. The same idiots that say that, are probably the same idiots to happily hand over half their expendible income in interest payments to their banks by way off mortgage interest or cc interest. Yes, let's give the banks our money and sterilise ourselves!

Oldernotwiser

Deepmistrust wrote: »

There is actually.

They are (a) often paying rents equivilant to a mortgage of 10x their annual salary anyway.
(b) they often only have shorthold tenancies of 6 months. Did your parents have to move every six months with young children? I did, when I rented privately.
(c) did they have a sense of security in their 6 month tenancy, to enable a secure environment to raise children?

There are 2,000,000 more bedrooms in this country, than people. Why on earth are you supporting a system that ensures the poorest of people do not have access to affordable housing, in favour of landlord and corporate profit?

I am a great believer in building more social housing and think that this would be the way to work our society out of the recession. However, until that happens, people must make their decisions based upon their individual situation and taking responsibility for their actions.

Wee_Willy_Harris

divastrop wrote: »

I also don't understand this affording children stuff. Do upper/middle class people buy their children?

I'm not sure about that, but it's as well for them that the poor keep having children as the upper/middle classes would soon find the option removed if they didn't

Deepmistrust

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I am a great believer in building more social housing and think that this would be the way to work our society out of the recession. However, until that happens, people must make their decisions based upon their individual situation and taking responsibility for their actions.

I agree re social housing, however, why should the current generation be forced to sterilise themselves because of the older generations mistakes?

Deepmistrust

Wee_Willy_Harris wrote: »

I'm not sure about that, but it's as well for them that the poor keep having children as the upper/middle classes would soon find the option removed if they didn't

I think the middle classes may change their minds about the working classes breeding habits, when they had to clean their own toilets, and offices, and empty their own bins, never mind make their own lunches!!

Oldernotwiser

divastrop wrote: »

I also don't understand this affording children stuff. Do upper/middle class people buy their children?

Providing for your children is not a class issue; it's what all responsible people do.

I don't understand why you two are turning this into a class issue as it's nothing of the kind. There are plenty of middle class families who have overstretched themselves by relying on tax credits and plenty of working class families who have had the sense to know that they need to rely upon themselves.

welshmoneylover

Wee_Willy_Harris wrote: »

We are a sophisticated and well developed, wealthy society. WE can afford ALL of OUR children.

Indeed, we are and indeed we can afford our children.

However, the country cannot afford handing out generous benefit payments willy nilly and I for one will welcome Cameron's cuts to benefit payments, especially to those who have kids and expect the state to pay for them instead of the parents working to pay for their own kids.

Deepmistrust

welshmoneylover wrote: »

Indeed, we are and indeed we can afford our children.

However, the country cannot afford handing out generous benefit payments willy nilly and I for one will welcome Cameron's cuts to benefit payments, especially to those who have kids and expect the state to pay for them instead of the parents working to pay for their own kids.

how do you feel about say...MP's expenses, illegal/immoral wars/Trident/bank bailouts?