Tax childless adults

[Acidburn]

Hi all

Just saw the below article on LBC news:

www.lbc.co.uk/news/childless-tax-birthrate-uk-cost-of-living-paul-morland/

AIBU to think that this insane?

Well then the only way to cope in the western world is increase immigration.

look the idea will never happen but it’s not that absurd. The narrative has been “your children, your problem” for decades- hence we have a vastly underfunded childcare system. If the narrative changes to seeing children and parents/ mothers as a benefit to a country I’m not necessarily against that.

Yes to this

You might not think that when you're 85 in a care home and there are no care workers because there are no young people, and your pension has been hugely reduced because there are not enough young people paying taxes to provide it.

But increasing birth rate even further just creates a bigger problem for the next generations doesn't it? It's just a ponzi/pyramid scheme where you always need more people at the bottom. That's not sustainable. More younger people today to look after today's older generations, means more older people in a few decades time, many of whom need support, so need even more younger people, and so it goes on!

It’s madness. The solution is to put a subsidy towards those who have kids to reduce childcare costs.

or increase the cap at which child benefit stops, as that hasn’t risen with inflation at all

If there are labour shortages now, it’s hardly going to help by taking more women out of the labour market producing babies and leaving work to after them. Or, if they go back to work, to take others from their existing jobs to work in childcare. Who can predict what the job market will be in 18 years time?

This man is at Oxford University?!

He says women should get a telegram from the Queen if they have a 3rd child. As if anyone would weigh up saving £151k of lifetime expenditure on a 3rd child and a telegram from the queen and then opt for the telegram!

I love the way that he thinks "women should be educated" to have children at a younger age.

What about men should be educated not to be such dickheads, to take equal caring and financial responsibility for of all their children plus those rights should be enforced by the state?

Madness. I have friends who are childless through choice, they don't want to bring children into a world full of war and depleting natural resources and I have friends who are childless not through choice.

This whole tax thing is ridiculous. What's next banning abortion over here too?!

Nice idea, but it's generally the "healthier" ones who live longer so have more years of needing care towards the end of their lives, drawing pensions for more years, etc.

The unhealthy ones are more likely to die younger so won't need as much long term care and will draw fewer years of pension.

My MIL is 80 with dementia and will need to go into a home shortly. She's very fit and healthy and could well "live" for another decade or two, but her quality of life will be poor, and her care will cost a fortune!

Quebec increased their birth rate by offering subsidised childcare. I paid CA$149 a month for full time care when I lived there. Carrots not sticks

Guy's a dick.

This is a dumb and inflammatory way of expressing a reasonable idea. A better way of putting it: we need more and better state subsidized childcare so that couples feel they can afford to have children/more children. Taxes would need to be raised to do it, but there’s no need to specifically target childfree adults.

Plus he said "the Queen" as though she herself is immortal. It'll be a King won't it?

Yes I'm nitpicking but he deserves it.

As a woman who is childfree through choice I understand my lifetime earning is likely to be higher. We know women are paid less and career advancement is stifled in both cases by taking time off for childcare. So I already pay more tax.

Nothing financial would incentivise me to have children and most women in my position feel the same. It might incentivise me to leave the country for somewhere more progressive when I'm not seen as a vessel. This country just gets worse.

If this country was not such a disaster for women to have children in maybe they would have more. As it is women take a huge hit in careers & financially, medical treatment is second class, 'fathers' are allowed to abandon their offspring and leave the bulk of the work, and cost,to women.

Schools are a wok nightmare & tbh I am not sure I would want a child in this country anymore.

Thought planet Earth was over populated anyway.

But surely over the course of their middle/later years, people who have looked after themselves generally have fewer medical conditions and are less expensive than people who have spent their lives eating crap, drinking too much and doing no exercise?

(I said "generally". Obviously this does not apply to everyone, with conditions like Alzheimer's aside)

Or make childcare more affordable ?? Have more nurseries in large companies , improve state education. There are a million things the government could do to encourage parenthood, rather than taxing people who decide to not have kids, or those who choose not to. Utter madness.

Do they get a rebate if they decide to have a child at say 35+? What age does the tax start? The idea is so ill thought out it's almost laughable......almost.

• or those who cannot have children

This government will do everything possible to ensure that 60+ don't pay their fair share.

I thought his name was Paul?🤔

Back in the day, there used to be a tax allowance for parents. Surely the solution is to bump up everyone’s taxes and bring this back? Perhaps it could be given to each parent, but set against maintenance where that was actually paid, in the same way pension contributions or gift aid are made up to pre-tax levels.

Childfree/Childless people tend to have more disposable income and thus more money to spend which helps the economy. Taxing them further would make no sense.

I love it when people say that "we need more people to prop up the existing people" as if it's some sort of slam dunk argument to which there are no comebacks.

I'm well aware that society in its present form is based upon a continuous supply of infants, but I'm staggered that people can conceive of that as a GOOD thing.

Our society is divided, poor, over consuming, unhealthy in mind and body... Who looks at that and just goes, "yes, but at long as it exists...".

If you regret having children @OperaStation , then I feel sorry for your children