MSE News: Benefits cap comes into force

emweaver

Dunroamin wrote: »

Surely that would be one one single person and one lone parent - £500 + £350?

No as the poster said split the children so both would be a lone parent.

Ben_Reeve-Lewis

@ Getting ready "I very often hear/read from the "back home people" how they have no problems finding jobs in UK, how local native people are lazy and will not take the jobs available etc etc so I kind of see both sides really".

Haha yeah I hear you on that one, this is why I propose raising the minimum wage

Ben_Reeve-Lewis

" If they were single after the first one then they should have stopped, worked and done something with their lives"

Yes Debrag but that completely misses my point. It is irrelevant what they should have done, the fact is they have done and so what do we do now?

Somerset

Ben_Reeve-Lewis wrote: »

" If they were single after the first one then they should have stopped, worked and done something with their lives"

Yes Debrag but that completely misses my point. It is irrelevant what they should have done, the fact is they have done and so what do we do now?

You either :

1) Cause hardship to A and stop the welfare spiral.
2) Continue financially supporting/rewarding these decisions and perpetuate the welfare spiral.

Option 1.

gettingready

Option1, no other option

Ben_Reeve-Lewis

Or option 3, the various suggestions I made above. It isnt just either/or. Yes benefit dependancy needs to stop but the method the government is using to bring it about will cost us all a lot more and create chaos across the board

Somerset

Ben_Reeve-Lewis wrote: »

Or option 3, the various suggestions I made above. It isnt just either/or. Yes benefit dependancy needs to stop but the method the government is using to bring it about will cost us all a lot more and create chaos across the board

I don't believe your option 3 exists. This is going to be a painful transition however it's done.

FBaby

1) Cause hardship to A and stop the welfare spiral.
2) Continue financially supporting/rewarding these decisions and perpetuate the welfare spiral.

But is it really a case of hardship or of readjusting one's priorities and budgets? The latter is no fun for anyone, but is not hardship.

Somerset

FBaby wrote: »

But is it really a case of hardship or of readjusting one's priorities and budgets? The latter is no fun for anyone, but is not hardship.

Doesn't really matter what you call it, it's hopefully a seismic change in the way we administer the welfare budget.

The absolutely well-intentioned 'proper' belief that the state should provide a safety net for everyone, has morphed into something unrecognisable, and had social consequences that were never imagined much less anticipated.

Ben_Reeve-Lewis

Somerset wrote: »

I don't believe your option 3 exists. This is going to be a painful transition however it's done.

Of course it doesnt exist. My list was in response to someone asking me what I would do differently. To say that Government plans are ill thought out is an understatement. There is little driving it other than an opportunity to demonise people on benefits as being the main reason the UK economy is in the crapper, being pushed along by public sympathy. This does not make a sound fiscal policy, it relies merely on populist prejudices and cant be considered to be a strategy.

The first target was housing benefit and government's stated aim to cut the bill by £2.8 billion, blaming dole scroungers for the debt but since they brought it in the housing benefit bill has risen, and not through scroungers, but working people who cant cope because their rents have risen without controls and their employers pay such low wages.

So the housing benefit bill has gone up to put money in the pockets of landlords who are charging hyper inflated rents and employers paying rubbish wages. THAT is where your tax money is going.

Does benefit culture need to be changed? Yes of course but that is a seperate issue and as I keep saying until I'm hoarse (If indeed it is possible to be hoarse through typing :rotfl:) the issue facing us is "Will benefit capping achieve what the government says it wants? My answer is twofold

1. Maybe - in which case how long will it take and how much will it cost the nation in real terms to get there, or
2. No - because they have a simplistic strategy based on popular prejudice that is no real strategy at all