CB - alternative solutions?

[CardyMow]

If cutting CB in the way that has been outlined is unfair, how else could/ should the government save money on this benefit?

I ask this because a columnist in the Daily Fail (I ^know!) said that he would rather they stopped CB for dc at the age of 16yo, regardless of whether they are still in education or not.

I always thought that the reason CB was paid to 19 was because, if, like our family, you are caught in a cycle of very low wages (£16Kfor a FT job), the only way out is more education. If you take away CB for poor people, they will also lose their TC's, and theefore have a dc in FT education that they get NO income for, and are therefore unable to feed or clothe them. It was done because otherwise, these DC would HAVE to go out to work FT, just to have money to eat, thus them also being stuck forever in a very low paid job, with no chance of bettering themselves.

Surely education is the way OUT of the benefits trap? But many more dc will be forced to leave school at 16 to work in min wage jobs if their parents cannot feed them while they gain better qualifications.

It would make any form of further education the preserve of the rich, surely that is a step too far back in time?

While I agree that the way of administering this CB cut needs to be fairer and based on household income rather than one earners tax bracket, surely if minimum wage is £5.85 p/h, then a lot of the country earn barely more than £12,000pa for a FT job, so wherever you are, whatever you are doing, £42K is a HUGE income...Why shouldn't CB be cut for anyone with a household income of £34K pa? My family certainly wouldn't need CB if we had an income of £34Kpa.

" mumzy Wed 06-Oct-10 19:11:19

Why not scrap CB and replace this with free lunches at state schools for all children until aged 16,thus ensuring the child benefits directly,creating jobs in the local area, encouraging healthy eating,cut down the obesity levels and ending the stigma of free school dinners), school lunches cost us £10 per week per child during term time.

Families who previously had free school meals can also apply for EMA (education maintenance allowance)from the time their child starts school until 18 if they continue in full time education. You could adjust it so children get more as they get older reflecting increased costs."

Now that is a brilliant idea & easy to administer :)

Are you sure you're not a man PTB. A very short burst, then you're all out.

S'funny, I'm sure I had pointed out earlier that when I had my dc, I was earning £29K pa, and COULD afford to keep them without state help. My disability was diagnosed AFTER I had my dc. Was I supposed to send them to the workhouse?

I can't say I am in favour of Free school meals for all, I home educate! but I desperately rely on the extra income for shoes, clothes, trips, food even!

Similarly Loudlass, I was diagnosed with cancer after I'd had children.

Clearly I should have had them adopted.

I reiterate my point: you breed em, you feed em. Child Benefit is NOT a right, it is a privilage, granted following the war and never rescinded. It was an incentitive for couples to have large children and following publication (a repercussions) of the Beverage Report.

Now it has become an institutionalised right, expected by all, regardless of class. If you wish to be part of the Jeremy Kyle generation, happy to suck of the WKD/Stella flavoured teat of the state, then that is your issue to deal with. JUST DON'T ASK ME TO PAY FOR IT'

Someone appears to be a little too desperate for attention.

I wasn't aware, btw, that CB was granted as an incentive for couples to have large children.

What was the deal? An extra fiver a month if the baby weighs over 9lb at birth? CB for those who have towering toddlers and chunky children?

Obnoxio, what are you doing for christmas?, will it be like last, turkey for one, while I spend all your hard earned, legally pilfered taxes on a few presents for my children.

With that very satifying thought I am off to check that the CB has been paid for this month.

My bad. Too much wine (hic). note to self, proof read before posting.

Gloating ex wine drinking teetotaller here (now complaining about the awful, senseless expression "my bad"). :)

mumzy, that is an extremely good idea imo. Quite the best one I've seen so far.

Me? A heart?

Don't be daft Beer! :o

Of course Obnoxio does not have children- no-one would want to shag it, let alone reproduce with it.

As mentioned previously, your input does not appear to bring anything to the debate apart from inflaming it.

As Peter Rabbit once said, "shut yo mo fo mouth or I'll pop a cap in your ass".

In Cumbrian of course.

Not that you will believe me, but I can say with all honesty that I am NOT Ocludo. Nor do I know him.

It would appear that you, having by your own admission 'sparred' with Occludo, are demonstrating parallel behaviour with myself.

That my dear, makes you a troll.

And a frightful bore.

Tips on being a parent.

A dining table. Buy one. Sit and eat every meal at it. All of you. Together

A book. Fill your house with them. Read them to your kids when you put them to bed. Not Dvd?s, not PS3?s, not a Wii. Books. They cost 2p in the charity shop.

A cooker. Cook dinner on it. Put some food in it. Eat it at your dinner table. Together.

A park. Take your kids there. As a ?family?. Often. It?s free.

A school. Your child will spend 11 years of it?s life there. Make sure it is worthwhile. They could get run over by a bus tomorrow. It?s free

Bedtime. Send your children there at 8pm and read them a story. It?s free

Do not hit each other, do not get drunk in front of the kids and turn the telly off occasionally. Do not treat the dog better than your kids. Your kids are the most precious things you will ever possess. More than your sovereign rings, your prize pitbull, your carp fishing rods, your tanning spray, your hair straighteners and your Escort Cabriolet.

Get used to staying in, drinking at home, looking at an ugly wife, being skint. Get used to hard work, sleepless nights, endless cleaning, eternal noise and everything you value being smashed, eaten, puked on or ?going missing?.

It?s called Parenthood. And it?s worth every second. If you don't want it, keep your fucking legs crossed.

SO TELL ME ABOUT YOUR MOTHER Obnoxio, please get yourself some help. Your comments are not normal.

You seem to know alot about the homelife of a deprived , unloved and unwanted child. I could almost weep. What did your mother do to you?

CB was a deliberate and direct payment to women by the 1948 Labour Government in recognition of the important work that woman who rear children do for the Nation, money from wallet to purse. For woman, that income remains part of a RIGHT not a privilege. Woman who stay at home as well as woman who go out to work have an entitlement from the State for all the hard work they do and the multi-tasking that has to be done every single day while rearing the next generation. In the scheme of 'Cuts' it is very small beer indeed. we pay more out in Bonuses to Bankers each year and to the military on bogus wars. Not to mention the cost of our Trident missile update billions or trillions....

I am angered by the tone of some of these misogynist posts , they are abusive and sexist and should be deleted....duchesse needs deletion.....
The Tories will rue the day they tried to cancel CB for huge numbers of families...since at the General Election in May 2010.... Tories promised they would not do such a thing,,, Does no one remember their 'promises'.....?????All liars and millionaires who can trust them with our future or our tax money?

Obnoxio - did your parents claim Child Benefit when you were growing up? Oh, how we wish that they had waited until they could truly afford it before they started their breeding project.