Top advice to benefits claimants reversed to prevent offence to the little darlings..

ukcarper

mulronie wrote: »

I guess you forget that working people pay for:

Dental care - £17.50-£209
Prescriptions - £7.65
Court fees/Legal services - (whatever the lawyers can get away with)

Throw kids/disability/pensionable age into the mix and the £71 figure becomes bogus too... e.g. single parent + 2 sprogs:

Income Support - £71/week
Child Benefit - £33.70/week
Child Tax Credit - £113/week
School meals - £2/day
Housing Benefit - £125/week
Council tax - £17/week

The idea that £71/week is the full extent of the state's generosity is simply a nonsense that should be put to bed.

This thread is about bedroom tax a single person would have £71 for Food, gas, electricity, clothing, transport etc. a couple would get £111.

The benefit system is a mess but single people or couples without children are not awash with money.

I think your figures show that £111 for a couple without children or £257 if you have a couple of kids not to mention extra housing benefit

ukcarper

PaulF81 wrote: »

That's 120 quid a week for a doleite couple or almost 500 a month! We get by on 200 for food and around 200 on petrol, although I suggest if you were looking for a job, you won't be commuting the distances I have to!

It's not hard, it just means making your own food and not relying on McDonald's, turkey twisters and value horse burgers. Much cheaper to cook from scratch.

No other bill Gas electricy phone TV licence etc Single person £71 a week couple £111.

PaulF81

ukcarper wrote: »

No other bill Gas electricy phone TV licence etc Single person £71 a week couple £111.

If you are long term unemployed, why do you need a tv? Gas and elec come to 120 a month.

grizzly1911

PaulF81 wrote: »

If you are long term unemployed, why do you need a tv? Gas and elec come to 120 a month.

Play games on and watch Jeremy Kyle?

Percy1983

I wouldn't go quite as extreme, but it short I would say benefits should pay for warm accommodation and food and enough for a TV license (but not the TV).

I say this as those of us who work will have a few things to keep us entertained, ie I have a few games to play, a few DVDs to watch and I own a TV, if I lost my job my current TV/games/dvds would still remain, they just wouldn't get upgraded/added to until I got another job. Meanwhile those who have never worked won't have very much until they get a job.

grizzly1911

Percy1983 wrote: »

and enough for a TV license (but not the TV).

Its only another tax so paid with one hand taken with another.

chewmylegoff

I don't care if people on benefits choose to spend their benefits on booze, cigs, sky or anything else for that matter. If we're going to give them benefits then we should leave it up to them how to spend them.

Although if they don't pay their rent then they should be evicted. Freedom of choice but deal with the consequences.

N1AK

grizzly1911 wrote: »

Can't call a benefit cut a tax apparently.

You can; though you'll just look like either a) an idiot who doesn't understand what a tax is or b) someone who has to misuse words to make their point and diminishes it in the process

I have no intention of defending the idea or how the government is intending to implement it; it is not however a tax or even easily confusable for a tax by anyone who could define a tax in a marginally accurate way; any more than I pay a 'medicine tax' when I get a prescription, or pay 'not-having-a-child tax' because I don't get child benefit.

Edit: Just to clarify I wasn't suggesting that you were an idiot or trying to mislead, just that many of those constantly trying to equate this to a tax are and most of those are the latter.

grizzly1911

N1AK wrote: »

You can; though you'll just look like either a) an idiot who doesn't understand what a tax is or b) someone who has to misuse words to make their point and diminishes it in the process

I have no intention of defending the idea or how the government is intending to implement it; it is not however a tax or even easily confusable for a tax by anyone who could define a tax in a marginally accurate way; any more than I pay a 'medicine tax' when I get a prescription, or pay 'not-having-a-child tax' because I don't get child benefit.

Edit: Just to clarify I wasn't suggesting that you were an idiot or trying to mislead, just that many of those constantly trying to equate this to a tax are and most of those are the latter.

I am sure it is called a tax by many is to echo the "poll tax" which was inflammatory to say the least.

ILW

chewmylegoff wrote: »

I don't care if people on benefits choose to spend their benefits on booze, cigs, sky or anything else for that matter. If we're going to give them benefits then we should leave it up to them how to spend them.

Although if they don't pay their rent then they should be evicted. Freedom of choice but deal with the consequences.

If they can afford Sky, fags etc - the level of benefits need reducing.