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AIBU?

To think if you're a fan of the bedroom tax

275 replies

NicholasTeakozy · 27/08/2013 22:05

That means you are at best a spunktrumpet and at worst a cunt. short video and see what it's doing. Angry Sad

OP posts:
Jolleigh · 27/08/2013 22:20

Sigh...still not a tax.

PelvicFloorClenchReminder · 27/08/2013 22:23

I don't think terminology is really the problem. Hmm

OP YANBU.

And thank you for 'spunktrumpet' - I can see that one coming in handy

YouTheCat · 27/08/2013 22:27

Not a tax... a travesty!

Bowlersarm · 27/08/2013 22:27

Is a spunktrumpet better than a cunt Confused?

anonnymousey · 27/08/2013 22:29

YANBU

noisytoys · 27/08/2013 22:29

ShockThat's terrible this whole thing makes me so sad when will it get better Sad

thecatfromjapan · 27/08/2013 22:30

It really is causing difficulties for people I care for. For me, it's not an abstract thing at all. It is not a good policy.

CorrinaKedavra · 27/08/2013 22:34

It is a benefit reduction but why not call it a tax? My carers allowance is taxed which equals less money. Is there in existence a tax which gives the taxee more money? Doubt it.

Jolleigh · 27/08/2013 22:36

Nope, terminology is just the umbrella for the propaganda. Unfortunately, the issue is people focusing on those who are severely adversely affected rather than those who are aided by the changes.

But this has been argued to death on MN and quite simply there are a lot of people clinging on to sob stories rather than accepting the logic and the fact that a reform was necessary.

It may seem heartless but there are thousands of households receiving money for a house with more bedrooms than necessary. People renting privately and those with their own homes have to downsize if their income doesn't cover their outgoings.

And for all of Labour's arguments, they have absolutely no intention of reversing this. Their arguments were propaganda to gain votes.

YouTheCat · 27/08/2013 22:37

Had it been thought out and planned for (like building more 2 bed and 1 bed social housing) so that people actually had the choice to move then it would have possibly freed up much needed family housing.

But it hasn't. It has been a complete balls up. Left people in huge debt with no options. And housing waiting lists are longer than ever.

Twats Angry

Talkinpeace · 27/08/2013 22:39

The clever councils are already getting round it by redesignating rooms as living rooms and study areas so not having to move people.
Only the thick councils are going through the cost of rehousing people.
If a council HAS no 1 bed flats it has no incentive to move people into more expensive accommodation.

NicknameIncomplete · 27/08/2013 22:39

I like the idea. ie charging people for unoccupied bedrooms. But the way that it is being carried out/enforced is shit shit shit.

And also where are all the spare/empty homes people can move to?

Did the Government not watch 'how to get a council house'?

NicholasTeakozy · 27/08/2013 22:39

Whatever you want to call it it is a disgusting policy. Getting people out of social housing and into private rentals at greater cost to the taxpayer. Fairness (?IDS) doesn't come into it. These utter wankpieces in government don't like socialism unless it means us paying their expenses or bailing out their friends.

OP posts:
thecatfromjapan · 27/08/2013 22:42

Wow, Jolleigh, that post sounds incredibly cold. My knowldege of this ... benefit reduction ... is by way of anecdote and acquaintance. I am a well-off, middle-class, highly-educated woman. You might think, then, that the people i might know would be those who were living high on the hog, and the ... benefit reduction ... was a jolly good thing when it came to them.

Oddly enough, however, I only know ... "sob stories".

Strange that.

Perhaps that is because the ... "sob stories" ... statistically outweigh the happy, dance-in-street stories?

And ... guess what ... "sob stories" actually make you fucking cry - and then get really, really angry - when they are attached to living, breathing human beings that you care about.

utreas · 27/08/2013 22:42

The policy reform is very sensible, why people in social housing should have vacant bedrooms is beyond me. It also brings social renters in line with private renters.

Portofino · 27/08/2013 22:42

I agree with idea in principle but think people should be offered a property that suits their needs first before they have to pay anything. So poorly executed then definitely.

expatinscotland · 27/08/2013 22:43

Private renting in the UK is a joke.

YouTheCat · 27/08/2013 22:48

Yes, because those in social housing can really afford the astronomical private rents, deposits and can easily get references, can't they? Hmm

Some people have no idea at all.

thecatfromjapan · 27/08/2013 22:48

"sob stories".

They are people.

Not stories.

Not fiction.

They don't get to turn over the page: they live it.

They are more than this "sob story" - which has been imposed on them - which is worth many emotions other than scorn and contempt.

For some reason that phrase "sob stories" is really bugging me. Isn't it kind of abusive? It seeks to subtly minimise pain and discomfort. In fact, it implies it's not realy, doesn't it?

Eeew. Not nice. But probably the kind of mental gymnastics that the people who developed and rolled out this policy, and support it with propaganda, have to perform in order to keep doing what they're doing.

EllaFitzgerald · 27/08/2013 22:48

There seems to be no discretion either. An acquaintance is in a private rental of a two bedroomed flat, which he gets way below the market rate because he's a good tenant and he's been there years. He now has to move to a one bedroom flat, which will cost the tax payer much more in housing benefit than he currently receives because he can't afford to pay for the extra bedroom. It's ridiculous.

nonameslefttouse · 27/08/2013 22:52

The social housing is up the creek, better plans should have been implemented first to ensure smaller properties were available, that said I haven't seen stories from the other side where families were living in b&b or bedsits who now have family homes because a single person has moved to a smaller property, freeing up family properties for well families.

CorrinaKedavra · 27/08/2013 22:54

I think that it's a good idea in principle. All those elderly people on their own in four-bed houses desperate to downsize and have a little bungalow while families are in refuges or bedsits.

But that's not how tackling under-occupancy is going to work in practice is it?

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mummymeister · 27/08/2013 22:54

if everyone who posts on mumsnet about a govt policy that they hate so vehemently actually got off their backsides and got involved in politics in their local area as a town or parish councillor, a local councillor or whatever then politics wouldn't be the one way all look the same/act the same/agree that we have at the moment. There are loads of new laws and old ones that I hate. so I stopped whinging and became a parish councillor. not much I know but at least I have a bit of a say in what happens where I live. and please, don't tell me that you cant because you are soooo busy because actually so am I with 3 DC's my own business to run, elderly disabled parents etc. stop whining about how unfair it all is and do something. we get the laws, the politicians and the politics we deserve so if you don't like it then change it.

YouTheCat · 27/08/2013 22:54

You won't have seen those stories because it hasn't happened.

expatinscotland · 27/08/2013 22:55

Anyone age 61+ is exempt from the reduction.

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