Nice people thread part 7 - a thread in its prime

Spirit_2

PasturesNew wrote: »

Thinking of michaels.

Well said.

Generali wrote: »

So what's the point in working for the NMW if you aren't realistically going to get a promotion?

In Aus we don't have a housing benefit system so you can't really afford to live in the big cities on the dole (pension we call it) forever as the total sum isn't enough. There are a few towns up the coast a bit where young surfers go to live for a few years because the surf is good and the rent is cheap so they can afford to live of the dole there.QUOTE]

I do not believe that welfare benefits should be a lifestyle choice for anyone. I am however nervous about driving the genuinely needy away from their longstanding communities because of high housing costs as that is likely to add to the problems of the vulnerable and create 'ghettos'. I don't know the answer though.

BertieUK wrote: »

, my OH and I are having to move as swiftly as Tasha because of the side effects of a lot of 'flatulence'

Is that you or OH with this?

Not the day to be showing prospective purchasers around then. Best bake bread and brew fresh coffee.

silvercar

michaels wrote: »

Thanks everyone, latest update from last ight is that we are going to need lots more thoughts of the coming week with next Thursday also being a big day.

Back to benefits (I blame MsK for bringing us on topic), I can't help thinking the reason it all goes so wrong in terms of wages/benefits is the high cost of housing. If this wa because houses were intrinsically expensive then there would be no issue but in fact hosing is only expensive because supply is so restricted, if all agricultural land could be built on house prices and rental costs would be much more sensible and as a country I can't help thinking our lifestyles would be much closer to similar income countries like the US, Canada and Australia.

Of course we can't even get from where we are now to where we should be because the economy could not support the adjustment that a realignment of house prices and incomes would cause.

Housing is not so expensive in some areas. If people aren't working and have no intention of working they could live in cheap areas. Also I'm sure that market forces would force living costs down in areas heavily populated in cheap areas.

My sons tell me that there are cheap areas of Manchester where you can get a cheap meal take away cheaper than buying the ingredients.

michaels

:mad: Sky have purchased O2/BE broadband so no doubt it will move from being highly rated to being carp like Sky - plus I will no doubt lose my £5 month discount for being an O2 mobile subscriber which currently means I pay 4.75 a month for uncapped, un-traffic shaped internet access :mad:

Generali

Spirit wrote: »

I do not believe that welfare benefits should be a lifestyle choice for anyone. I am however nervous about driving the genuinely needy away from their longstanding communities because of high housing costs as that is likely to add to the problems of the vulnerable and create 'ghettos'. I don't know the answer though.

I agree they shouldn't be a lifestyle choice and also agree that I don't want people to starve.

TBH I think the Aussie way works quite well: you can live for a bit on benefits but (unless you move to the cheaper places) you need to get a job pr spend your savings.

bugslet

michaels wrote: »

Thanks everyone, latest update from last ight is that we are going to need lots more thoughts of the coming week with next Thursday also being a big day.
.

More finger crossing scheduled!

silvercar wrote: »

Housing is not so expensive in some areas. If people aren't working and have no intention of working they could live in cheap areas. Also I'm sure that market forces would force living costs down in areas heavily populated in cheap areas.

My sons tell me that there are cheap areas of Manchester where you can get a cheap meal take away cheaper than buying the ingredients.

I live in Cheshire, but in a not so good town, nice terrace will go for around £70k, new build one bed flat circa £60k. I think they are already full of people whose lifestyle choice is to have a child to secure a flat etc.

I wouldn't even like to think what was in those meals!

lostinrates

If you take a way the cost of building by building on everywhere our other stuff comes from we are likely to be subject to higher costs of those things......and in so,e cases I think those costs might become almost punitive.

lostinrates

No eggs, still feeling pretty good. A few other changes too mind you....so will have to be based on reintroduction.

In cooking supper though I have just experienced what I think people who don't like garlic smell when they smell garlic. Why am I going off so much good stuff???


PN, I will look out your email address later, I know I still have it so we can arrange a date.

LydiaJ

michaels wrote: »

Thanks everyone, latest update from last ight is that we are going to need lots more thoughts of the coming week with next Thursday also being a big day.

Sorry to hear that, michaels. Will continue praying as requested.

PasturesNew wrote: »

I doubt it. Although it isn't easy to work out actual figures because the calculators get too complex. On looking in the past, I think it was about £5/week tops. Single people are back of the queue for hand outs.

I think the other thing is that singles don't tend to know/think there's anything in it for them so never find out.

It's not because you're single, it's because you're child-free, under 60, and not disabled. But even so, a child-free single person earning NMW should get about £35ish a week, as long as they were working more than 30hours/week. (If they work less than 30 hrs/wk they don't qualify for WTC at all.) That's if they can be bothered to fill in all the forms to claim it, and it will go down according to a taper for those working earning more than 30 hrs/wk @NMW.

CKhalvashi

Generali wrote: »

So about a 34-35 hour week at the minimum wage, pretty much full time. And if you lived in a more expensive part of the world presumably you would get more housing benefit. And there are other little things that we aren't counting like free prescriptions, paying concessionary prices at the cinema, on the bus etc.

So what's the point in working for the NMW if you aren't realistically going to get a promotion?

This is the exact point; there's little point to it.

Forgive me if I'm wrong Pastures, aren't you in a relatively cheap part of the country?

One bedroom rate up here is £126 a week, but going into certain parts of London can be moving on for £200 a week:eek:. This is the equivalent to 2.5 days a week, without the person in question having to lift a finger.

In Aus we don't have a housing benefit system so you can't really afford to live in the big cities on the dole (pension we call it) forever as the total sum isn't enough. There are a few towns up the coast a bit where young surfers go to live for a few years because the surf is good and the rent is cheap so they can afford to live of the dole there. Oh and marijuana grows very well in the climate in and north of Sydney which keeps their cost of living down too (not a judgement, merely an observation of many young surfer dole bludgers' lifestyle choices as IMHO pot should be legal).

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

The best way to have it would be to implement a similar system, which as far as I can see, would give more of an incentive to work (say, 20 hours at NMW total).

Many employers down these parts will give a minimum of £18kp/a (which is our starting point) to someone with a years experience on a basic level, meaning that to stay down these parts, there's huge incentive to work.

I can't see it happening for the forseeable, though.

In other news, I've ordered my new car today, and I get it on September 1st

CK

GDB2222

michaels wrote: »

:mad: Sky have purchased O2/BE broadband so no doubt it will move from being highly rated to being carp like Sky - plus I will no doubt lose my £5 month discount for being an O2 mobile subscriber which currently means I pay 4.75 a month for uncapped, un-traffic shaped internet access :mad:

Quite. I've been happy with BE for one of our ADSL connections (posh alert!)**, so where should I move to?



** Absolutely dependent on internet for work, so we have two connections. So far, they haven't both gone down at the same time.