Bloody W**NKing Tax credits! Or Government should I say

[Hai1988]

Just had my new tax credits award and have just found out that my DH's Working tax credits are being stopped as he has already had his lot for this year, £800!!!

My DH does not have a very well payed job at all and after rent and bills we have f**K all left and the weekly income of £140 really helped that is now just over £50.

So angry We need that extra £80 a week, I know it may not sound much to some but it did make a big difference to out life's.

Who ever voted Tory I hope your happy with yourselves that now so many family's are probably gonna struggle now.

Sorry not really an aibu but really needed to vent and wondered if anyone else is suffering with tax credits this year because of the dam government.

I think that if one parent is working full time, then that ought to generate enough money for the other parent to stay home if that is their choice. The private company they work for should be forced to pay a proper living wage that can support a family. If the family want additional income, then obviously it's down to them to do additional work.

If I was working full time, it would be because I wanted the extra income that my DH's wage doesn't supply. I'd be happy to pay tax to support people who also work hard but whose salary doesn't quite cover living expenses.

Years ago mothers used to be criticised for going out to work. Their DC were called 'latchkey kids'. Now the govt has brainwashed people into thinking that staying at home is somehow bad and we must all be working til we drop whether that's good for an individual family or not. Women can't win either way, so I'd be happy to support someone wanting to be a SAHM, if that is what she thinks is best for her family.

Giddypickle
I totally agree with you Giddypickle. Life choices should not be at the cost of other tax payers! BTW I have never received any state benefits of any kind except my schooling and NHS and child benefit.
OP, of course it's not easy to find a job around school hours BUT it is possible. I started my own very small business which has been ticking over for 3 years now. It is not a business I was qualified for but when I decided I wanted to work around school hours I put my limited choices down and got cracking.
If you are not able to sort yourself a job that suits you picking your kids up from school then you should not expect others to pay for you through tax credits.

I am always at people who believe that their rights to do what they want come before the fact that it is at others expense.

Like fromtheotherside, I have no problem with benefits per se. There but for the grace of god etc. But, I do have a problem with the OP choosing not to work in order to do the school run etc and then expecting the state to subsidise that choice.

I have no problem with SAHM, definitely great for children if you can afford it. I would love to spend more time with my 2.5yo DS. But the reality is that I have to work FT to pay for childcare and living expenses. It's inconceivable that anyone would voluntarily reduce their hours or choose not work and then expect the taxpayer to pick up the tab.

we don't get anything any more, and in 2013 we wont be getting child benefit either.
I'm on maternity leave but will go back to work eventually and even though my husband earns what you think would be a lot of money actually leaves us without very much disposable income after everything is paid.
What annoys me is that bloody under achievers and people with no ambition get money given to them, while because we have worked hard to get where we are we are being penalised.
And he pays more bloody tax then most other people :(

Wow lots more repliys cant keep up with them all. I am sorry if I have offended anyone with my last post, but I am also sorry if I dont feel comfortable leaving ds with strangers as I have no family or friends that could have ds full time.

At no point did I say that tax credits wasnt a benifit.
Oh yeah I would absolulty love to not have to recive any benifts but we arnt all that lucky.

My dh works he arse of in a shitty payed job that is cusing him health problems (Wont go into details)

Im sure we will be able to cope with the new situation once we adjust its was just a shock to see it, espesially as like another posted put we did not get a letter first it was just the bank balance that told us (when we were on holiday to top it off, so that was a great end to the holiday!!!)

I posted to see if anyone else was having troubles with TC and to vent a little, sorry if I have offended anyone

Karma
That is such a ridiculous idea "The private company they work for should be forced to pay a proper living wage that can support a family."

Firstly please define what is a proper living wage? 25K 30K?

Secondly, so you think these companies would survive? Labour costs are sky high in this country compared to others, it would obviously make us even less competitive as a country and more jobs would be lost as business would fold.

Thirdly just using very basic laws of economics, wages are set on pure supply and demand basis. Lets look at an example.

A very small start up company wants to hire someone and is does not have the revenue to pay more than say £18K. A person would be happy to take that job because lets say he has been unemployed for a while and will learn new skills on the job that could lead to a better job. But because (your idea) the government doesn't allow wages less than say £25K the person stays on the dole and the company can't expand! It's simple supply and demand and messing with these natural laws would cause any country to fall into economic ruin!

to be fair to the OP, and looking at the big picture for a moment, I don't think the problem lies with the difference between those on benefits and the working poor. There is a far more fundamental problem to do with growing inequality between the richest and poorest in society which is the root cause of so many of our economic and social issues. Something has gone badly wrong in a society where it has become acceptable to earn 1000s of times the NMW.

gallifrey - What gives you the right to call people on benefits laze, ambitionless under-achievers? I am sure you have worked hard but surely you've had a bit of luck as well? Why don't you count your blessings instead of being jealous of people less fortunate than you?

I have worked bloody hard as well, probably made a few bad choices in life (like falling in love with a man on a low wage), but I'm sick and tired of reading here and other places of how lazy and stupid I must be.

We have been receiving benefits for a year, don't plan on having to receive them for too long but at the moment we would be out on the street if we didn't!

"Something has gone badly wrong in a society where it has become acceptable to earn 1000s of times the NMW."

Why ScroobiousPip?

Scroobiouspip
I do agree with you that there are problems with the truly poor getting poorer but many of the rich have lost shed loads over the last few years. Wage reductions in the city (for all the Daily Mail reporting to the contrary sensationalist stories) HAVE been introduced. Many of the bankers who lost their jobs also lost their homes and I know several first hand stories.

It's tough times I just wish people would think that their choices are their right when they are taking other peoples taxes to fund those choices. There are many people who are not rich and not getting tax credit who are funding people like the OP through their own tax payments. It's not right IMO.

Seriously?

"There are many people who are not rich and not getting tax credit who are funding people like the OP through their own tax payments"

Exactly. People assume if your not entitled to TC you must be very well off. Not true at all, especially for those only on the cusp of the cut off point for entitlement.

Oh and seriously, yes.

Countries with low income inequality - Japan, Norway, Denmark, Sweden (low crime, high social mobility)

Countries with high income inequality - Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Bolivia, Haiti, South Africa (high crime, low social mobility)

Where would you rather live?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality

Wow you were getting £140 per week. That's nearly £600 a month. You'd need to earn around £800 to take home this. I'm shocked that the government was willing to give out so much. Your entitlement wasn't that much different from somebody working full-time on the minimum wage, which goes to show you how ridiculous it was.

The problems faced in the countries you cite are far more complex though; corrupt goverments, overriding monopoly of power, corrupt legal systems etc

I beleived we were just talking about the UK.
If an employee is genuinely worth 1000x NMW to the employer then there is no reason they should not be rewarded.

microfight Where did you get such a job!?

It sounds like that is what the OP would like to do, work during school hours but those jobs are NOT easy to find! In some ways it's slightly easier for me as I am self employed (part time) and so work a few hours here and there that I can fit them in, but I work in a field that took 4 years of further education so if you don't already have that qualification you can't just go get it one weekend! The money and work is also irregular so I might work every day for weeks and then nothing for months.

I did for a long time look a round for a PAYE job that I could do during those hours for a more stable income but there is nothing! If you already have a job where you can negotiate those hours then that makes it easier. But to go out and look for one . . . what job allows you to do 2.5 hour shifts? Even supermarkets wouldn't do that!

Yes jobs in schools, but there is so much competition!

Up until now we have never been entitled to tax credit, do is self employed and subcontracts in the construction industry so earnt a good wage, since the new government have come in they have cancelled alot of contracts, new roads , buildings etc. This has pushed the amount of money being paid down, we are now entitled to tax credits tho not alot, false economy I say! How many people like us are now having to be subsidised because of this? Not to mention the money they have lost in tax now dp is being paid less

What annoys me is that bloody under achievers and people with no ambition get money given to them, while because we have worked hard to get where we are we are being penalised.

Oh come on! Surely you can see that isn't going to be the case for so many people. Like I said earlier my dad probably has (Undiagnosed) ADD and Dyspraxia and he is unable to concentrate long enough to do any sort of course. He is unorganised at work and breaks everything he touches. My brother works full time but I think has Aspergers and has trouble holding down a job. Again it was undiagnosed so he never got any help with it growing up. My mum has an anxiety problem which has left her unable to even leave the house (no there are no homework jobs!). My mum couldn't even claim benefits for her problem as it doesn't come under a recognised condition, if it wasn't for my dad I'm guessing she would have ended up on the streets.

Myself I have a degree and a profession and my other brother has a decent job as well in public service, so I don't come from a lazy family. But in my family there are people with all sorts of abilities. Yes my dad could take on more responsibility in his job (manual job) but last time he did that it gave him a massive mental breakdown!

I don't even think may family are that unusual!

Just saw W**nking tax credits in the thread title and thought my luck was in!

Coco - this probably needs to be a a different thread tbh (and I'm off to bed now) but where there is high social inequality, people spend more on guarding what they do have rather than being productive, and corruption and crime rise, again lowering productivity. It is not a Good Thing for society for wealth to be hived off by investors and speculators.

And I'd question whether anyone is genuinely worth 1000x the NMW btw. What the market will pay is meaningless when the market is broken.

To come back to the OP, while I've limited sympathy for her particular choice, it just seems crazy that the government has got us all arguing over a difference of hundreds of pounds in income between those on benefits and the working poor when we should be up in arms about the fact that the wealthiest 10% earn something like 9 times the poorest 10%.

ScroobiousPip

I do see it seems the rich get richer, the poor get poorer.

However in line with simple economics if an employee generates their company say, two million pounds in fee's then why should the employer keep all of that revenue or at least an unreasonably high percentage.

If the the employee generates that wealth they be rewarded by their worth.That generally is why certain people get paid highly- due to what they bring to the company as they generate the wealth in the first place.

Ah right OP, you don't want to leave your child with 'strangers' - aka nursery/childminder.

Clearly you are very happy with the rest of us mums and dads dumping our children with 'strangers'' and going to work so that you can get your £560 a month and do the school run.

Your sense of entitlement knows no bounds! Anyway, the free ride has ended- wake up to the real world of paying for the lifestyle you want!

janey68 I don't think there is anything wrong with that. Lots of people don't want to leave their kids with strangers, me included. I think that is a natural instinct and not something to be criticised for.