New £23k Benefit Cap.

[legotits]

AIBU to ask if anyone still supports this?

Which families is this targeted at?

Anyone who will be affected, is it even feasible to not be pushed into debt?

Ghost, most people chose their rent. Nobody is forced to live in an expensive area or house. Workers with no benefits have to live within their means so it's not hard.

If the children are suffering then the parents aren't parenting properly.

It's not about being miserable but about common sense. We waste so much money on people that won't work or do the bare minimum whist failing to provide for the children and then have huge NHS waiting lists, have to deny treatment, provide less staff for schools etc. There are a millions more better priorities for taxes than those who think it's their right to have the life they want at the cost of others.

Bollocks

Those of us saying no haircuts etc aren't attacking the working poor (even though some seem to think it OK to attack those on benefits) merely responding to the 'but they all go on 20 holidays a year, are covered in tattoos and out every night' accusations

england.shelter.org.uk/donate/120khomelesschildren?gclid=CjwKEAiA6YDBBRDwtpTQnYzx5lASJAC57ObM72uVTd7e0iPi9XOpqVihM3qjFpKEv-bYQamgDab96hoCh6zw_wcB

who think it's their right to have the life they want at the cost of others

Like the royal family? Tax evaders? Politicians with their exploitive expense accounts? Absconding fathers who pay no maintenance?

Sheldon you really are just behaving like a tory arse now! Choice! 7 year waiting list for social housing, last 6 months 2 x 2 bedroom flats (the same 2) available for private rent where I live. By which I mean a county - not just an area/town.

It's worth just quickly pointing out again that most benefits claimants get nowhere near the cap.

Seems to be an assumption from a few quarters that all people on benefits are getting £20k for not working - many of us fall thousands short of that amount.

Also, any other income is taken into account when working out other benefit amounts - for e.g. I don't get full ESA, even though I'm support group as I get a small medical pension from my previous job - and I'm taxed on my ESA too.

The highlands isn't an island

Missing the point I know

I fucking despair. I really do. What the fuck is happening to this country? Its like the soul is dying.

I agree with a previous poster regarding re-instigating the workhouses. We're halfway there with the food banks, all we have to do now is make people work for the privilege of actually receiving the food. Scummy beggers. And while we're at it, I think we should also bring back debtors prison. At this rate Oliver Twist will soon read like a bloody contemporary novel.

imisschocolate
Exactly,I and my 2 children have to survive on just £1600 more than the £1400 you mention for a single person.This includes paying for public transport as my one dd2 has bad legs and can't walk long distance,for me to take them to 'free' swimming sessions on a Saturday it costs £9 which will rise to £12.50 next year when dd2 turns 5

Sorry i meant £14000

These are homelessness figures Sheldon perhaps you can address this problem with your wise aplomb

www.crisis.org.uk/pages/homeless-def-numbers.html

Thing is no one seems to spot the elephant in the room. The money that Graphista may have spent on the items and services shes listed would have kept those companies that provide those items and services in business.

If they lose the business due to going under because no one spends money on their services anymore then their workers go on JSA.

I've now followed Jess and printed this thread but it'll be going somewhere suitable which isnt the job centre.

Wages have been falling in real terms. This is a real issue. The exception is NMW.

Did anyone hear the radio 4 thing on housing last week? There was a single mum with 3 children, in homeless B&B accommodation in outter London, and her HB didn't cover the cost of that, so she was getting into debt whilst staying there.

Now that I thought was criminal. Being housed not only in highly unsuitable housing, but getting into debt to stay there as well.

This will lead to more families becoming homeless or not being able to adequately heat their homes (expect a rise in childhood respiratory disease), more cases of malnourishment, more demand on food banks, more people in unsustainable debt, more MH issues ...

It won't save any money. The sole purpose of this cap is to strengthen the divide-and-rule strategy which keeps us all squabbling over the scraps and prevents us from noticing where the real wealth is being funnelled. Go and watch that Noam Chomsky thing on Netflix if you have it. It's based on America but it's exactly the same shit here.

The cap will mostly affect LP with 3 or more young children i.e. it will massively disproportionately affect women. Also mostly those in the SE and London where rents are ludicrous. I wonder if there is a correlation between where people live and how reasonable they think the cap is.

The cap only really impacts so far on certain geographical areas. So I suspect where people live does affect their views. Because in many places families will have this level of household income and no benefits except child benefit. I know on this level of pay, I would only be entitled to a small amount towards council tax.

Who posted that a working LP would get £1,600 a month working?

I work 30 hours and get £1,000 a month. Plus £90 a week tax credits. No rent or Countil tax entitlement. I could work evenings or weekends but not sure it would help after tax and reduction of tax credits.

What I don't get is they say it's to push people into work. But it cost the government more for these people to go to work. Because once people are on work they are not eflecked by the cap they then get alot of the rent paid. 70% childcare paid. Working tax ect. Time that's all paid it's cheaper to let the lone parent stay home. No money is being saved.

Because it is not about saving money.

For me, the fundamental problem I have is that people think that "the poor" are somehow inferior and it's their fault that they're in that position in the first place.

Well I would like to know how, for example, a 5 year old child, is at fault. Why should they suffer in cold, damp housing, eating a shit diet and barely dressed for winter. Is it their fault?

No decent human can claim that it is. No decent human.

There was a report out recently which has demonstrated that the decimation of the northern industries has its legacy in the welfare budget. Billions spent because the Tories didn't think in the long term.

The Tories don't think long term. They cut now, to win votes and forget about the long term impact.

I heard that Yello, it's well worth a listen - here.

Helena exactly its not just punishing the poor it's screwing the economy too. Current Tories have increased the national deficit by more than any previous govt of any colour, even when inflation adjusted.

ghostspirit of course not. The government knows there will always be people on benefit, there will always be people disabled, single mothers. There will always be those scapegoats there for them to blame for the economy being what it is. It's easy and handy for them. People focus on that, and don't see the real problems - government propping up businesses so they don't have to pay a decent wage, housing/rent prices through the roof (benefiting many of the wealthy), tax dodging, wealthy getting wealthier while the poor get poorer.

Why change a perfectly effective propoganda approach when it will keep them in office?