To agree with increasing tax and more benefit cuts to pay for defence

[Viviennemary]

I was surprised to hear that Labour is to spend more on defence. We really do need to with the threats from Russia and run down of weapon stocks because they have been given to Ukraine. All of Europe needs to wake up. But I think they realise this.

Actually, the only way to sort this mess is to have policies that encourage economic growth. You're trying to slice a shrinking pie. Higher productivity and more economic activity would lead to more tax revenue without raising marginal tax rates, which discourages investment and work.

I'm disabled and I don't get benefits. You just have to take responsibility for yourself instead of expecting someone else to look after you. What on Earth would some of you do in third world countries?

There are a lot of disabled people on all these sort of threads tapping away at their keyboards telling us authoritatively how they couldn't possibly work. Spending hours and hours on these threads and posting prolifically on MN in general. A lot of these people are very articulate when it comes to telling us all about the complexities of the economy as it applies to them and their situation and why others like @Viviennemary are bad and mean for not really understanding why they can't work in some capacity.

But there are loads of WFH jobs out there that just want people who can tap away at keyboards or talk to people online and are about as taxing as posting on MN. I have one and I've had others. They don't describe it that way on the job adverts but they're out there, you just need to pick a "specialism" like marketing, bookkeeping, proofreading, talking to Chinese students who want to learn English etc, learn how to do it and you're away. Note that this isn't an exhaustive list, people could make their own list of jobs they could do instead of spending so much time on MN.

That's why people don't understand why so many seemingly literate, tech-aware people can't just get a job and support themselves.

I could be wrong here as I haven’t lived in the US since the early 90s but
schools here don’t fly the flag
and don’t recite any sort of allegiance or constitution at the start of the day.

I think those two things alone breed a different kind of population.
I doubt that pay and benefits will do enough to encourage loads into the army here

And no I'm not replying to anyone having a go at me for my opinion. We've heard the other side of this ad nauseam and tbh I'm fed up of hearing it, it paints all of us in a bad light.

You can work and claim pip

Corporations for the most part, but also high earners, but in isolation simply increasing taxes isn't going to solve anything because the UK would require a complete ground up economic rethink in order to arrest the perpetual decline.

I don't know. I worked with many BA soldiers and officers when I was deployed to the ME ages ago. They seemed to be a pretty patriotic bunch.

The military here has long played a role as a path to the middle class for the less fortunate. If you give a 20 year old a choice between working in a petrol station and training as an IT specialist in the Army, they're going to consider it.

The changes to the Welfare benefits have gone through a lengthy consultation over a long period of time. In doing this I’m hoping they don’t have such adverse affects on people that the wfa has

You are again misinformed.

The most fundamental and potentially devastating change to disability benefits- the aforementioned introduction of the 4 point qualifier for PIP daily living- is not part of the consultation.

The super rich are leaving at a faster rate to let people pick up the higher tax bill they want to introduce.

The only way to sort this mess (and pay for better defence as the world is getting increasingly unstable) is to raise taxes.

Factually, it isn't. We have a spiraling benefits bill, are continuously accruing countless billions in unfunded public sector pensions, imposing an ever-higher burden on an ever-decreasing number of taxpayers. And yet c. 4 in 10 adults of working age pay zero income tax.

Economic growth is critical, and most of Labour's policies have been antithetical to that objective. Because they're clowns.

Theres a reason why hospitals are full in the winter. The elderly die from the cold

Personally I’m happy some of my taxes will go towards an increased defence budget. It will benefit the entire country and all other countries are appreciating that we are reaching a potentially critical and dangerous period.
Ignoring how important our foreign policy is on the world stage is very short sighted.

Iv been disabled since birth but only claimed the last few years as I needed more help and can now only work part time. If your disability is manageable and not progressive you should count yourself very very lucky and not just assume everyone else is as lucky as you

Yep

Good for you. Have a medal.

I can tap away on MN but if I dont, I dont lose money, i dont get told off by a manager, i dont get sanctioned. I can tap away when I feel strong enough to. That is not consistent enough for employment though. I burnout from simple every day things. I need a lot of care and supervision for a lot of things that I dont post about on here.
I can use a web browser. I have no idea how to properly use anything else. I ask for help with stuff all the time.

and working from home jobs are very competitive. someone with little education, no experience and no work history - that is me. How will I be at the top of the list?

Agree
We need to be realistic about keeping tax payers here and reducing costs

That's why people don't understand why so many seemingly literate, tech-aware people can't just get a job and support themselves

I'd suggest its more down to complete and total ignorance of the realities of disability and illness.

You yourself are disabled, so am I. That doesn't provide either of us with any insight into the specifics of any other disabled person's life, hence why it's a nonsense to suggest that just because you or I can do something, all disabled people should also be capable.

That’s a really good point!

Exactly. You cannot pull an economy up by its own bootstraps.

Taxes are just a short term solution for an immediate funding problem for defence due to the lack of fiscal headroom. The ultimate medium to long term solution are policies which generate economic growth and productive activity (not benefits).

The current Labour government's ideological war against wealth and privilege in its current tax policies are the most wealth-sapping and value-destroying I have seen. Killing the golden goose comes to mind.

Help me out here if it's so easy. DC has severe learning difficulties, and the mental age of a young child. Cannot be left unsupervised, can count/calculate up to 10 by using both hands and can write of at the level of a child in year 1. Needs 1:1 supervision and support at all times. What kind of responsibility do you suggest DC takes and what sort of work would be suitable. Open to suggestions :-)

This should start with the super rich as the biggest issue (and the biggest cause of the cost of living crisis) is the ever widening wealth gap.

I fail to see the logic here. The rich are the biggest cause of the COL crisis - not high energy prices, inflation, supply chain issues, even Brexit?

Do explain.

It is the blaming the rich mentality that is holding UK's economic growth back.

I can predict it will be 'pot washing' or 'trolley collecting'.
I bet my UC on it.

Because you need to score at least 4 points on at least 1 category. Many people with complex disabilities that affect all aspects of their lives won't be scoring the maximum in any 1 category eg they might be able to wash part of their body or prepare & eat a sandwich with supervision, this results in them losing out on PIP.
Severe mental illness, moderate learning disabilities, complex medical needs etc will all be affected.
Don't let the daily mail let you believe it's just a handful of people with mild anxiety that will be affected.

They could do that but would need someone who collects them from home, brings them back and supervises their work as DC has issues staying on task and switches off.

Sorry, my point was that people will suggest things like that and not have any idea what support would be needed to carry out those roles too.
There are no easy jobs anymore.
It is a scary time for people like your DC.

That's very patriotic of them. I wonder how they're getting their assets abroad? Maybe we should look to put a stop to this since defence of the realm is so important these days.