Am I the only one that thinks that the budget is good?!

[isitactuallybadthough]

NC’d for obvious reasons.

I mean it seems that they’re trying to help the working class?

I am not on benefits. I’m also not lucky enough to live in a property worth over £2,000,000. But surely the worst off in society will be better off under this? With the energy bill cut and two child benefit scrap? Also books for libraries, national wage increases. I do understand people feeling frustrated at the pension/ISA parts, that will probably affect DH and I but overall I’m pleased as the worst off will be slightly less worse off?

The markets gave the budget a ringing endorsement which means lower borrowing costs - think Liza Truss in reverse. That’s good for business. Also the government has invested heavily into science and tech inc AI, nuclear and quantum technologies, with big chunks of money going to Scotland and Wales. Also investment in car manufacturing advanced technologies - DRIVE35. Growth is forecast to rise and interest rates are forecast to fall.

@AccidentallyWesAnderson Well you can’t prevent yourself getting cancer, Parkinson’s no, are people begrudging this type of benefit? No one chooses this.

Yes, that's what I'm saying.

But it’s going to do it for more families than not scrapping it.

Yes, you're right. I hadn't realised they were independent of each other.

So probably not relevant to the budget but it still makes me angry that we are handing child benefit to households earning £60k plus instead of using that cash for people who actually need it.

I hear you. It’s sickening. I think the budget was fair and less harsh than expected. Obvs high earners will pay a bit more but that’s as it should be, or at least as it needs to be.

Well it will help the nail bars as thats what the money will be spent on. If the government wanted to really help children they would offer extra food, activities ,something that goes directly to the children.

It's obviously not helping the "working" class as everyone working is less well off.

I agree OP

it will impact us negatively, the freeze on thresholds and pension sacrifice will impact us.
However I think the measures in the budget are the right things to do at this point in time.

Except you don’t get child benefit if you earn over £60k…

Do you have any evidence that parents living in poverty are choosing to spend the little money they have getting their nails done as opposed to feeding and clothing their children?

The worse off may be less worse off for a short while but without a decent plan to encourage hard work and industriousness in the economy as a whole, it'll be very short lived. So enjoy it while it lasts.

But doesn't that shock you?

Everyone I know well enough to discuss such things, thought long and hard before having another child. The biggest question being can we afford it? And if they couldn't they (sadly) didn't have another.

Yes, accidents can happen. But if after the surprise third child, you're really struggling, then why not look for more permanent/failsafe family planning options. It's not difficult and it's free.

Are so many people really that financially illiterate and unable to sensibly plan for their family's future?

Wait until Reform get hold of the stats being reported by the spectator. The two child benefit cap removal will give more money to 341k foreign born families. So basically an out of control immigration system and then giving out even more benefits to foreign born parents who have never contributed enough and never will contribute enough to pay for all these extra benefits.

Nothing racist about it, the numbers are starting to spill out and they’re a gift to Reform. And understandably so.

I can understand why people on MN think this way. Let’s hope you’re ok with her coming back again next year with more tax hikes. That’s what happens with a tax and spend policy.

That is annoying tbh. I think the budget was reasonable but it does seem a little unfair that some of the most sensible people (like yourself) are losing out because you paid into something they wanted you to. I guess there will always be some people that it affects negatively that aren’t rich by any means.

Also to add unemployment is 4.4% which is very low. I grew up in the north under Thatcher and it was 25%. Now that’s unemployment to lose sleep over. The main worry about unemployment is the number of NEETS - young people too anxious etc to work, study or whatever. Opting out of working life at a young age is of course a real concern. The govt has launched an investigation into this so I guess measures will follow and may be reflected in the next budget. But raising the minimum wage for 18-20 year olds is a nudge in the right direction IMO.

I think it's fine. We earn well but not exceptionally. They will take a little hee and there ..but I was expecting worse to be honest. I feel there are a lot of people which questionable agendas on here trying to make it all more dramatic than the boring budget it really is.

Yep. I’m private sector but have a non contributory, defined benefit pension. There are years my employer has put 50% of my gross salary into my pension pot.

Im now going to join the working taxed and we will be clobbered with the EV milage when it comes in, but that's about it for us

We live in a reasonable priced area, a big house but cheap ( compared to London which we moved out of 20 years ago so no where near 2million ). Neither of us earn enough that less savings is going to make a huge difference

We dont have a bad life, sure I need to shop around and we dont splash the cash like its going out of fashion, we spend carefully - so I dont feel that we are doing so bad, even though our joint income is below 30K

How price increases across the board to cover the pay rise Im going to get effects us - who knows - Im sure a lot more items will become treats

I’m a business owner and additional rate tax payer. I think it’s a fair budget. I want the country to succeed and thrive - all of us, not just the wealthiest of us.

I don’t understand the pearl clutching over it. It’s the best any government could have done in the circumstances. No one wants to pay more tax. We are where we are. It feels quite elegantly done and fairly spread.

Re the removal of the Two Child Benefit cap: I am a lone parent to one child and am significantly worse off than those with two children in terms of benefits. I understand that two children cost more but I am still a lone parent which massively limits my capacity to maximise my earning potential. I disagree with lifting the cap.

Could you run me through the figures on this one please?

My reckoning - £130 pm in tax is £7800 pa taxable income so an income of over £20k pa. This is a net income of £350 pw. What are her expenses which mean she can't manage on this?

On the other hand, supporting families in dire straits also sometimes has the paradoxical effect of increasing the number of families who are experiencing the thing you're trying to protect them from.

I don't think it's a simple story of either "give them money so the innocent children grow up to be productive taxpayers" or "let the kids starve to punish their feckless parents" but depends on the details of how the incentives play out across the whole population.

Unemployment is people actively looking for work. How many are economically inactive?

I think the measures to have a bit more tax on unearned income vs earned seems like a decent move and the benefits for extra children being reinstated seems like the right thing to do (particularly given there is no actual evidence taking them away made any difference to the number of children people had anyway). I’m not keen on the pensions change for salary sacrifice. I accept it’s going to make more difference for businesses than employees but it feels regressive & I’d have expected encouraging saving would be a good thing. Maybe though the main benefit of this is for higher earners and the economy would be better off if those people saved a bit less and spent a bit more?