to ask if most of you realise the tax credits cuts affect people who work, not the unemployed?

[ssd]

yes, that's right, people who work get tax credits, you must work to get them

the cuts affect people in work, not people who dont work

I'm fed up reading here about the lazy unemployed who will get their tax credits cut...err no they wont.

A bit of inflation is generally desirable, huge inflation is not.

I know. Deflation not very desirable either.

But we haven't got anything like "a little bit of inflation", and now we're about to slash the disposable incomes of the spending classes.

So we'll flirt with deflation for ideological reasons, but we'll keep wages depressed, because inflation must be feared.

This is an economic experiment, one made entirely by choice, and the figures aren't looking too encouraging.

Thank you for answering, Statistically :)

If it's able to be used as an excuse to claim for third and subsequent pregnancies many will lie for the money if there doesn't have to be anything on record.

Viz top tips for policy makers:

If your policy creates an incentive for people to lie about being raped, it's almost certainly a shit policy.

I'm confused, neither my DH nor I earn as much as £15 ph, he is close but I am not. I also work pt. We have 1 child in paid childcare. The only unearned income we have is child benefit- no tax credits or other benefits. We run 2 cars, have a mortgage, manage a holiday (even if it's UK) most years...

Why do you need £15 ph to be able to live without government input?

aspie because depending where you live, any less won't be enough to live from.
Wages have not increased enough.
Do you mind sharing where you live, your rent /mortgage?

Oh, and bigger children obviously eat more than little ones.
Yet, the tax credit amount remains the same. Feeding three teens, even if frugal can be a challenge.

I'm in the midlands, mortgage is just under £600 pm, that got us a 3 bed house.

I think you are managing really well. Living where you do helps though, as that won't get you a one bed flat in London!
Thanks for explaining :)

*for 600 l mean.

I realise that it won't go as far down south, that's one reason why we don't live there...

It was possible for a man to have a regular job not that many years ago and support his family.
Woman choosing a career over being a sahm caused the rise in house prices among other costs of living. Now sadly it is no longer a choice for a mother ( in a couple) to work but a necessasity.
That among other things us why I am not a feminist.

I see this as a good reason for everyone to be paid the same. A lot of these problems would be solved if everyone earnt the same amount, and everyone worked the same hours. If one person's working overtime, then that's another person without a job. Everyone gets £50K and works 20hours a week, and pays tax on it. That's it.

That among other things us why I am not a feminist.

You blame feminism for the rise in house prices?

Yes, all those women in government doing everything they can to prop up house prices.

Men would never have let that happen.

There's a lot to be said for that, Jux.

I think they tried the 'everyone works the same hours and gets paid the same no matter what the job' thing in East Germany and the Soviet Union, and we know how well that turned out

We know how well it worked out for the Western world when fear of the soviets kept a bit of a rein on rampant dog-eat-dog capitalism.

Since the capitalism triumphed, it has started to eat itself.

Agree OTheHugeManatee. That, and who would bother doing the massive amounts of training that goes with some jobs without any sort of potential personal gain as a result? Very few people. Qualifying for my job takes roughly 7 years of studying on average - and that's after a degree. Why would I bother when I could instead find a vaguely fulfilling/interesting job that didn't require any of that effort? Oh, and looking at current UK average incomes even if we split all the income equally it would be nowhere near £50k!

How do the ill and those with disabilities manage that Jux

article by Keir Starmer on tax credits and rape

I'm in favour of a flat rate paid to everyone, it would be the same and enough to live on.
If you want to work on top - then so be it!

see that's WHY I am a feminist - people still blame women for everything

can I please point out that in this budget the Government restricted public sector staff to a 1% pay rise a year for 4 years (while giving themselves 10%)

so people claiming wages will make up losses in TC - not for those of us in mid paid public sector jobs it wont - oh and due to a hiring freeze I CAN'T increase my hours either!

Bathtime I don't agree that we 'all' know already how well it has worked out for Western capitalism since the Cold War ended. I agree that in some ways our culture has been a bit lost since that Big Enemy disappeared, but I think it's a bit too early to tell how things will go.

Jux £50k for 20 hours, yes please.

I haven't RTFT, but what significance does working hours have on this? Lots of posters are saying colleagues etc aren't working extra more hours as they'll lose out on tax credits but I work 32 hours and my husband works 40 hours and we get CTC and WTC. Do you mean because their income will exceed the threshold if they work more hours?

For universal tax credit, the more hours worked are in our 'favour'
However, the stipulations placed on people are going to be draconian.