I know I am, but I can't help it. Child benefit.

[Pinkjenny]

I am from a working class family, dh and I both have good jobs, two dc and a 3 bed semi. I suppose you could say we are comfortable. I work 4 days p/wk, dh obv full time, we are both degree educated, and I would call us lower middle class. If you like that kind of thing.

I would probably argue that we don't really need child benefit. But, what irks me, is that it's really the only thing we do get - we don't qualify for anything else. Now, I completely agree that welfare should go to those who need it most, but it almost seems like you are penalised for being marginally successful.

We have nursery fees to pay, a reasonably big mortgage, yada yada yada. Although we both earn ok money, we're hardly sitting at home counting our money either.

I can't quite put my finger on why the removal of child benefit is irritating me so much.

Perhaps I need a slap, I don't know.

I know I

Aaargh! 'the only thing we get back' - What about the NHS! Schools! Police! Roads! Bomb disposal men! Universities! Street cleaning! Bin collections! The justice system! (I assume you use, or plan to use some of these?)
I have practically worn out my exclamation key

I assume thats what we pay our council tax for!!!!!!!!! There I used it for you.

I know Riven but cant help myself

Unis are charging tuition fees and are going to get higher so no we dont.

Piglet, do you honestly think your measly council tax pays for all that? Really?

My DH is a high rate taxpayer and we sit comfortably over that threshold so we can afford to lose the CB and I accept that that's reasonable. God knows, I'd rather they take from me than from my single mum friends!

We DO get things back from the state - NHS, transport, police, roads, etc. Where do you think that comes from?

What I do wish is that the government would spend some time closing all the nice little loopholes in the tax system that allow people like Sir Philip Green to run a business in this country and then register the whole thing with his wife in Monaco and avoid a whopping great big tax bill.

Ergh not mine only, but other people pay council tax too

I'm with the OP on this one!

Similar issues with just being over the threshold and had been using the child benefit to support the childrens extra-curricular activities.

No I don't think I deserve anything from the government and agree in principal with becoming completely self reliant, and we will find a way to cope - I will increase my hours. But what really makes me irate is all those who will still get it and all the other benefits on offer, along with the free school meals, free school trips etc., etc. No quarrel with those who have been unfortunate enough to lose good jobs in this recession, but our playground is littered with those who have never really tried. You know, the ones who messed about and wasted everybodies time at school and then wondered why they couldn't get a job on the odd occasion they actually tried!

So, yes, that does make me feel a little miffed that my last bit of 'entitlement' is going.

Well, there is the tax on the stuff we buy of course (VAT) and on house purchases, and corporation taxes, and car tax etc - it's not all income tax. But we do get a lot back, especially parents.

pigletmania, council tax doesn't cover the cost of your children's education, the police, the nhs etc etc etc!

Dont know they owe a lot of money and are paying a huge amound of interest on what they owe. That is why i said that we are happy to forfit our child benefit as we dont really need it, but secretly would like to still have it, who would not. look everyone has different opinions and are in different sitations so will beg to differ.

I think soon we will have to pay for education too.

no we won't.

YANBU. I am SAHM and am unable to work because child care would cost more than pay (I am trained nurse) so CB was only thing coming into my account. Husband earns over threshold but just covers mortgage and basic living expenses. I don't feel 'rich' or privilaged (sorry can't spell) just sick of having to pay all the time.

I realise we are lucky not to live in a war torn country or gaza for example (shudder)
but that's straying away from the central argument isn't it (an irrelavent non sequitur someone once told me) and like saying to kids if they don't eat - think of all the starving children - I never say that btw. Or when I was young we used to have to lick road wi tongue (Monty Python reference).

I think one of the British traditions is sensr of fair play and again this is so blatantly unfair don't believe it was an accident.

I am single parent and I do use my CB for food shopping. I am seriously considering taking a pay cut/buying extra pension etc and there is not much incentive to look for promotion tbh.

If anyone has a sense of entitlement in this society it isn't the poor or even the 'scroungers' its the silver spoon born elite and the non doms of this world.

Do you seriously think that most of them go around hand wringing or losing sleep about how lucky they are not to live in war torn whereever. (except if they can go on a celeb charidee programme).

The panorama programme about Lord Ashcroft (worth a view) seemed to suggest that he 'allegedly' knowingly exploited very poor people in Belize and Turks and Caicos.

And the bankers (yawn)

Until that sort of anomaly is rectified I won't feel guilty for complaining about potentially losing my child benefit.

Nor will I feel guilty for receiving a small amount of housing benefit each month.

Have worked since I was 13 with three weeks unemployment in that time. First in my family to go to university with minimal parental support.

Perhaps if the gov outlawed non doms and only citizens allowed to buy property etc (not very rich people buying up great swathes of central London.. there is a flow on effect), maybe we all afford our mortgages and wouldn't be so dependant on scraps from the welfare table... just a thought.

Well said altinkum... sometimes I'm tempted to tell husband to chuck job just to see what its like to have evrything given to one. The only time I had some clue was when pregnant and the wealth of the NHS was laid before me, finally felt as though I was a beneficiary of all those years of 'working my bollocks off'.

Yes we will the government are allowing uni to make their own charges who knows how much we will have to pay for it.