Families on UC

[happypickle]

Off the back off another thread and doing a few searches of the benefits calculator, it seems the sweet spot for a lot of families will be to be renting, have a low/medium earning (typically) husband and an unemployed mother who stays at home. This seems to yield the highest return for UC, no childcare expenses and a happy mum who gets to stay at home and be there for her children.

It doesn't seem to be fair that UC system supports this whilst middle earners will be expected to both work full time in order to pay their mortgage and pay extortionate child care fees to probably be in a worse financial position than those on UC.

I know the theory is that long term, the working couple will be better off as they will have better pensions and career progression. But is that really the case?

*Yes, because they probably have income from somewhere else - likely their partner who also financially and practically supports their household.

I can't generate the same income as two people who earn enough together not to claim, as much as I would like to.*

No one can expect a single person to generate the same income as two wage earning adults. I’m a single parent, I needed to claim UC for a short time after my marriage ended but I was always clear I needed to be able to run my home on a lower income than I’d had when I had my ex’s income coming in. I changed job and increased my hours, and yes life would be much easier if I worked less and claimed UC to pay the balance.

Well no,

I’m not benefiting because I am paying my tax towards the benefits the Starbucks’ workers receive.

That’s the whole point.
If Starbucks paid a living wage to their employees so they didn’t need benefits top ups you wouldn’t be able to afford their coffee.

I don’t want their coffee anyway.

I want them to pay their tax and if their business model is not sustainable then they ought to rethink it.

I woudn’t find renting and depending on the goodwill of the state to support my children a sweet spot, I’d find it incredibly precarious, stressful and dehumanisimg.

If it appeals to you I supoose you could try it.

Because this is there we stand now, an economy that depends on an abundance of low paid workers and that’s prohibitively expensive to run.

its a pyramid that feeds on more and more people joining in order to keep Big Business in dividends.

The current government is happy with it and the future is only interested in the low lying fruit, taxing the individual.

Bless you, I don’t think you understand. You will be benefiting because in your life, unless you live fully off grid, you will be receiving subsidised goods and services that cost less because the state tops up the wages of the low paid.

Some examples

• delivery drivers
• supermarket staff
• nurses and other lower paid health professionals including some junior doctors
• teaching assistants
• road repairs
• Pharmacy assistants
• Any kind of food production lower paid staff
• bar and restaurant staff
• retail staff
• care workers
• child care workers
• cleaners
• charity workers
• taxi drivers
• performers
• cultural staff e.g theatre box office staff

Bless me indeed.

Who are these services you mentioned subsidised by? The magic money tree?

I’m a nurse I work 22 hours and have done for a while also single parent, I also care for my son who gets dla high rate care and we get uc. I could give up to look after him but I am struggling by at the moment, we do get uc but I want to keep my registration as I can imagine I will need to go back full time when he is older depending on his care needs. I did work full time for years before he was born.

it’s been quite stressful having to rely on benefits to be able to pay bills and eat, not like we are living the high life, we were homeless for a substantial period of time when our landlord sold up and no one would take me due to my income. We were finally housed in march last year. We get by from month to month, no savings no backup or holidays or nice things.

Currently might need to drop a day at work as son is not coping in school and might need to go to specialist provision so until then he’s only in part time. Who would actually want this? I love my job, my colleagues, and want to be at work.
it’s not a choice it’s just life just now. Hopefully it won’t be forever. Especially given how the majority of people see people like me and it feels pretty horrible tbh

The benefit system is massively over perceived as a "lifestyle" when it's far from it. I'm a single parent who left an abusive relationship with the police, I couldn't stay and bring my kids up in that environment. Even though I was working I had to claim tax credits as a stop gap.

It took me 8yrs to move off of tax credits and it was hard, my parents stepped in with extra childcare so I could go away with work time and time again so I could move myself further up the food chain. We live in the south east which is expensive and at the time I was mainly living paycheck to paycheck. Every time I took a promotion at work the government took more tax credits back than my wage rise in actual pay.

I now earn enough money to be able to live without them and under no terms would I ever want to go back to them as I know that it would be a step back and I would struggle again.

However I do not begrudge other people needing to claim benefits, lots of people genuinely need a hand up in life. Working and being able to afford a mortgage is not comparable and it is always going to better than living with the uncertainty of the benefits system as well as the current financial climate.

'I think the point this poster was making is that if you’re against UC being used to top up wages, then the only answer would be to increase wages which would probably mean everyone paying more.'

If they remove wage top ups, the economy will find its own price point. Rental prices will be reduced to what people can afford instead of being inflated by benefit top ups.

What you don’t understand is who is benefiting.

What about the huge dividends paid out to shareholders? Take Thames Water for example.

Their low paid workers are topped up by benefits, their dividends go where?

Question.

Someone earns £30k
How much of their yearly tax goes to Unemployment & in work benefits?

You're talking like every worker pays 40% of their pay to UC claimants.

So Please give us the actual figure.

You seem to confuse me with the tax office or maybe with Google.

Thank you.

That answer tells me 2 things about you.

You do t know what you're talking about - this is causing ignorant Rage

You have no interest I learning what you're talking about - which means nothing I say, not anyone else for that matter, will change your mind.

Good.

For anyone else wondering.

For someone earning £30k a year that pays tax will pay about £2000 of that tax towards welfare.
About £7 of which will go to unemployed.
So raging about how much you pay towards the unemployed when it's less than 2 Starbucks a year... Is a bit silly.

Of the remaining of that 2000 a year btw
Pensions get around £750 a year
Disability gest about £350 a year
Family and children get about £150 a year
Housing gets about £100 a year

Figures taken from about 5 minutes googling.
🤪

And with that, I'm done with the ignorant Rage and I'm going for a Costa.. 😋

Mic drop lol

Why are you talking about the unemployed?

UC is paid mostly to low paid workers. It’s a pyramid that’s about to collapse because there are more people taking out than there are contributing. This is what you don’t understand.

Your thinking is that it’s better for you to tax the contributors than to tax the businesses and make the businesses pay fairly. It keeps you in coffee, paid for by someone else.

A proportion of this is lifestyle as well. A lot of people want things they simply can't have unless they work more hours. You cut your vloth accordingly.

Yes you do. We have a mortgage and claim. They don’t cover the mortgage, but that doesn’t stop me being a SAHM and claiming UC.

You absolutely could do it too.

Culture wars in anticipation of election.

Isn’t this exactly what was pointed out to you?
If businesses paid fair wages they’d put prices up to compensate.
There either has to be some sort of control over businesses paying low wages so they can benefit with huge profits (and same to rental house landlords) or those on low wages need to be supported, unless you’re happy for those in low wages to struggle even more?

A proportion of this is lifestyle as well. A lot of people want things they simply can't have unless they work more hours. You cut your vloth accordingly.

Tell me about this lifestyle please? Have you relied on benefits? There are a hell of a lot of people who have opinions on the incredible lives that those on benefits have - I relied on benefits, and I assure you it’s not easy at all, and it’s even more difficult to come off them!

But if her DH already earns a middling amount they won’t get UC.

A proportion of this is lifestyle as well. A lot of people want things they simply can't have unless they work more hours. You cut your vloth accordingly.

Where exactly have I stated this? Nowhere, that’s where.

I was quoting the post after yours 🙄

So you are quoting incorrectly and instead of an apology you decide to post an eye roll emoji?

Lovely.