To think the govt are purposefully trying to keep the poor down?

[Alltheseboys]

Seems like with all these cuts the govt are deliberately trying to keep the working class down?

chicken - i thought that the recent job seekers allowance went up more than the current inflation figs due to the inflation figs last autumn. are you saying that the BBC are telling us figs and are biased towards the convercatives (this wpi;d be a first!)

i agree that house prices/rent are causing problems. And which gov allowed loads of immigration and therefore caused the demand on housing to become worse?

The touching faith that 'the market will provide'
This enthusiasm some have for getting off benefits and into work- as already pointed out, most claimants are working. Don't see much enthusiasm from Osborne to raise minimum wage, control rent etc. Wenow have mass youth unemploymen, highest women's unemployment for 23 years, etc. Growth in job creation is mainly part time. Kill 2 birds with one stone by building council houses - the great satan of public spending. So that won't happen.
And no, I don't think PCS is any more biased than this govt and I don't see why childrearing is a 'luxury' allowed only if related/married to high earner. Parents/carers should be economically supported.

And housing benefit drives up rent prices just as tax credits have driven up house prices.

...the government can ease companies off benefits by increasing the minimum wage to a wage people can afford to live on.

It's that simple is it?

The minimum wage could go up by £1/hr to £7.08/hr but then what happens to those who are already in a position that pays £7.08 per hour?

Of course I'm not prepared to commit fraud. I don't care what anyone says. DH was initially told he wasn't even entitled to CBJSA we had to appeal it and it took weeks to sort out.. The entitled to website is the only place that agrees we are entitled to more. We now have 3 letters rejecting our CTC claim and a few phone calls.

I'd rob a bank before my kids would go into care and that was the situation you claimed you faced when I suggested fraud, just to give the full story.
I doubt it's anybody's first course of action.

And housing benefit drives up rent prices...

Totally agree. The ridiculous and huge increase in HB under Labour is what screwed things up so comprehensively.

It gave landlords the opportunity to ramp up rents in the private rental market, as well as making property more valuable (due to the demand for buy-to-let properties) and so crippling those who want to buy.

I won't break the law under any circumstances if that makes me a bad mum then so be it.

Gosh.

yanbu

Food prices increased by 30% in the last 4 years.

Electricity and Gas increased by 15-18% just last year.

so what do you expect to happen? the middle earners pay even more tax? despite the fact that their food and electric prices have increased too? you can only expect middle earners to subsidise the lower earners to a certain extent and labour pushed that as far as could reasonably be expected.

Well dreamingofsun, I would compare that to the huge, unimaginable pay and profits of those at the top. CEOs earning MILLIONS while not paying their staff, in light of workfare.

I would keep in mind that those on low incomes such as jobseekers, can now not afford basic food and bills.

Therefore I would not support the government's proposal of tax giveaways for the richest, while pushing the poorest into further hardship.

The pressure on housing, food and energy is due to National an d global population growth. Of course noone wants to address that. Even if we stoppedall immigration we would still have 10%growth by 2030.... You think prices are high now.....

Surely though, there has to be an end point to all this; people no longer being able to pay their mortgages/bills etc; tens of thousands of people can't just be displaced. On a practical level, it's just not going to work!

So that's it! Ease the population pressure, kill off the poor by default and slow the population increase. Genius .

Its not due to population growth, its due to rising inequality.

Those at the top, for example the FTSE 100 CEOs, awarding themselves 49% pay rises last year. In ONE year!

The opening post is idiotic. The government is trying to keep the country going as best it can in very difficult circumstances.

People seem to try and twist things any way it suits them. The government aren't trying to keep anyone down or persecute anyone, yet many people think the govt. is trying to:

1. Penalise the poor
2. Penalise the rich
3. Penalise families
4. Penalise single people
5. Penalise women

..........the list of shite goes on and on. The govt. is simply trying to keep us afloat.

yes, global problems, or national problems, are not about resources available. They are about greed, which is the essence of capitalism. We are one of the very richest nations on the planet (6th iirc correctly) and we still wish to penalise our poor and vulnerable.
But we know this. And so does Cameron and Osbourne. The are just not bred to be interested.

oh pink trees you know nothing and obv think less.

Hecubas, have you tried the CAB? Because I strongly suggest you do.

I had a ridiculous situation with hmrc when I tried to claim wtc's last year and they too told me I wasn't entitled, even though all the benefit calculators clearly stated I was. I went down the CAB and problem was soon sorted.

CEOs earning MILLIONS while not paying their staff, in light of workfare.

But what do you suggest?

If the big companies suddenly start paying their NMW workers £10/hr+ and their other staff proportionally more (in order to maintain some order they would have to increase all wages, otherwise no one would be a supervisor/manager) it would simply put many of the currently low paid workers on the dole.

Once the lowest paid jobs become financially attractive to better qualified, more experienced workers, those currently in them will find their days numbered.

That's not to mention the effect on inflation and the resulting impact on the economy.