An interesting thing circulating on Facebook about Benefits!

Brassedoff

A friend copied this to me on Facebook:

Ok, I can't keep my gob shut any longer. I'm sick to death of seeing posts on Facebook about benefit scroungers. Do you know the figures? Because if you did you might see it in another light.

Did you know that only 3% of the benefits budget goes to people seeking work? 53% is pensions and other related old age benefits, 18% is Housing Benefit (which currently goes directly to landlords) 18% is working tax credits, and the rest disabled benefits and other bits and bobs. (And by the way, the Government figures say the fraud rate for disabled benefits is 0.3%)

In fact, the majority of folks claiming housing and council tax benefit ARE IN WORK.

I could write a bloody essay on this because I deal with it everyday. Our benefits budget is not out of control. According to the OECD Britain's benefit bill per head is nowhere near as generous as half the countries in Europe. (And unemployment benefit is particularly stingy compared to most)

The vast majority of folks just want to get on but minimum wage jobs are not paying enough. (This might explain why at work we're seeing working people going to bloody food banks every week.)

This sh***y government is turning people against each other. And it's totally unwarranted. Yes, welfare needs reforming but you don't do that by kicking people out of their homes, stigmatising them so that they get spat at in the street and driving them to suicide. - these have all happened so far.

In the last two years 80% of people applying for housing benefit were all working. We can reform welfare by bringing in a living wage so that people don't have to claim benefits to get by. At the moment the welfare budget is subsidising low pay and private landlords on a grand scale.

When you see a post that puts the boot into benefit claimants, think twice before you like it because let me tell you, we are ALL only three mortgage payments away from disaster.

(If anyone wants the sources of the figures I have quoted, I will only be too happy to provide them)

I've attached a pie chart from 2011 to give you an idea. Figures will have changed a bit.

sunflower_2

couldnt have said it better myself.

:beer:

(I DO NOT AND NEVER HAVE CLAIMED ANY "BENEFITS")

rogerblack

sunflower wrote: »

couldnt have said it better myself.

:beer:

(I DO NOT AND NEVER HAVE CLAIMED ANY "BENEFITS")

None?
Working tax credit, child benefit (as a parent), childcare vouchers, stamp duty relief, NI credits for caring, ...

Brassedoff

What about MIRAS, many people who are home owners and have worked and had a mortgage before 1998 received this subsidy or benefit.

Takeaway_Addict

Brassedoff wrote: »

A friend copied this to me on Facebook:

Ok, I can't keep my gob shut any longer. I'm sick to death of seeing posts on Facebook about benefit scroungers. Do you know the figures? Because if you did you might see it in another light.

Did you know that only 3% of the benefits budget goes to people seeking work? 53% is pensions and other related old age benefits, 18% is Housing Benefit (which currently goes directly to landlords) 18% is working tax credits, and the rest disabled benefits and other bits and bobs. (And by the way, the Government figures say the fraud rate for disabled benefits is 0.3%)

In fact, the majority of folks claiming housing and council tax benefit ARE IN WORK.

I could write a bloody essay on this because I deal with it everyday. Our benefits budget is not out of control. According to the OECD Britain's benefit bill per head is nowhere near as generous as half the countries in Europe. (And unemployment benefit is particularly stingy compared to most)

The vast majority of folks just want to get on but minimum wage jobs are not paying enough. (This might explain why at work we're seeing working people going to bloody food banks every week.)

This sh***y government is turning people against each other. And it's totally unwarranted. Yes, welfare needs reforming but you don't do that by kicking people out of their homes, stigmatising them so that they get spat at in the street and driving them to suicide. - these have all happened so far.

In the last two years 80% of people applying for housing benefit were all working. We can reform welfare by bringing in a living wage so that people don't have to claim benefits to get by. At the moment the welfare budget is subsidising low pay and private landlords on a grand scale.

When you see a post that puts the boot into benefit claimants, think twice before you like it because let me tell you, we are ALL only three mortgage payments away from disaster.

(If anyone wants the sources of the figures I have quoted, I will only be too happy to provide them)

I've attached a pie chart from 2011 to give you an idea. Figures will have changed a bit.

In a capitalist world raising the NMW does nothing as the cost of living increases to match this, in fact introducing a NMW IMO has shown as being a negative thing as I would suspect the % of people under the 'living wage' is alot more now than before it was introduced as supply and demand worked on a natural basis and if people didn't like the wage they moved on and if employers wanted someone decent they offered more.

Again the problem with giving benefits such as housing support out is that it effectively falsifies the natural supply and demand of capitalism and only increases costs for which more benefits are needed which increases costs again....thus the circle.

At some point it needed to be stopped and with it difficulties that ensue until it levels out to more manageable levels.

abudabi

I knew this and it is hushed up and hardly known, i think the gov and general public mail readers etc would like to think that 'work set you free' as in the Aushwitz motto? figures are boring to them and they would rather see the scandalous reports of the odd philpotts of this world to tar the rest as unscrupulous lazy scroungers!!!
Honestly i remember when i had a job it was to 'better' myself not worry about benefits for rent etc????
If they think getting ppl into work is the be all and end all to the country's problems then i am afraid they are very much mistaken and in for a rude surprise in a few years

Brassedoff

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

In a capitalist world raising the NMW does nothing as the cost of living increases to match this, in fact introducing a NMW IMO has shown as being a negative thing as I would suspect the % of people under the 'living wage' is alot more now than before it was introduced as supply and demand worked on a natural basis and if people didn't like the wage they moved on and if employers wanted someone decent they offered more.

Again the problem with giving benefits such as housing support out is that it effectively falsifies the natural supply and demand of capitalism and only increases costs for which more benefits are needed which increases costs again....thus the circle.

At some point it needed to be stopped and with it difficulties that ensue until it levels out to more manageable levels.

You are so right. The affect of the NMW on me as an employer was that those on a higher wage insisted on maintaining the pay gap. I remember my weekly wage cost went from £28,000 to £36,500 in a month or so.

I bet you cannot guess what happened next? Yep, you've got it, I had to put my prices up. My suppliers prices went up, my customers prices went up.

I am firmly of the belief that everyone is entitled to earn a good wage, not an existing wage. At the time I was paying good money to my staff. There was just a massive knock on problem throughout industry.

skintmacflint

Where are Tax credits and child benefit on the chart? In 2010 Tax Credits were £24 bilion and child benefit £11 billion? As ther combine figure is more than HB can't be part of 3%.other section.

M00minMama

Sounding my age now, but before the credits were introduced if you worked part time and needed more money the only option was taking an additional job and deal with the headache of running from one to the other -i found it a complete nightmare to juggle and a real stretch on my family.
If those with one part time job now had to take 2-3 to make up the money unemployment would rise as there were fewer jobs to go round.

I believe that tax credits do add value to peoples' lives in more ways than pure finances. By allowing part time employment to be spread across more people fewer families are experiencing unemployment and more children are able to grow up in households with the example of working parent/s.

Don't get me started on minimum wages! Why do people think childcare is so much more expensive than it was historically?

I've been on all sides of the empyment fences. As a wage exploited teen, as a part time employee, full time employee and as an employer myself. What we don't see as employees is the extra costs being added to employers on a constant basis. Things like additional minimum holidays, increased paternity and maternity rights ( all good things but a cost bourne by employers), NI for employers, PAYE payment terms changes ( decreasing times employers have to forward on payments to HMRC from annual payments to monthly), apprenticeship costs of training ( for older age groups).
And if we find power suppliers bad as private customers try using them on a commercial basis as a small business with none of the consumer laws protecting you!

Will stop now and go back to working out how to pay people this month

teajug

Brassedoff wrote: »

A friend copied this to me on Facebook:

Ok, I can't keep my gob shut any longer. I'm sick to death of seeing posts on Facebook about benefit scroungers. Do you know the figures? Because if you did you might see it in another light.

Did you know that only 3% of the benefits budget goes to people seeking work? 53% is pensions and other related old age benefits, 18% is Housing Benefit (which currently goes directly to landlords) 18% is working tax credits, and the rest disabled benefits and other bits and bobs. (And by the way, the Government figures say the fraud rate for disabled benefits is 0.3%)

In fact, the majority of folks claiming housing and council tax benefit ARE IN WORK.

I could write a bloody essay on this because I deal with it everyday. Our benefits budget is not out of control. According to the OECD Britain's benefit bill per head is nowhere near as generous as half the countries in Europe. (And unemployment benefit is particularly stingy compared to most)

The vast majority of folks just want to get on but minimum wage jobs are not paying enough. (This might explain why at work we're seeing working people going to bloody food banks every week.)

This sh***y government is turning people against each other. And it's totally unwarranted. Yes, welfare needs reforming but you don't do that by kicking people out of their homes, stigmatising them so that they get spat at in the street and driving them to suicide. - these have all happened so far.

In the last two years 80% of people applying for housing benefit were all working. We can reform welfare by bringing in a living wage so that people don't have to claim benefits to get by. At the moment the welfare budget is subsidising low pay and private landlords on a grand scale.

When you see a post that puts the boot into benefit claimants, think twice before you like it because let me tell you, we are ALL only three mortgage payments away from disaster.

(If anyone wants the sources of the figures I have quoted, I will only be too happy to provide them)

I've attached a pie chart from 2011 to give you an idea. Figures will have changed a bit.

Therefore the tax payer is paying to subsidizing big business as they do not pay a living wage to their employees. We are paying landlords over inflated rents because the government will not put a cap on them.

I have been paying taxes since I was 15 many years ago and will be paying them until I die and then if I have anything left over after care frees the government will take that also. :eek::eek:

Brassedoff

teajug wrote: »

Therefore the tax payer is paying to subsidizing big business as they do not pay a living wage to their employees. We are paying landlords over inflated rents because the government will not put a cap on them.

I have been paying taxes since I was 15 many years ago and will be paying them until I die and then if I have anything left over after care frees the government will take that also. :eek::eek:

You know the old adage, death & taxes!