to be utterly disgusted at people's comments re. welfare cuts

[HappyGoLuckyGirl]

Yes, I'm aware that our welfare system needs reforming. I do not profess to know how this should be done.

I've just read a few articles on the proposed cuts that primarily focused on reducing tax credits. The vitrol is appalling. I can't believe this is the country I live in.

I am a single mother working 40 hours a week also mid way through a 5 year part time degree. I earn slightly over minimum wage. Things are tight enough as it is, with the tax credits I get (80% of which goes on my weekly childcare bill) and now they are planning to reduce them.

I am trying to better myself so I don't always have to rely on benefits to get me through the month and yet I'm being punished! Why are working people being targeted? How is that fair in the slightest? If I wasn't so furious I would cry.

And as for people saying that employers should raise workers wages, I can say with 100% surety that if I approached my employer and asked for a living wage (increase of £8k+) I would be flat out refused and or fired. And I work in a skilled job! What hope do people who work for a large multi-national company have?

I am very this morning.

Just watched BBC news report, which is nothing if not deliberate scare-mongering. No proposals have been announced, yet this news report made it appear as if the government is deliberately targeting children. I agree with a much earlier poster that it is wrong that the the welfare system should have to subsidise employers, many of whom could afford to pay better wages; I think of care homes and nurseries as prime examples, knowing several families who run them and the income they draw, and the appalling wages they play their employees.

Mrs Devere is correct (about a lot of things) but just wanted to say DHs aunt had MS and she was better later in the day too.

FFS - to answer your points Fairy:

Vanilla where did I say his wages were £14k? I didn't, you assumed
Your post at 12:03:21 - Take a soldier, they can be earning £14k a year
The only soldiers on £14K are those on their training, and within their first year of service - anyone over a year who is private rank and has completed all of their basic and trade training is on level 1 (£18K+).

You're in the RAF, as is DH, DS1 is in the army...explains why you have no clue about when they get level 1 pay!
As I mentioned before, pay scales and terms are now tri-service; they have been for some time. Level 1 Private is the same as Level 1 LAC - on the lower pay band it is over £18K - the service I am employed by is not relevant in this case. I also linked to the current pay scales, which are available for all to see.

Food might be subsidised, but it is beyond diabolical. It's probably the main reason why they have kitchens in the barrack blocks now!
No, the main reason why they have kitchens in the barrack blocks now is because the method of payment for food is now 'pay as you dine', not taken at source - so the soldiers/servicemen can decide how they want to eat. Also, the newer barrack blocks are designed with kitchen (they are also en-suite which is not exactly roughing it, to be fair; certainly better than what I had when I joined).

But like I said, that is a derail from the point of the thread. You implied that the government were wilfully underpaying their soldiers and I pointed out that it was a disingenuous point.

yanbu

some stuff I have read is disgraceful, the stupidity of people is astonishing

I agree with tax credit cuts...far to generous and inadvertently create an over reliance.

We've claimed in the past but got into the ridiculous situation of my being able to take promotions or jobs because the knock on effect is you're worse off. Had a massive overpayment issue and decided never to rely on them again. The writing has been on the wall for years so people have had entry of time to ditch the habit.

We got 400 a mth when we earnt 38k and no childcare ....ludicrous! We saved every penny!

Lotus for someone who is super clever you are spectacularly thick. You will never get it. That's a massive flaw. Oh and all your bollocks about over 60 hours a week? Well frankly I'm glad I ain't one of your kids.
On another thread you bemoaned the fact your son had chosen the less smart choice and become a postman.
Do you ever think that's because of you?

I would be too ashamed to admit that Connie, and now genuine claimants will suffer but that doesn't bother you. You saved them all....lucky you, I have to live off of mine.

"Ditch the habit". Christ on a bike, I've heard it all now!

I usually avoid these threads because I find them so depressing but I'm ill on the sofa today and I'm getting sucked in.

Op yanbu and the culture of just looking after ourselves and demonising those struggling is one of the things that make me feel terribly sad for the future.

Many people turn down extra hrs or adhoc work because of theknock on effect on tax credits. That is ludicrous.theres many a sahm propped up by tc

How often to posters tell us they can't afford to go back to work?

There's loads of family's that don't need tc....at one point we were one of them but have worked our way out of the income bracket .

If u can't work because of disability u have my sympathies and I fully support benefits for people with disabilities

I receive tax credits. I've been sent quite a few scaremongering items about this.

What I have read (from less hysterical sources) doesn't say that they are going to take this money away from people. But currently the money comes out of a lot of people's wages in the form of tax, that costs money to process. Then another organisation makes a completely separate calculation about how much money should be returned, which adds an unnecessary layer of cost and is inefficient.

What they are proposing to do is to return that money at source, by not taxing people in the first place. Rather than having two expensive organisations processing a payment with one hand just to return it with another.

That's just common sense.

connie the extra hours are usually intermittent and inconsistent causing major issues because the system cant keep up with employers whims.

I didn't always save them! We've had hard times, redundancy etc....we needed them at one point. But we realised that we were the ones who could sort this out and became frugal, sorted debts out and started living to our means ....money we earnt. Tc money went in another pot so we did not continue to rely. Then we bettered ourselves work wise and got on our feet again.

Ultimately when we earnt 38k and lived frugally with No debt we saved that money every month ....easily.

If we didn't take the lead we'd be stuck where we were and panicking bout tax credit cuts and moaning on here

The argument raising the personal allowance is a better alternative is a piece of economic illiteracy that always astonishes me. It is expensive because everyone benefits, including those who don't need it - unless you claw it back in the form of higher rate taxes. And it provides little help for those on minimum wage, who pay little tax anyway.

Well that is the fault of those who voted for Cameron. I don't agree with it either. Picking on the poor to give to the rich, backwards Robbin hood society.

When I earned £38k I saved too, when I needed to give up work for my son (disabled) I had about a years worth of savings to see me through. After that year I still could not go back to work and claimed benefits. Then went back to work again but the constant interruptions were not popular with my employer so I am out of work again.

I hate it.
I hate others thinking I am "entitled" because I didn't re - home my cats (other thread) which help my son so much in engaging with the world.
I hate the constant propaganda In the press.
I hate IDS with every fibre of my being for his sniffy dismissal of anyone with a penny less than he and his cronies.

I don't think not taxing claimants will make any difference re cost because you will still have to have your pay looked at to establish NI contributions and then somewhere your earnings will need to be sent to calculate tax credits.
Under universal credit this will be done in real time so yet more expense.

If tax credits are cut, then surely for many people there will be little immediate financial gain in working, and they may as well just claim job seekers allowance, etc? Unless benefits are cut.

I think there is a lot of ill feeling about the lack of difference between how much a single mother of three on benefits receives, compared to a nurse or teacher for example,(who may well be single and have three DC) and is of course working very hard.

But tax credits are a much grayer area, as people who are willing and able to work, and are maybe earning as much as they are ever going to for what ever reason, but still cannot support their families comfortably.

I think the idea of tax credits was that people who were willing and able to work were better off than those who weren't. Or maybe I'm completely wrong.

I do think someone who earns their living sitting down and using their brain to do something they enjoy to earn a lot of money should be able to see that 60 hours of thinking is a fuck sight easier on the body than cleaning, teaching, nursing, retail etc which all involve being on your feet all day. Junior doctors working silly hours killed people. Lorry drivers working silly hours had accidents. It's another realm entirely when you can swan down to a study and look through emails over a fresh coffee.

That's the point of keep shouting about making work pay. The only way to make it pay is to lower out of benefits so much, any level of in work benefit will same amazingly generous in comparison.

I'm not any of those things and certainly not dishonest. I've never claimed for things we weren't entitled to. Tc levels are too high. It's bizarre that on38k u get 400.

We turned down part time work because we would be worse off with less tc and more expenses with childcare. This is bizarre as well and a huge flaw.

People have got too used to tc propping them up and include myself in this ad at one point we were using them rather than our initiative. People need to take responsibility...its a hard lesson