MSE News: MPs vote to limit benefit rises to 1%

Morlock

scootw1 wrote: »

Like it or not the majority of people who sit in wetherspoons all day are on benefits.

Did you just pull that 'fact' out of your a**e?

SandraScarlett

bloolagoon wrote: »

Well considering they are reliant on benefits and posting from an Iphone etc last week, they certainly either aid the stereotype that genuine claimants fight hard to stop being stigmatised against or they have far too much disposable income don't they?

Like you I certainly don't pay a vast amount in VAT either - if I did what can I then claim to be my "tax bill"?

An iphone? Is that the all-singing-and-dancing thingy? The one that my grandchildren call a "smart" phone, and I thought that meant it looked good (:o) - Jeez!!

And there's me, wondering if I can justify replacing my 12 year old one, that keeps switching off, with a Doro for £40!

xx

clemmatis

SandraScarlett wrote: »

And there's me, wondering if I can justify replacing my 12 year old one, that keeps switching off, with a Doro for £40!

xx

You can get a TTfone for £22.

Bifforules

My gripe isnt so much job seekers, its family tax credit. I am probably old fashioned in thinking that if you have a job and want to earn more money you worked overtime. I work with guys who wont work an hour over as it could affect their family tax credit,,,everyone wants something for free, I have employed a guy and offered him a wage and car, he asked for 24,999 as any more would affect his family tax credit and he gets (he said) £500 a month...if this is true, and I dont see why he would turn down money unless it was, its a bloody joke. The middle classes seemingly fund the everybody and at some point it will result in UKIP or other extremist parties gaining ground.

bloolagoon

Bifforules wrote: »

My gripe isnt so much job seekers, its family tax credit. I am probably old fashioned in thinking that if you have a job and want to earn more money you worked overtime. I work with guys who wont work an hour over as it could affect their family tax credit,,,everyone wants something for free, I have employed a guy and offered him a wage and car, he asked for 24,999 as any more would affect his family tax credit and he gets (he said) £500 a month...if this is true, and I dont see why he would turn down money unless it was, its a bloody joke. The middle classes seemingly fund the everybody and at some point it will result in UKIP or other extremist parties gaining ground.

To be honest that is my gripe too. I have many work colleagues who won't work over time, or bank holidays because it affects their Tax Credits.

It doesn't make a good working relationship when you are the one that has to do it all. It's not really fair. Some are not like that and take the overtime no matter what but some do not.

It is not the money they are given it is the way it is administered. Surely it would be better to allow them to take the money and adjust the following year than make people refuse it. As I said it leads to a you are on benefits scenario in work places that divides people unnecessarily in my opinion.

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

Most of what I own are gifts from my kind family like my Iphone 3gs (50th Birthday pressie) and large screen TV (part of the same birthday present).
I bet if people saw my Living room and technology without any prior knowledge of me would judge me to be a scrounger etc, without actually getting to know me myself.
As for your remark Sandra Scarlett aka Benefits Basher I shall ignore your kneejerk reaction, as I do others on this site.
Lets hope for some more of that understanding kind enjoyable MSE beauty on this site instead of these kneejerk and judgmental reactions -which don't actually work unless you mean me to take a straw poll of benefits bashers to see what meets with THEIR approval and not MINE.

SandraScarlett

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver wrote: »

Most of what I own are gifts from my kind family like my Iphone 3gs (50th Birthday pressie) and large screen TV (part of the same birthday present).

Blimey, your family must be rolling in it! So actually it's not you who has spent this ridiculous amount of VAT, it's them. Are they all on benefits?

I bet if people saw my Living room and technology without any prior knowledge of me would judge me to be a scrounger etc, without actually getting to know me myself.

And why would they do that? Because of all the expensive items you possess? You've just described your living room, with all its technology, and admitted that anyone seeing it would judge you to be a scrounger.

As for your remark Sandra Scarlett aka Benefits Basher
that's what you call anyone who disagrees with you, or reminds you of the blindingly obvious.

I shall ignore your kneejerk reaction, as I do others on this site.
Lets hope for some more of that understanding kind enjoyable MSE beauty on this site instead of these kneejerk and judgmental reactions -which don't actually work unless you mean me to take a straw poll of benefits bashers to see what meets with THEIR approval and not MINE.

Look, you said you paid T-A-X, in the form of VAT, and that it was ridiculously high. Your words. I said then you must be buying ridiculously pricey items. No way was my post benefit bashing, I just stated the obvious.

You've now said that your family bought your phone and TV. Your words. So it's not you who has personally paid these ridiculously high amounts of VAT - your words sweetie, not mine.

And why would I bash those who receive benefits when I've explained I do too? And please could you use paragraphs, it would make your responses, much easier to read. Thank you.

xx

dori2o

bloolagoon wrote: »

To be honest that is my gripe too. I have many work colleagues who won't work over time, or bank holidays because it affects their Tax Credits.

It doesn't make a good working relationship when you are the one that has to do it all. It's not really fair. Some are not like that and take the overtime no matter what but some do not.

It is not the money they are given it is the way it is administered. Surely it would be better to allow them to take the money and adjust the following year than make people refuse it. As I said it leads to a you are on benefits scenario in work places that divides people unnecessarily in my opinion.

I agree with you, tax credits is nothing more than a subsidy for employers. A way to keep salaries artificially low.

The whole overtime thing though is down to people not understanding the rules properly. As long as they don't do more than £5k's worth of overtime then they do not have to notify tax credits until renewal time as the first £5k of income above your estimate is disregarded for tax credit award purposes.

HOWEVER, overtime is voluntary, nobody should be forced into doing it.

When I worked in my previous job you could do unlimited amounts of overtime, and whilst occassionally I would do it, I felt that my own private time was as important as the salary I took from work.

People who don't need or earn too much for tax credits seem to always respond to the low paid by telling them to get another job, or 2 or 3. There's only so many hours in a day and 6-8 of those are taken up by sleep.

It is also unhealthy to work every waking hour and many low paid people are working 48+ hours anyway and still not earning enough. Mental rest/recouperation is just as (if not more) important than physical rest.

Until business in this country is forced to pay a salary which enables people to live with a reasonable quality of life, without the need for state subsidy, then Tax credits will be required to ensure people can pay their basic living expenses.

People claiming tax credits are not the problem, the problem is businesses generating substantial profits and paying substantial sums in dividends and overinflated salaries to executive employees, yet paying peanuts to those who generate that revenue.

Case in point is he British Gas MD Phil Bentley who is leaving the company with a golden handshake package equivalent to more than £10M. Who the hell needs £10M to live on? How many jobs could be created from that pay off? How much could the cost of Gas/Electric be cut from that one pay off? How much of an increase to the lowest earners hourly rate at BG could be provided from that £10M+?

It's very easy to blame the claimants, the majority of whom work just as hard as everyone else, and have as much right to a decent quality of life and luxuries as anyone else.

As for the guy who claims to be getting £500 a month tax credits on a salary of £25k, then either he has quite a few kids, has very high childcare costs, or he/his kids have disabilities, otherwise it simply isn't true.

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

Yeah at Phil Bentley's bonus. How many old people will die because they cannot afford to heat their homes, how many people won't eat and choose to heat their homes instead of both. Needless to say he will be a neoliberal rightwinger....

scootw1

Morlock wrote: »

Did you just pull that 'fact' out of your a**e?

Nope, just asked the staff.