Welfare Reform

Depth_Charge

Hi

Gritty article from the Guardian on the stress and struggle with the bedroom tax -

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/nov/27/bedroom-tax-benefits-claimants-smaller-homes

DC

fatbelly

Withdrawal of council tax support leads to 30% increase in court proceedings

Looks like some LAs are 80%+ increases, like Torbay/Plymouth, and some haven't responded, like Cornwall.

Torbay is being particularly squeezed - there is a public meeting on the cuts tonight which includes a possible 50% reduction in CAB funding. Other proposed cuts are to sheltered housing, libraries, learning difficulties support work, tourism grants, road maintenance and drug/alcohol support organisations

John1993_2

Growurown wrote: »

There's plenty of other ways to reduce it without taking it from the poor and sick.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/nov/23/iain-duncan-smith-wrag-benefit-cuts

Benefits, by their very design, tend to be paid mainly to the poor and sick, so reducing the bill significantly will almost by definition mean that these people end up with less. That is not reason enough, in and of itself, to say that tehy are wrong.

Your emphasis is slightly reminiscent of the guardian saying that "benefit cuts disproportionaltely affect women", instead of the equally accurate "benefits currently mainly benefit women".

Growurown

John1993 wrote: »

Benefits, by their very design, tend to be paid mainly to the poor and sick, so reducing the bill significantly will almost by definition mean that these people end up with less. That is not reason enough, in and of itself, to say that tehy are wrong.

Your emphasis is slightly reminiscent of the guardian saying that "benefit cuts disproportionaltely affect women", instead of the equally accurate "benefits currently mainly benefit women".

My emphasis is that there are plenty of other means to reduce the tax burden which you referred to in your previous post. How about tax avoidance and evasion for a start?

I can understand that to make the jobless poorer, may be a means of social engineering by the government to force them into work, but how can you justify making the sick poorer? It's not as though individually they get that much in benefits and should we (in what I hope is a caring and civilised society) be penalising the sick for something they can't help?

John1993_2

Growurown wrote: »

but how can you justify making the sick poorer?

Well, you could justify it by having a look at the levels of benefits and saying "this group seems to be getting a disproportionately high amount, relative to other benefit levels."

You seem to be suggesting that whatever the current levels are, they are necessarily too low, (or just right), and that there can never be the case that they are too high.

Growurown

John1993 wrote: »

Well, you could justify it by having a look at the levels of benefits and saying "this group seems to be getting a disproportionately high amount, relative to other benefit levels."

You seem to be suggesting that whatever the current levels are, they are necessarily too low, (or just right), and that there can never be the case that they are too high.

I don't think there is ever any justification to make the sick so poor they can't afford to heat their homes or eat properly.

Depth_Charge

Hi


IDS in latest BBC article

Oh dear!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-25230158

Come on, look at the bedroom tax again, stop the misery and debt with this, KICK IT OUT!

My take

fatbelly

How many times recently did he say it was 'on time' and 'in budget'?

Politician-speak for 'its going to be late and over budget'

Depth_Charge

fatbelly wrote: »

How many times recently did he say it was 'on time' and 'in budget'?

Politician-speak for 'its going to be late and over budget'

Hi

Yeah! just how many times?

The timing of the announcement just says it all for me

Not surprised though, it had to come really, too big a change timescale wise and you don't need me to tell you the rest.

They should bite the bullet, hide somewhere for a while and get rid of the bedroom tax

My take

DC

Growurown

Depth_Charge wrote: »

They should bite the bullet, hide somewhere for a while and get rid of the bedroom tax

Absolutely agree.