AIBU to think if the cut off point for child benefits was £100k then there would still be people here complaining and figuring out ways to still claim it??

[ssd]

cos I'm fed up reading of people saying they can't cope and should their dh get pain 49999.99 instead if 50k? or should they just lie on the forms?

I know its unfair in the aspect that its not based on household income, but 50k limit seems ok, people moaning just sound greedy

Morloth don't worry they have already hit the ones at the bottom.

i think they should tax old people

oh wait

maybe they should fuck with the benefits for disabled people

oh wait

child benefit was always a perk anyway

i fucking hate the tories so much i want to spit

but child benefit has always mystified me.

if you have kids - you either get benefits cos your poor or disabled - or both

or you dont

no universal shit cos you have a kid

what
the
actual
fuck

thats just ridiculous

and tbh if you have a mortgage and your child benefit being taken away is the straw breaking the camels back - which would make you homeless

you
overstretched yourselves

i mean who gets a mortgage and depends on CB to pay it?

People will be having similar arguments about state pensions in 20 years time.

I am not worried, just an observation. I am lucky enough to be just an observer.

They neatly cut the disabled benefit by redifining what is disabled. So when people complain, they can say 'But you are not disabled...' and that gets the masses onside because they can say 'We haven't cut disabled benefit'.

Next you cut benefits to people who many people perceive as having plenty of money. Can't complain much and the masses say 'Oh well they have more than me.'

Next you move down a notch to the people just below the previous group and so on and so forth. Eventually you end up with the masses not getting any welfare and wanting to make sure that nobody else does either.

OK, so maybe not the first move, but the first very obvious and sweeping move.

It would be fascinating and interesting if it didn't involve real people being left up shit creek.

If they didn't pay any benefit at all to people with any sort of job we would have £60 per week to pay rent, CT, fuel bills, buy food, nappies and to cloth the DC. Not doable, wouldn't even cover the rent. HOw would you then afford job hunting, going to interviews etc?

I agree Jareth.I read an interesting article yesterday re pensioners and how well off an awful lot are sitting in massive paid off houses(that were cheap to buy in the first place),booking up cruises, enjoying investments etc,working whilst enjoying WFA,free bus passes,free prescriptions etc then getting state pensions.

I have no sympathy with the freezing of the tax allowance-why shouldn't wealthy pensioners pay the same tax as everybody else?

Now not all pensioners are so lucky and should be cared for but an awful lot aren't and all these perks cost a lot of money and in many cases aren't needed.

I don't think the Tories will do anything about it as they are probably the only voters aside from the super rich they've got left but I think once you start chipping away and lambasting people not unemployed for getting any state help really it's the thin end of the wedge and actually I don't think morally people can moan or tell people loosing to CB to simply move or get a better job when they are having their income topped up by the state.

Custardo many people live in areas where it's cheaper to have a mortgage than rent and where to buy a shoe box or ever get a chance on the housing ladder you do have to push yourselves to the limit.

In recent years mortgages have gone up as has inflation,food prices,petrol,train fares etc. Families are £100s and £100s worse off which they didn't see coming.We have always been very careful and never had to borrow more than we can manage comfortably however our bumper has been gradually eroded with no warning.We are fine but I can see how many families through no fault of their own have in recent years had to rely on CB a lot and loosing it will have a massive impact.

Only got to page 2 but was curious about the poster who said about everyone should be able to live on 20k. I've just calculated our yearly rent and travel to work and that is over 19k alone! (Makes me feel a bit sick actually!)

I think they should be able to green in an ideal world, wasn't me who said it btw. The problem is housing and transport costs are so high in reality it's impossible.

"People will be having similar arguments about state pensions in 20 years time."

Probably - although the difference is that people are encouraged and do plan pension finances 20 or 30 years ahead of retirement.

Lesley- an awful lot of people don't do that though. I know dozens of people who barely give a thought to what they're going to live on post-65, and I agree with you- I don't think the state pension as we know it will exist much longer. And even if it does, I wouldn't want to be relying on such a pittance

I did and I know others who do. Granted many don't. A different argument I know, but tbh if state pension goes I will probably be one of those who end up on the cusp of being no better off than if I had not saved for a pension. And I will be angry at this.

Yes- I agree lesley. Another major fault of previous govts- that we are sold the lie that if you try to be a responsible citizen and pay your own way, you'll be rewarded for it. The reality is that if you piss away your income, the state will pay for your care in old age- probably in the same care home as the mugs who've worked and saved hard all their life and had to sell their home to pay for their care.
Makes me angry too

I know a lot of people not reliant on CB not paying into a pension or the interest on their mortgage.

I think people need to appreciate some of the pressures re the squeezed middle ie they will probably have no state pension, help with retirement home fees, help with housing or anything else.

I think they should be lowering tax if we're going to loose things like CB,TC so we can pay into our pensions,pay off mortgages and plan for old age.

None of us have limitless amounts of cash. Trying to feed young families,commute,pay for extortionate housing whilst saving for old age is just laughable.The very poor will always be protected as will the rich.There are going to be some very desperate squeezed middle oaps in the years ahead baring no similarity to oaps currently enjoying retirement but nobody actually cares as the squeezed middle all shop in Waitrose apparently.

Hec - in ideal world, yes, it'd be great if we could live on 20k. Your right - it is housing and transport costs which take so much money.

We moved for work to a much cheaper area. DPs salary was cut then I lost my job and couldnt get another one. I then ended up getting a much better paid job back in London but commuting down. My commute costs were in excess of 7k/annum! The time to commute each day was usually between 3 and 5 hours a day depending otherein problems. We finally made the decision to move back down south because I couldn't cope with the commute. I found it exhausting, we were paying loads for it and to top it off we were living away from all our family and friends, yet not actually saving any money by doing so. We had absolutely no quality of life and for nothing extra.

Now we are living in London. Our rent is significantly more expensive than it was but we no longer pay the £7k commute costs. Although we do still have DPs expensive commute costs to pay back in the other direction but significantly less than what we were paying for me.

I would love to live somewhere where costs were reasonable. We don't have children at the moment but I think the changes seem grossly unfair. We have been waiting before starting a family for a time when we are financially secure and have enough money to support any children we have. CB is something which I think is so valuable - I'm a bit taken aback that by the time we eventually have children, we may not get it. It does make me think 'why are we bothering'. I don't mean that to sound harsh by the way - I don't resent anyone getting benefits whose incomes are less and have claimed what I was entitled to when I lost my job. I do think that with ridiculous living costs (we live in a one bed flat by the way), food prices going up, fuel prices going up, petrol prices (DP has to drive to get to his job where there is no train station and it is located 80 miles away), it isn't easy for anyone whose income is cut.

And as for the unfairness imposed upon one parent households by the stupid new rules, it makes me so angry!

I have no money to save for a pension, I am going to be like my Grandfather (if I ever get another job), drop dead at work.

i think tax cuts will come, but first the national debt needs tackling, otherwise, we will be the generations who spent the money, leaving it for our children to service and pay off.

looking at the last decade:

1. the govt spent money we didnt have
2. increase in personal debt meant many of us spent money we didnt have

low interest rates wont go no forever, so now we need to get the debt under control. it wont go away and if we pay it off, future generations wont have to.

Hecubas - sorry to hear about your poor health. I worry sometimes if I will ever live long enough to reach retirement age as well.