Can’t just be me who is sick of the moaning about the private school VAT and winter fuel payments

[TruthorDie]

The moaning about them seems to be never ending. So tone death and indulgent on both counts. Not sure which is worse. A friends mum was ranting on social media earlier about winter fuel payments being stopped and how “worried about being cold” she was. Bad news is Lynn you haven’t needed to work since 1989, married to an oil exec and have had lots of the good life. I’m sure all of your Florida holidays keep you warm enough!

Bright children can get on anywhere, my siblings and l went to a comprehensive. We all have a couple of degrees, one of us has a PhD so it didn’t hold us back too much in life. Before anyone comes at it from the neurodiversity angle then l am and l wouldn’t be surprised if my younger sibling isn’t

Labour will struggle to social engineer this - you will
have capital flight, and if you tax people too
heavily, they will simply cease or defer consumption - we are already at that point. The October budget will probably prove to be the last straw.

Keep giving the public sector well above inflation pay rewards, allow the social security budget to balloon, permit unfettered immigration- this ends one way. And no, I am not a racist.

I agree. I'm quite unsettled by the pay awards and the mumblings about large benefits increases, while removing benefits from anyone who might traditionally have voted Conservative. I don't think that will be sustainable in this country and all it will do is push people towards Reform. I wish the Lib Dems were a more serious opposition.

A lot of Mnetters don't like the elderly and think they're a drain on society as it is so of course they don't care about pensioners losing their winter fuel allowance.

MN will melt down if they start means testing PIP though. And I will not be at all surprised if that comes in as a proposal.

I really don't think there will be large benefits increases. The bill is already astronomical.

Well yes. One of my colleagues have a disabled child and claim benefits for him despite both of them being very high earners. They don't need the benefits and admit it.

PIP as in for people with disabilities? Does MN have a high number of people with disabilities then?

Right.

Labour are idealogical - this is the path that will
lead us to the next Thatcher.

Wealth redistribution on this scale doesn’t work.

It's not a question that's asked when people join so I don't think the number could be tracked and no idea what the demographics are but there are tens of thousands of threads about PIP and many posts about PIP reform run into 40 pages and are then closed so..

Yup, suddenly the wealthy have discovered a social conscience? Mmm…

A lot of mumsnetters hate the disabled and would be gleeful if PIP were to be means tested or abolished.

You think millionaires should get pip?

But that is good news! The money is there, but it goes unclaimed. Some people are too proud to claim.

www.gov.uk/government/news/eligible-pensioners-urged-to-claim-pension-credit-to-help-with-cost-of-living

What’s clear is that there is a lot of envy masquerading as social conscience.

Its similar to the person driving a nice car - the envious are ‘I cannot have that, but I will make damn sure they cannot either’

It’s a nasty British trait - very ugly.

It acts as a passport to other help for disabled people, so I don't really have a problem if that is happening tbh.

The PIP process is complex and very burdensome financially to administer. Adding means testing would make it even more expensive to administer. Unless the bar was set very low and only the poorest qualified, I doubt it would save much, if anything, to means test.

It’s very good news if every pensioner entitled to pension credit now claims it. The money has always been there.

Its similar to the person driving a nice car - the envious are ‘I cannot have that, but I will make damn sure they cannot either’

Indeed. Look at the many threads on MN about the Motability scheme. The spite is overwhelming.

One of the questions in the recent consultation on PIP and DLA was around whether you would still claim if there was a way to access all the other services /support without recieving payments. That was under the last government.

The point of universal services/non mean testing is that everyone can claim it so they feel less resentment at contributing to the system as its there for them too. Its not just paying for other people all the time.

Have not seen those, but OK.

This is the tip of the iceberg. Wait for the Autumn statement. They’ll come for something that hits you soon enough.

100%

I have a disabled child and claim dla
for him although I am higher rate tax payer. The trouble is though dla is a gateway benefit and often lots of places required it as proof of disability. So for example we go to a disability swim session as he can’t access a main session and dla is needed for proof. Also although they are high earners child may never be able to work

Interesting edit.

There should be 20% VAT on Heinz Baked Beans. Shop brand beans are perfectly good enough. If you're privileged to enough to be able to afford premium brand beans you shouldn't get a public subsidy.

Okay, but I’m happy to pay more tax if the public transport system, state school system, State health system, care system work again, if the potholes are fixed, if people in need of mental health support get it, if children’s play parks get refurbished, if crime comes down, if we have the teachers, nurses, carers we need.
Tax is taken in steps depending on your earnings, I can afford to pay more. Others earn less and will/do pay much less tax.
I’m okay with that.

What I’m not okay with is a government that treated anyone ‘below’ them in status or earnings as less than them, while giving tax breaks to their wealthy mates and sounding millions up the wall on ridiculous schemes like Rwanda.

So yes - let them ‘ come for ‘ me.

Well we all have to contribute to clearing up the mess the Tories left behind so it is only fair that the burden is spread out.