To wonder why child benefit doesn't get the same "triple lock" (or even double lock) protection that Pensions get?

[escapegoats]

I just asked AI to calculate how much child benefit we would get if it had also had the protection of a triple lock and it would be around £230 every 4 weeks for 2 children . Currently I get £179

Surely instead of all the tinkering type policies Labour could come up with some initiatives like this?

@ElanaohElana

Agreed, aside from providing good education (inc nurseries) for all free of charge (ie those big ticket items best done at scale and in the interest of society), what more support do parents need from the government?

If parents can’t afford to have children without government support (= other people’s money), then they shouldn’t have them.

Agreed. People need to be more accountable for their own decisions and think ahead

I know, right? I was really broody at 25, but waited a few more years to actually have kids and give them the life I wanted for them. Child benefit back then was about £30 a month for 2 kids. Paid a fortune in nursery bills. Worked since I was 16, but some people want to shave money off a paltry £964 a month in my old age. Fucking hell. No words.

I am aware of how it works - partly because that is also how it fails. However, if someone has paid in 35 years plus of NI having been told was to fund pensions it is not unreasonable to expect the state to provide a pension. It isn’t the fault of pensioners that it was run by economic illiterates who failed repeatedly to build up a sovereign fund or equivalent investment for variations in future tax income.

Nobody’s anything is being paid for by tax at the moment: everything’s being covered by debt.

The answer is more likely to be to ditch the triple lock than inflate all unearned income.

I think councils have incentivised the wrong tiers of work.

If refuse collection got their budget and incentivised bin collection and customer satisfaction on very straightforward metrics, and bonuses are paid on those metrics, I think bins would get collected.

If you incentivise getting into management where there is no accountability and no incentives for getting rubbish collected, the only people who care about refuse collection are the punters.

There is a distinct whiff of "We want everybody to be above average" type of non thinking here.

I’d get rid of child benefit and offer a tax free allowance per child instead.

I recall that when I was a child, rather than child benefit a father would be given x amount of tax relief. This was then changed to child allowance in the mother's name in an attempt to avert financial abuse (although it was at first only given to mothers with two or more children).

I do agree that child benefit should be protected. I don't think it should be means tested at all, given that it's for the child's welfare.

But it is a benefit though. You can kid yourself its not but it very much is. You do not pay into some magical pot that is invested for doggoneitmercy and then you receive out of that.
State pension is paid from the tax collected that year. No magic pot I am afraid. Also the amount of NI paid in by most low paid workers is nowhere near enough to return the amount they receive back. Therefore it is a benefit.

And £12700 pa is enough for pensioners to live on?

Maybe ask the train drivers to share their 14% pay rise in 2022! I had read that even those that had left got the rises backdated, how fair is that?

Very. If everyone got it backdated to before these people left, then they should get it backdated for the time they were still working there.

It should be scrapped people should look after their own kids

What should be?

But Labour grovel to them every time

To whom?

Child benefit
Why should I pay tax to support other people's kids

The Unions

Did your parents get child benefit for you ?

I have no idea if they did it was wrong people should look after their own family not expect a bale out from taxpayers

I agree. Scrap child benefit and provide tax breaks and free childcare for parents

agree totally

It is paid for

Your parents must be so proud of you
Dont u get that if pensons rediece now it will eventually affect yoiu FGS

I imagine you pay very little tax considering your understanding of the issue.