AIBU to want spending cuts rather than more tax rises?

Arthur laffer in the times ,the laffer curve there is a point where high taxes stop money coming in because it strangles everything else

I am saying they are lucky they have a choice. I don't genuinely care about the VAT to be honest or understand why it is relevant on here. It doesn't even cross my mind until someone randomly brought it up on here. I suspect private school wouldn't even take my kid if I could pay nor would parents want him there.

The admin is a red herring. Successive governments have managed to means test the winter fuel allowance, child benefit, free childcare, tapering away of the personal allowance, etc., via the tax system. They've also managed to put student loan repayments through the tax system. They can do it when they want to. Universal credit is means tested, as was tax credits. The mechanisms are already in place.

Depends who they're taxing, but generally, no.
Welfare spending is insane... we do need to tax the super wealthy more though.

Oh so you want more taxes on everyone else because you have been taxed on your entirely own choice to private school your kids.

Not to mention the cost of the HOL is chicken feed compared to our annual deficit of tens of billions, the national debt of trillions, annual interest paid more than the education budget, etc. The debt figures are huge and tinkering around the edges just won't cut it.

I agree, we need to tax the super wealthy more (though it's hard because it's international), but we also need to cut the benefits bill and increase the efficiency of public spending. We need to chip away at lots of different things to make a dent.

But we also need to find ways of keeping the "super wealthy" in the country. Under Brown/Blair, the govt made "sweetheart deals" to get international firms to move to/stay in the UK. Deals were struck with millionaire Olympic athletes to exempt them from UK taxes for them to come to the London Olympics. Imagine what a flop the London Olympics would have been had the likes of Mo Farah decided not to come!

We absolutely need to look at the state pension, we can't afford it... and it's not like aging is a surprise that catches anyone out. Sooner or later someone is going to have to tell pensioners "no".

Yet you are advocating spending cuts which means my child is struggling to get an EHCP and will be given little support which will affect the learning of other children? Where are else are these cuts going to be but local authorities?

Nail on the head. We need to engage younger people to vote. At the moment, it's the older demographic more likely to vote so all the political parties are scared of alienating the "grey" vote. Get the young voting and we may get some political change.

You’d be better off with parents who can use private doing so as it lowers cost to the state.

Politicians are pretty good at convincing people to add 20% as it hurts someone else instead.

Such a shame people fall for it.

Look, it is fairly clear that you know absolutely nothing about the reality of private SEN schooling, or the sacrifices parents make to afford it.

As I said before, my typical working week is around 70-80 hours, and that seems to be pretty standard among the fee-paying parents at my eldest's school. There is nothing stopping you from taking on another 35h job to pay private school fees and enjoying the same supposed privilege, if that's a choice you're inclined to make. You could, quite literally, start tomorrow.

And do you know who paid when my son trashed my kitchen (well technically my landlord's kitchen). Me. Shock horror.

I don't even include the huge number of alcoholics and druggies littering our streets because services have been cut but I suppose as long as it happens in poor areas that is fine. I genuinely don't think we can cut more spending as the impact is awful already where I live.

16 & 17 year olds will be able to vote at the next general election. We should be starting now to get them engaged with politics.

Or Sen it could be very mild ,processing issues ,mild dyslexia etc

You do realise it would have been quicker just to write 'I want the poor and vulnerable to starve so I can keep more of my money', right?

DLA is not means tested if your child qualifies which then you could have used to pay for the kitchen or your landlord should have done.

Yes there is something stopping me working more. No family nearby and no childcare will take him for very long. I suspect you would know that if you were as knowledgeable as you say you are. I did say I would work more if I could.

But people are voting for higher taxes, pushing more people to use state and higher borrowing. It’s not working to do what you’re after.

Annoying?

You are completely tone deaf, aren’t you?

Ha yes.

I suspect that's part of why Andy Burnham does his "dumbed down" social media posts.

So mostly cut money from the poorest?

Bit of AI but apparently in Sweden:

A single parent with one 3 year old who has exhausted their out of work benefits based on their previous earnings gets the equivalent of £660ish after bills and rent and has to do full time job seeking or study to get that. In the uk it’s £885 apparently plus housing and council tax help.

The average female Swedish pensioner gets the equivalent of £1300ish a month off the state but they will have paid in 18.5% (of which 16% goes to state pension) of their taxable salary when working - bit different to NI contributions here which apparently are worth £888 to the average female pensioner (who I assume at that level either gets pension credit or supplements with a private pension).

So yes people in higher taxed countries perhaps get more in some circumstances but I think the expectations are much higher on the individual to help themselves too. This also shows how unsustainable our current system is - higher tax and higher expectation countries aren’t paying out as much as we do.