To ask what's the beef with benefits?

[mytartanscarf]

Do people think they are too little? That they should be more?

There's always a lot of upset on here about them - about how wrong the government are and how awful life is on benefits. I've never been on benefits so obviously can't judge. But what are the solutions?

I suppose I am asking what should the government do?

rufus she could have known all the facts... all the teenagers i know. know everything and they are never ever wrong..

Oh god ghost

Good point well made!!!

but at the end of the day she shouldn't be able to pay for things like that, loans or no loans, fair enough have a tv, fair enough have an xbox, but all 3 kids don't need one each.

I used to go out with someone who's parents lived in a housing association house. (that's the new name for a council house).
Essentially, they couldn't afford private rent, and so have a subsidised lower rent house provided for by the government.

(as it happens, they ex's parents both worked).

but in applying for and living in a housing association house they were "on benefits"

My ex, and siblings each managed a TV in their own room, as well as a games console.

You do understand the difference between being able to save up to get something that costs £100 (such as a TV) and being able to find a spare £100 or £300 every month for rent?

Not everything is as crystal clear as it may seem from the outside.
Not everyone who receives benefits gets everything provided for them
I suppose it's probably just as important to say that not everyone on benefits wants everything to be provided for them.

Commercial rents don't work the same as private rents, the market is very strange. lots of the landlords involved outright own property (as a lot of high street retail spaces in market towns are what were family businesses) there is no money lost, (it's not like loans or mortgages are still being paid)

I know commercial rent is different.

rent not being paid is money lost. You said the battle has been going on "for years". something is off. even at minimal rent that's a ton of money down the toilet.

Commercial rents don't work the same as private rents, the market is very strange. lots of the landlords involved outright own property (as a lot of high street retail spaces in market towns are what were family businesses) there is no money lost, (it's not like loans or mortgages are still being paid)

Also don'y you have rates to contend with as well? Cant the leaseholder also hold rents by expecting the council to reduce its rates?

There needs to be more social housing, (corrupt) local authorities need to stand up to developers and stop the social housing % being cut/removed from new developments, but that is another thread.

I used to go out with someone who's parents lived in a housing association house. (that's the new name for a council house). NO - it's not. Housing Associations are non profit-making businesses where the operating profit is ploughed back into the business. The rents are often slightly higher than Council homes and the tenants have slightly different rights. There's even an organisation called ARCH - the Association of Retained Council Housing for the few councils in England that haven't sold their housing stock to a new housing association.