Do you think we should life the two child benefit cap?

But then there's carer's allowance (or carer's element of UC) plus the disabled child element of UC (which is not pennies!).

I work and care for my disabled child. I do receive DLA, but my employer does not give my anything extra for either my caring or an additional element of salary for my disabled child.

The obsession is with how other people live. Have you seen the cartoon where a man is sitting with a massive plate of biscuits all to himself and on either side of him are two people. One with two biscuits, one with an empty plate. The man with the big plate says to the one with the empty plate "he's stole your biscuit".

This thread reminds me of this.

Paying tax is not "giving your money away".

I have been in the situation where I was the middle income household who got SFA when people around me were getting, eg, EMA for their children. I then felt that I had to mirror that for mine and it was really difficult.

But, I didn't blame the people who were getting it.

I blamed the Tories and I still do!

I don’t want children in poverty, in fact I really really do not want children in poverty.

But handing in many cases feckless and irresponsible parents yet more cash to ‘life them from poverty’ is not the answer. In many cases it won’t be spent on the kids, just more junk food, vapes, nails, tattoos and tat from Home Bargains. When they buy food it’s expensive processed packs of meat and sugary cereals.

Are they hoping to be off UC in the end and earning enough where they don't need to rely on the taxpayer?

Did they not get alimony or whatever in the divorce?

Uc child rate ( which is what is restricted to 2 kids) is £300 a month not £17 a week

Such a double edged sword… I don’t want children in poverty, it seems that lifting the cap would be the easier way to lift these children out of poverty, I want people to take responsibility for their own children and contraception, I don’t want the welfare bill to increase, I don’t want taxes in the UK to increase for those in work… still unsure

No it shouldn’t be lifted.

I would rather the alternative. I’m an elder Millennial, there will be no state pension when I retire, and if there is it’ll be means tested. Hopefully assisted dying will have made great strides forward. I don’t want to wreck the country so somebody can wipe my arse in a dementia nursing home. I would rather not exist.

How will the benefit cap help?
It saves the country money. You don’t reward bad behaviour. Having multiple kids you can’t afford is bad behaviour.

MC people also claim UC. I know 2 women whose husbands left. They're now claiming UC and are in work.

(Around £3.5k, had assumed far less).

I only discovered on LBC the rate. Hadn’t realised it was so high, tbh.

This is going to sound like an attack and I don't mean it to be. Just a question. Do you have children?

I get that this feels unfair and agree to an extent, but how will the benefit cap help? Do you believe this family would have planned their family in advance with it in place? I think we all know they wouldn't have.

£17 a week covers a baby's nappies and formula tbh. It's not going to reflect a meaningful increase in income.

There should be a push to get longterm out of work adults off welfare and back in work, but pushing for this via child benefit isn't going to be effect while all the time actively causing harm to some of the most vulnerable children.

They absolutely are! Again, if you are living hand to mouth putting food on the table while working your problem is upwards - why is your employer not paying you a liveable wage? Why are you being taxed on your earnings while wealthy people aren't being taxed at all on their wealth and they don't work or ever sell their assets so are never contributing? By your logic, perhaps you are living hand to mouth cos you couldn't afford any children yet you've chosen to have them,.they're a lifestyle choice according to this thread...or do the societal reasons your money doesn't stretch suddenly come into play?

You are not funding people to have any many children as they choose. You are paying tax which goes towards benefits for those who qualify. If CB is so luxurious, and your job doesn't pay, quit right?

🤐

If your main source of income is benefits it makes sense to have more children as your benefits will increase. As has been said if your main income is from work your wage won't suddenly go up because your family has increased.

I know a family who have seven children. There seemingly has been no real concern on how they will pay for them as the benefits keep increasing. They live in a 5 bedroom townhouse because the council has to house them. We live in a 2 bedroom home we own (not fully paid off though!) so only had one child as we don't have the funds for a bigger house. We both work but in low paid jobs but only get child benefit. Now taxes may rise for us but the seven children family will get an increase.

Plus the oldest child is pregnant despite not being an adult yet. Sadly it seems the cycle will continue. If you never see your mum working it doesn't inspire you to either and the poverty cycle continues.

I think you might be a bit confused there. Private pensions need companies to do well, regardless of how many people work for them or whether those people are based in the UK.

I doubt labour will ever be voted in again, declaring this the same week as tax rises will piss a lot of people off, especially with the current public opinion on immigration when most big families are from other countries.
I think a two child cap is reasonable and I say that as someone who was on benefits for years and had a child at 16 (so a complete scrounger 🤣) once or twice fair enough but how did you not learn your lesson the third time??

You can’t expect working taxes payers to fund your platoon of children and not feel resentment yes maybe there should be classes where they line up and get contraception explained to them. I mean you can talk about it being the right thing to do all you want but that won’t matter when labour never get voted in again

No one is resenting feeding children in poverty. You can still claim child benefit for any number of children you have.

What people resent is that fact that they are living hand to mouth, working to put food on the table, having to decide not to have children or limit their family size, and on top of that to have to fund other people to have as many children as they choose.

Working people do not get a pay rise after every child they have. They should not have to fund other people's children on top.

I'm not the only person who uses the pantry. Far from it. Of course some don't use it but many do, at least in my area which is deprived and many people are on UC.

So instead of lifting the two child UC cap, you'd have food vouchers for those on UC with more than 2 children but those with 1-2 children would still receive UC how it is now? Is that correct?