to wonder what benefits will get the chop from the £12 billion of cuts?

[steiner8]

Just that really. I'm wondering which benefits are going to go or be significantly cut. Anyone have any idea?

The problem is that for some people it has become a mentality, not something to be grateful for. The world does not owe you a living and neither does the government.

Yes.

The problem with going down the krrugman/Keynsian economic route is that you have to ignore our current deficit and your lumping the debt onto our children/grandchildren by hoping that future interest rates are favourable going forward.

We have a dwindling tax base as it is, it's not a simple case of tax the rich more as its a knife edge situation where they will move if things become to expensive (see france as an example), we are now a globalised economy with automisation an elephant in the room.

The only political party that wasn't offering any kind of austerity was the greens

I read this the other day and seems to pinpoint where cuts could be made:

www.ifs.org.uk/publications/7762

So many spelling mistakes ....

Here longtime have a - you could do with it

I luurve stuffing I do - yum!

BMW how old are you? Fifties? I think that these are good years for you. But at 70 you may be relying on the NHS more. At 80 it may be care that enables you to live independently. These things are creaking now. They may be gone soon.

I voted Tory I think the cuts should be deep. we will find out in July.

Why wouldn't they dare cut child benefit? Surely of all the things that could be cut, that's got to be one of the most harmless.

Yes, it might be important to a few people (but maybe they can still have it?) but in comparison to DLA, WTC, CTC and other things that have been mentioned as potentially vulnerable for the chop, CB is a really minor concern.

Howtorebuild-It wasn't an accident of birth giving them chances others didn't get, no it's because poor people or disable people deserve it.

It's sad that in 2015 people still buy into this patronising Socialist Workers' Party claptrap. Poor people are poor because they got no chances in life and rich people are rich because they were born with a silver spoon in their mouths.

Maybe true for about 1% of the population but for most people, they are rich or poor because they made good or bad choices. Most people fall somewhere in between, they made some good choices and some not so good, and they could have been richer or poorer had they made better/worse choices.

The vast majority of people who are poor are poor because they made terrible choices, not because they were destined for poverty.

I only said they wouldn't dare because Cameron has pledged on several occasions not to cut it. I don't think he would want to be seen to so obviously go back on his word so soon. I don't trust him though so he may well do.

Terrible choices. What like serve you in the supermarket?

TTW There are many MNers on here who care for disabled partners or children.

How is it their fault or choice?

I think Cameron was foolish to rule out cuts to CB though because it means even less palatable options are now on the table. I think politically they could have sold changes to cb. He did the same in the 2010 election with pensioner benefits.

manic im just thinking nothing is less harmless. it all has a knock on effect. if housing benefit is lowered. the shortfall will come from tax credits/child benefit. if child benefit stops it makes it difficult for people with children...no matter whats taken its familys/children that suffer. its the children that matter the most

Actually TTWK the recent studies show that even with hard work it is much less likely that social mobility will occur. The "hard work" myth is perpetrated by the wealthy, as it was in the Victorian era, and used as a stick to beat the poor.

Your attitude displays a complete misunderstanding of the situation, most people are in the situation that they find themselves in through a combination of very small differences in life chances that change opportunity and the ability to access opportunities hugely.

Check your privilege. Do you think Cameron and Osborne et al got where they are today because they worked hard and made the "right" decisions?
Ok, well how come Cameron got caught smoking dope at school and his life turned out ok? Do that at your average comp and you get expelled and a criminal record.

Do you think without parental input, private education etc they would get where they are? Do you think that people who are born poor have equality of opportunity?

Cuntychops of the highest order. Now, where is the gin (sorry BMW the wine went straight down)

hope its not child benefit. its the only one we recieve but it is the difference between us being able to afford everything or having to miss essential bills.

TTWK social mobility is very poor now. The 50s grammar schools gave a section of society mobility out of WC areas that now have far fewer jobs. Some people were well to do but accidents or disability or illness can whip that away. Believing that everyone poor has somehow engineered their station is daft. Do you believe the royal family made better choices than most people?

I know first hand how much money is wasted on housing benefits. My father owns streets of houses rented out predominantly to those receiving housing benefit in Manchester. He bought the homes in the 90s for about £10k a street. All homes were gutted before being rented out. He runs things as a true nonprofit taking no salary for himself as he doesn't need the money. Rents are well below the max benefit allowed. He has been approached by many housing associations who want to buy the homes from him but my father refuses to sell because those renting privately would be forced to move somewhere cheaper. Many renters are families or the elderly and they have too many bedrooms or adapted homes so a move would be awful for them.

If they sorted out housing I think most of that £12bn would be saved. I had one girl at my fathers house who works for a housing association in the UK who was paid to volunteer in Uganda FFS. Their chief is paid over £150k a year with a final salary pension in the north west. Totally stupid salary IMO considering when I have audited multinational manufacturing companies in the area the head person is rarely on more than £100k plus they don't have a pension.

Oh ok, I didn't realise Cameron had said he wouldn't do that (makes sense I guess, it's about the only benefit his target voter will be receiving)!

ghostspirit - yes, true. But if it was kept (or assimilated into UC) for those who actually need it then most people wouldn't really notice it's absence, would they? If I lost it it might mean that my children have to take 1 fewer dance class a week or we go to a couple fewer shows a month - I think they'd probably learn to cope with that if it prevented the cutting of a different benefit which is going to stop other children eating!!

Cameron definitely said he did not plan to change child benefits. Not that he wouldn't.

ttwk i was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth.. im not educated i did not have a good education.that has a knock on effect of how my life will be its very likely i will only ever be in min wage jobs.

its very sad that people such at cameron will take away from people who need it most when i doubt very much he knows what its like

Want2b - that's good to hear. If he rents decent houses at affordable prices, covering his costs then that's great.

"I manage fiiiiiine on 30K"

You have benefited from special economic circumstances (if not inheritances) so no housing costs and do not have growing DC.

Fuck. Off.

I don't think a Labour government would make any difference whatsoever to social mobility or distribution of wealth. It just makes it even more difficult for people to get on. IMHO.

sorry Beth that was an unfortunate cross post.