To be agreeing with new conservative benefits proposal re alcohol etc

[Tigerthebreadroll]

They will cut benefits for people that haven't paid into the system and been unemployed for over 6 months (don't quote me on that number ) by 30 % and it will be given on a prepaid type card. Meaning it won't be accepted by betting shops, for alcohol or cigarettes. I feel that's right . Why should tax payers money be spent on funding cigarettes etc but I have no problem with funding the basics like food etc.
Thoughts?
Basically you will claim full benefits if you've worked and paid into the system. Should reduce generational unemployment hopefully

I heard Sir Jim on the Today programme on Radio 4 saying "We are being forced to mothball some of the most efficient plants in Europe, but with gas prices now 12 times the level in the US and 8 times that of China, we just cannot compete."

This driving a thriving black market economy even more ?

Minimum wages were necessary for exactly that reason. “The market” is unreliable and based on employers’ greed. The end result is taxpayers subsidising their profits.

We do indeed have a perverse benefits and tax system with silly cut offs and marginals. Overly complex, outdated, but crucially all of which discourage greater productivity.

Yes. Last time we trusted them with the economy they accidentally bumbled out of the single market. 😖

I am sure companies would love someone working for them being paid in benefits rather than paying them the normal wage.

Not good for the jobs market is it?

Then there is no such thing as employers paying the proper market rate / proper wage; it doesn’t exist.

Yes because that's what "scum" like me on UC do eh?

Then why are you advocating it?

No, not good for the job market. But business that is n the margin/non viable should then fail and fold. This cleans the marketplace allowing better businesses to succeed. It all leads to a healthier more competitive marketplace.

Presumably the exact opposite - no cash means no black market.

I’m not advocating UC paid to support low wages. I would scrap that completely and let the market become more competitive.

Not if they buy it on the black market, i.e. duty free from a dodgy corner shop or a mate in the pub! No VAT either.

I was under the impression you used to only be able to claim benefits once you had paid NI into the system. I wasn’t able to claim unemployment benefit when I left university in 1992 (just until I started my first job) for that reason. The system changed in 1996 and has lead the way for anyone to receive it - people who have never worked and new arrivals to the UK (both legal and illegal). If we reverted back, people would HAVE to work and do whatever job was available [as I did working 3 different, low paid, PT jobs until my grad job started] and new arrivals would only be able to come here if they could prove they have funds and/or employment. The boats would stop tomorrow if they were told there would no longer be any housing or benefits when they got here.

I’m afraid, that so long as people with disabilities who cannot work (full or part-time) are still looked after, then I think it is time to require people to have paid in or to be in compulsory re-training/apprenticeships in order to continue receiving it. I appreciate not everyone wants to be a plumber, electrician, brickie, nursing assistant, nursery nurse or plasterer etc - but those are the roles/trades we desperately need. We need to remember that for many of us - throughout all time - work is about feeding, clothing and providing a roof over our family’s heads, not self-actualisation. People need to get skilled up to do the jobs we need not be supported indefinitely whilst doing nothing about getting work.

You mean let employers drive wages down to the ground. Do you actually work for a living when you have such contempt for workers’ rights?

Did you miss the part about the UK having one of the highest NMVs in the world?

If you want a better paid job, change career!

I had one degree and two post grads the first time I went on UC. Being qualified isn't always a route into work. I got work because I did my SIA badge.

Who is going to train all these brickies and electricians and provide apprenticeships?

I’m for it 100%, as long as it includes pensioners. After all, they are the biggest part of the benefits bill.

Absolutely not. People have to manage their own budgets - and be allowed to do so. That includes making mistakes.

Benefits are set at what is considered a minimum to be able to live on. How on earth can you justify paying less than that? In any circumstance?

And consider the impact on YOUR life if people are unable to manage on benefits money. A corresponding rise in crime would occur. Street robbery, shoplifting, opportunistic bag snatching etc. Suddenly you won't feel safe at all.

Why not answer my question?

Some people can't afford to retrain or change career

Do you not understand how discussion boards work? Once more, with crayons - I was responding to a particular post.

I'm not annoyed; I'm just pointing out the context of my post which you evidently completely missed.

I don't think it goes far enough. Let them all queue up once a day for a ration of bread and water.

I think a really interesting thing to do would be to ‘fine’ Tesco a levy for every £ in UC the country pays its employees. If it makes a loss it pays nothing, but if UC payments to its employees is bigger than Tescos profits, all profits would be taken.

I have already answered it. I would remove UC from all those who are working. Yes. It is not the states role to subsidise employment.