AIBU to think the govt should do more to help/support single people?

[windygallows]

Increasingly I've become more aware of how how single people really struggle in a society geared towards couples. Not only is it pretty hard to get by financially or even to afford a house as a house as a single person, but aside from a small council tax rebate there is absolutely no tax relief or support given by the government. One person paying all bills in a system which 'assumes' and sets couple-dom as the standard.

Surely the govt could intervene by, for instance, setting a different/reduced tax code for those who are single than those in domestic partnerships/couples. Being single is usually out of people's control, often down to fate, and shouldn't be penalized.

I've been single for the majority of my life and vividly recall how much better off I was in the 10 years I was with ex-DP; it was a marked difference. I've seen accomplished, but solo, friends struggle. I certainly don't want to hope and pray that my DCs meet someone just to ensure they have a good quality of life and, as a society, it sends a pretty rubbish message that being independent means that you're likely to have a reduced standard of income.

why should someone pay less for the exact same product just because their single say for example your single paying x amount if council tax then a partner moves in, in your logic then they should pay more because of it that dosnt seem fair

Council tax is hard to work out. Some people use more council services than other services. How should it be paid for fairly? Just as with other public services - some people use more than others.

I agree more should be done for singles. For example, try getting a boiler grant as a single employed person earning £16k a year, or a pensioner on the basic state pension. You cant. You cant, even when youre paying child support or having children stay with you 3 nights a week. I would guestimate (yep just me, no data) that the vast majority of men, single by divorce, yet responsible for child support, fall into this category whilst also needing to support accomodation for their children to stay.

If nothing else, I do know they wont get a free boiler.

Pensioners owning their own property, on a basic state pension, can be freezing to death, and they wont get a new boiler.

Single mothers or mothers who remarry, that are eligible for child related benefits, can have a household income of £36,600, and get a free boiler (and still retain benefits of course). The systems bust and we wonder why we're in a mess.

www.freeinsulationandboilers.co.uk/free-boiler-grants/?gclid=CPOKl_m-09MCFWsW0wodgL4G7w

Fruu living in a house share your entire life is a pretty shitty way to live. Do you want to basically just live in one room for your entire life? Awful, really dreadful and the only other time we consider it acceptable is if someone is in University halls or in a care home.

I'm single. I work (retail) and my contract is 16 hours (although I usually work more, it's not guaranteed). I can't afford heating or hot water. Rent, CT and electricity are just about manageable (cheap rent, been here a long time) but I also have to run a car (rural living), buy food, pay for my internet... I've got no resources to move, so I'm stuck.

If I lived in a couple, even if both of us did the same, min hours min wage job, I'd be laughing. BUT WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO?

living in a house share your entire life is a pretty shitty way to live.

in certain parts of the country we are in a housing crunch. House sharing is a way around it. Just "helping" singles doesn't make more houses.

While there are downsides to being single, there are upsides as well. but no doubt is it is cheaper to be a couple. But that makes a lot of sense. it's cheaper because couples can share a bedroom (which has its downsides) and bathrooms (which has its downsides) and other things.

The trouble isn't that housing is expensive for single people. The trouble is housing is expensive for everyone.

But chili why as a society are we happy for singletons to basically live in a room but as soon as you're a family a full house is needed. Why don't we ask more families, who can't afford housing, to co-habit so living with parents? Why do young mothers get given money to support living in a new home when there's a possibility of living with parents? Why is that considered inappropriate or undesirable but we're happy for someone without a family to basically spend their life in one tiny room?

Or why don't we ask families to live together with other families in order to save bills?

But chili why as a society are we happy for singletons to basically live in a room but as soon as you're a family a full house is needed.

It's much harder for a family to live with others than it is for a single person, especially with kids. The adult parent is then not only responsible for themselves to stay neat, but for children as well.

But I agree with you at some level, and if the housing situation gets bad enough we might end up there. But it's certainly the case that it's easier for a lone adult to live with a non-family member than it is for a family to do so.

Everyone has a story about why they should be given priority and more. Students also want lower rent (there are various student protests about concerning rent). So do single parents, single adults, the poor, families, the middle class etc etc etc. As I said, the problem isn't that housing is expensive for single people. It's expensive for everyone.

Or why don't we ask families to live together with other families in order to save bills

Like a little commune?

That might work...All the people in the commune working together and sharing / pooling resources but with their own space.

in a modern rich economy such as ours that single people should be able to earn enough to rent their own flat and all the costs associated with that when paid the median income
I agree with this!
For me living alone is a luxury that I am prepared to pay extra for, I'm in a long-term relationship but chose not to cohabiting because the benefits of having my own place are worth far more to me than the money I would save by living with my SO

But chili why as a society are we happy for singletons to basically live in a room but as soon as you're a family a full house is needed

One person needs less space than several people. Not exactly to explain, or unreasonable. If you want more space you need to earn more money to pay for it.
Same as for couples, in fact.

Not only is housing pathologically expensive it is also distribused inefficiently, a home is a basic need
not organising this properly is harmful to society as a whole
We need better systems and incentives to discourage for example older people from living alone in large family sized houses

I think everyone is totally missing the point. It's not at all single people vs couples, its that people aren't paid a decent wage for their work, on the whole.
But expecting everyone with a job to be able to afford a nice house and all living costs as a single person is living in cuckoo land.

House shares can vary a lot in price. I'm in Manchester and my rent was between £120 and £220 per month between 2010 and 2014ish, but there were single rooms advertised at £500pm or more if you chose to live in an expensive part of town or didn't shop around. We grouped up with friends and rented the whole house rather than one room, which I think makes it significantly cheaper.

They don't have to be grim if you're sharing with people who you get on with, and you're not living in one room if there is a communal kitchen, sitting room, garden etc. I loved coming home and playing games and chatting with my housemates. We had barbecues in the summer and watched TV and films together. The most grim things about it were generally the usual negatives of renting - I.e. difficult letting agencies and landlords who won't do repairs. I appreciate it'd be very different if you had a nightmare housemate or if you were very particular about how you want everything to be in your house, but equally you could move in with a partner who turned out to be an abusive slob.

its that people aren't paid a decent wage for their work, on the whole

True.

IF the Govt didn't pay benefits at all to working people and the only people who could be employed had to live in the UK, what effect would that have on pay / rent / poverty etc?

It would be great if Government addressed the issues of people who rent - renting is such an insecure area - and I do think Govt should address the issues that make renting such insecure.

Benefits are in part a means to redistribute wealth, it may seem unfair to those who ostensibly generate the wealth but for instance large companies cannot function without the infrastructure tangible and intangible of the society in which they make a profit.
So that's the roads,hospitals and schools used by workers and customers, the rule of law, the internet all if this is generated via the collective efforts of people over long periods of time

windy I think single parents deserve the most help. It's very tough raising DC on your own and the system should help single parents much more than those who co-parent.

shatners If we lived in the U.K. between DH and I neither of us would be lower income tax payers. My income is much lower than DHs but it is still a very high income compared to others. Even with 3DC I would still be a net contributor.

The fact is that you do not know what lies around the corner. You go ahead and have 2 DC, in our case we had a surprise 3rd DC. We have savings to cover us and a business to keep us floating should something happen. Very few people have that. That is what the benefits system is there for. As a single person or couple who are able bodied I do not see how it can be justified that help is provided.

Housing is an issue. Personally I think the green belt rules are insane. Land which is greenbelt but sits there not being used for agricultural purposes could be used for housing but can't be. I own land which is green belt land and I'd love to build 6-8 town homes on it. I might possibly be able to do it if I have it as low income housing. I most definitely cannot do it if it is housing for regular income people. Ironically there is no shortage of low income housing where this land is. There is a huge shortage of housing for those who are not low income.

justified that more* help is provided.

Theres absolutely loads of brownbelt land before any greenbelt land needs to be touched.

Also inefficiently utilised existing housing
Flats bought as investments and left empty etc

storm the problem with brown belt land is that it is very often extremely expensive to clean it up. Another issue is that the clean up methods used are not always 100%. There are cases where land has been decontaminated from mercury by capping it. Perfectly legal and ok to do this. The problem comes in if the cap fails and you have people living on that land.

A lot of green belt is not rolling green hills. It's lots of less than one acre with a horse on it. The land is close to bus route and under subscribed schools. A lot of brownbelt doesn't have good transportation links or available schools. On a quarter acre lot you can build homes for 3 families or 6 single people quite easily. The cost is minimal and the quality of life for those residents would be much higher compared to building on the brownbelt. The only cost would be rehoming the horse.

One person needs less space than several people. Not exactly to explain, or unreasonable. If you want more space you need to earn more money to pay for it. Same as for couples, in fact.

Not really as the govt gives housing benefit to so many families who do want to live in more space.

I dont have children and am a full time carer for DH who is 23 years my senior. Hes 67 Im nearly 44. He has ischemic heart disease emphysema and arthritis. We are living in a one bedroom flat.

When hes not around any more should i be expected to go into a houseshare.

Even though this is a social housing flat i would struggle to even afford this on a zero hours contract (because retail and care type zero hours jobs are all thats available round here. ) im also facing the possibility of some caring for my elderly parents who are in their 80s and really struggling to walk up the stairs in their home.

Should i be expected to house share afterwards.

Not really as the govt gives housing benefit to so many families who do want to live in more space

Did you just try to negate my point by agreeing with it? Interesting debating approach.

The word you missed their is FAMILIES. Not singles, not couples. Families: ie children.