To think that this woman is a greedy bitch?

[TheHairyDieter]

Greedy Bitch here

I believe that state handouts should be for people who genuinely need them. There is just not enough money to go around without giving them to people who are well-off. If Child Benefit was means tested, people on low incomes could be given more. That might be enough to get them off the dole and into work.

Honestly, this article had me seething. I hate greed

Exactly Dillydollydo - I didn't ask to be a mum on my own - he walked out on me after I'd cut my hours down to bring our child up as we were ok (not brilliantly but could pay the bills) moneywise and this was a joint decision, not just me saying I was not going to work full time. My career effectively went down the pan and it's left me to do the best I can for dd whilst he gives me the equivalent of £8/day to bring our child up on (which I know is a damn sight more than a lot of divorced mums out there). I was recently made redundant and took the 1st job I could find to bring in a wage which means my money has dropped further and given me even more to cope wit.( In effect I now am on the same wage I was 10 years ago). So yes, when our daughter was born we COULD afford her, but suprise suprise, SHIT HAPPENS TO US so stop pontificating that people have kids regardless of not affording them.
Sorry if this is garbled - I'll get off my soap box now!

VoiceofUnreason - Love the dig at the Catholics further up post. Yes, of course, it's all the Catholics' fault. Too many little feckless Fenians being born and putting pressure on the CB system.

Offensive nonsense.

I've never voted Tory...

Grrrr. You need to take that up with the office of national statistics.

Hardly anyone (on a national scale) is white British Muslim.

In addition your stats don't allow for atheists.

Fayrazzled - I wasn't being serious, but the point is still valid. We cannot afford to keep paying out for EVERY SINGLE CHILD any more.

Foslady - At the time you had your child, you were OK. Your husband left you. Therefore you are NOW in NEED and the system should be there for you. That is totally different to people who do not work, have rarely (if ever) worked, have no intent to work but have continue to have kids regardless. If you CHOSE to have a child now, in your current circumstances, that would, I suggest, be foolish and, more importantly unfair to the child.

This isn't about whether the AMOUNT of benefit is fair. It's about whether people earning over a signficant amount should receive a benefit. Common sense and fairness would tend to say no IF, and it is an IF, the threshold is applied well and the amount of benefit is sufficient.

I may think that people earning over £X shouldn't get benefit. That's not to say I don't think that the benefit as it stands if sufficient. We might be better off scrapping child benefit as such but provide free childcare across the board for kids aged 1 - 4.

Now, where's that box of doughnuts gone?

Where I live we have Halal and proper meat on our school menus which means less buying power ....now there's a cut I would support.

Voice. There's only ring left.

[wipes jam from face]

I know I sound like a broken record, but child benefit is different from any other benefit and should be treated as such. Happy to explain again if anyone doesn't understand that.

Posie I don't want your leftover ring, thank you very much And can you get ring doughnuts with jam in???

I hear you seeker!

They should still call it an allowance not a benefit though as everyone seems to get confused by the name

Nope, I ate the jammy one and left you the ring!!

seeker. I think you should have it somewhere and paste it whenever you feel necessary.

Posie Apologies for the misunderstanding. I gladly accept your ring in that case!

We do understand seeker, it's just that most of us think that the idealism behind the universal benefit is outdated and that poorer families are suffering as a consequence.

But you would be wrong Hairy.

We are all (bar those of us who don't notice price rises and have super duper high paid secure jobs) suffering because of the banking crisis, we are all suffering because of tax loop holes.

From your OP

If Child Benefit was means tested, people on low incomes could be given more. That might be enough to get them off the dole and into work.

And you criticise the idealism of a universal benefit

Posie - out of interest, if we were merely in a standard recession, with no banking crisis and minimal tax loopholes and we were still in trouble, would you still thing those earning over £x should receive assistance, no matter whether it is a benefit or an allowance?

I love a little fairness, so yes if we were truly all in this together I would fully endorse the better off being pinched - the more you have the more you lose.

Even rubbish collection isn't what it once was. In many places where it used to be weekly, it is now fortnightly.

Your point scares me getwiththeprogramme

It's my thin end of the wedge argument which the OP thinks is 'stupid'

But why can it not be applied fairly !!!! All of you on joint incomes of over £50k do realise you are going to lose it next year don't you ? Because the legal case being presented by some lawyers is saying it is illegal in its present form so they either have to means test it or scrap it completely.
And I am very happy for those of you who willing give it up, but it makes up a quarter of our family disposable income so is a huge loss. It's always those on the cut off who are hit hardest.

Why are people saying that the poor are losing out so those on £50k should suffer too. As far as I can see, it has only been middle income families who have lost out from the benefits system so far.

"Poor" families (presumably those reliant on benefits or on a low income) have not had their benefits cut at all, in fact they will get a 5% raise in benefits (which is a lot more than most workers are getting). A "poor" family with 2 kids would be entitled to the following;

Income support/jobseekers allowance, housing benefit (if in social housing) or local housing allowance (if in private rented housing), council tax benefit, child tax credits, child benefit, free school meals, free prescriptions, free nursery places (in some instances).

Those in low paid jobs will also still be entitled to working tax credits as well as many of the other benefits which can still be claimed by the low paid.

On the other hand, the "rich" (or anyone earning £50k) has lost the tiny bit of child tax credits that they were entitled to, will lose child benefit, has to pay lots of tax and NI on their earnings, doesn't get help with their housing so has to pay the full whack of rent or mortgage, doesn't get free school meals, free prescriptions etc, has to pay through the nose for childcare.

The truly rich (millionaires and billionaires) are not affected at all as they either pay no tax - "Only the little people pay tax" - Leona Helmsley, or pay pay as little as possible.

Sorry but I think the middle income workers are definitely the ones taking the brunt of these cuts. "We are all in it together". Yeah right!