To be very scared at the details of the Universal tax credit?

[Feminine]

I had no idea.

I've been away from the UK, and just saw the actual proposals/rules on another thread.

Its bad right?

I imagine there is another thread on this so if there is, sorry ...I can't find it! :)

I can see that there will be lots of people needing childcare. Perhaps it's a good time to be training as a childminder?

If you are self employed and earning nothing or less than NMW on average, taking your annual salary and dividing it by 52 as is the calculation for tax credits purposes then you do not have a sustainable business and why should the state be subisidising you ?

Slight snag there though BayPolar.
People don't have kids expecting them to have disabilities.
People don't have kids knowing they are going to become disabled themselves.

I dont think its a problem for couples. Me and DH currently do 65 hours(70 hours when overtime is available.) and it isnt that bad. The one thing is if the work is available. I couldnt imagine having of until dcs were 5 as 5 whole years seems a long time and I think that is very lucky.

I think it is different for carers and children with special needs and moremoney should be ploughed in to supporting them

bumpybecky..... depending on where you live, you might only earn £3 per hour as a childminder though so that wouldn't be good enough even if you worked 60 hours a week, every week if you only managed to find one full time child. Then take off all of your expenses.......

To clarify clothesofsand DH leaves the house at 7.30am with dd and sees her onto the school bus. At 8am I drive ds to school and then onto work for 8.30. DD gets home at about 4.45 and DS is usually home by 5.30 (6th form and has prefect duties to sort out). I am usually home at about 6.30. DH is usually home by 9.

The children are independent and very well cared for. We have never used our dc as an excuse not to work. DD telephones me the minute she gets in.

We have never received nor expected to receive a single penny from the state except child benefit. We started a family with capital behind us when we were mid thirties and sure we could support a family.

I work because I like work and like to have my own pennies jingling in my pocket. Our children have been brought up to expect to work too.

Thats a good point bumpybecky, if lack of child minders, after school clubs and specialised childcare still exist then its the ideal opportunity.

The teen things is a bit of a red herring. Yes in an ideal world every mum would have the chance of working 10-2 but its never going to happen. If you cant find a minder or dont have family then you ensure the child can cope for a couple of hours after school. There is no reason for a 12 year old + to not be capable of looking after themselves. If they get into trouble, i doubt very much it will be due to the parent working after they finish school for a short while but for other reasons.

Labour allowed people to not be self sufficient and turned the welfare state into a lifestyle choice. It cant go on that way even though thousands probably want it to. Having a child/children is a huge financial burden but its not like its unknown before having them.

Regarding disabled kids, I'm all for there being financial aid for such cases. But the able-bodied, no, suck it up and pay for your own kid hobby, just like I have to pay for my lifestyle choices.

I'm just starting out Heswall. Rome wasn't built in a day and all of that.

It's all very well people saying they're all for there being financial aid yada yada but the fact of the matter is that the government are targetting children and adults with disabilities and their carers and nobody is speaking out about it except the people directly affected themselves!

Then when we do highlight the issue people state that they are sure that's not the case!

I also have MS and no one's going to employ me. I was forced to leave my last job as they didn't like me taking time off sick. There's no way I can sit at home and do nothing so I became self employed. I can rest when I need to and take time off to go to hospital appointments. I have a couple of clients and I have other things in the pipeline. People don't come in square pegs.

I thought it was well documented that the middle classes in the USA were a net drain on the earth's resources, and that their lifestyle is unsustainable without increasing exploitation of others.

too many states there.

Sorry.

oo, maybe am tired from having nonsensical kids who are simply a burden on the state and I should have thought about it before having him so should have my feckless whoring exhusband cameron is going to find and- legally demand financial support from

Actually, I am packing a box right now, to leave ds in, outside a happy clappy church in alabama. maybe one of the christianati in that god-fearing place will drown him for me?

Unlikely, yes it sucks that your ex left but that doesnt mean you absolve you of the financial responsibility yourself. Yes, using childcare and working can be a juggle but thousands manage it and if you are a single parent its only 24 hours a week until secondary age - its not like they are expecting 12 hours a day!

I'm not a fan of the USA either. Neither is my DP.
I just thought it interesting to show that those of us who don't have kids - in the US, at least - still wind up paying huge amounts of money for those who do.
In an idea world, we should be able to choose where our tax money gets spent, and spending it on the children of others, well, I'd rather have my taxes used for better things, like green energy, education people to use less, and so on.

Please, let's not turn this into a US vs F.UK bashing event.
I'm British, by the way, albeit I boycott my country for many, many reasons, the wasteful welfare state being one of those reasons.

There is a subtle new thread here somewhere; 'what saintly sensible things I have done to save me being an utter drain on the states resources'

I shall start:

Well, . I have no right to contribute to this thread, because I had a baby within wedlock whilst very gainfully employed then it all turned to shit. I am going to whip myself til my arse breaks for my selfish stupidity.

Happy
I will never claim from the state.
I used my salary - 17k a year - to invest wisely so that I didn't need to rely upon the state and so that I can retire 23 years prematurely.

When people argue about whether or not they should be expected to support children, I don't look on it as 'paying for other people's children', I look on it as paying back the support you had from the state as a child - eg your own schooling

Because whilst some may choose not to have children, we were all children once.

These children are going to be your doctors or your nurses when you're older. Surely you're investing in their (and your) future with these benefits?

Up until my youngest was 16 I got, housing benefit, council tax benefit, income support, child tax credit. I was out of work for three years sick.

I was not forced to sign on like you are now when the child is what 8?

happymumofone, um...er...I do.

Thanks for the pointer though. I will remind myself to carry on not absolving myself of any financial responsibility. Can you actually read? You need to start taking steps to address this if not. Mind you, you could claim fuckwit allowance.