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An Emergency Universal Salary paid to all...
PieceOfMaria · 19/03/2020 11:27
Regardless of means.
The idea currently being mooted the government.
I have an issue with this, or at least with elements of it. I don’t need the money. My DHs industry may well be impacted in the long term like everybody’s, but in the short to medium term he can WFH and is being paid in full and that’s pretty unlikely to change due to the nature of his sector. Plus we have ample savings.
Plenty of people including many retired people on comfortable pensions with relatively few outgoings won’t need the money. People who already exist entirely on benefits could argue that they need more money, but they can’t really argue that the CV crisis has left them much worse off than they already were, with the possible exception of those whose children were getting free school meals and now won’t be.
The people who will REALLY REALLY need the money are most self employed people whose work will dry up overnight. Low to middle income working people who were only just managing to keep the plates spinning anyway and now must be feeling sick with worry about their finances. Many household name firms will potentially go under because of this. People who work in small businesses and services that are dependent on footfall and face to face interaction are extremely vulnerable right now and will be losing their jobs as we speak. Airline staff are now facing redundancy or long periods of unpaid leave.
I don’t want any money Boris. Please, please means test this, so there is more to go around for those who are genuinely going to struggle within weeks or even days. I’m not one of them. There will be hundreds of thousand of people who can say hand on heart that they are not one of them either.
WhentheRabbitsWentWild · 19/03/2020 12:59
OP are you being purposely dense ?
People on benefits WILL need it you know !!
No school so kids usually getting lunch there will be at home needing more food.
Heating to keep them warm (when usually in the day they are in school)
Electric for mere use of laptops etc
People like YOU really sicken me You are just out for yourself in life and sod the rest of us . GF.
PieceOfMaria · 19/03/2020 13:01
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viques · 19/03/2020 13:01
I think this could work, both to support those who have lost income and to make sure money is being circulated within the economy, and I hope it happens and happens quickly, but I have to say that given the total fuck up that the rollout of UC has been, without the sense of urgency that is now envisaged, I have huge doubts about the ability of our benefits infrastructure to deal with it and get the money to where it is needed.
I think there are a lots of good, but totally impractical ideas floating around at the moment, I heard that an academy chain is giving pupils on FSM twenty pound vouchers to buy lunches. I hope that they have arranged with local food outlets to accept them and to be reimbursed super fast, otherwise the vouchers will be worthless. Putting unworkable ideas into practice doesn't help, just adds to frustration and despair.
PieceOfMaria · 19/03/2020 13:02
People like YOU really sicken me You are just out for yourself in life and sod the rest of us . GF.
Only on MN can someone say they don’t want some free money they’d rather it was given to someone with greater need, and it elicit a response like this. 😂
Gingerkittykat · 19/03/2020 13:05
Oh wait, are people now realising that universal credit (£75 per week for an adult) with rent paid at such a low rate that it will not cover even the lowest rates in some places is inadequate?
Are they realising SSP is around £95 per week?
Are they realising people struggling are ordinary people and think they deserve more than the standard UC claimant? I bet UBI would be a lot higher than UC levels.
When this is over will we be forced to look at the safety net for people in bad positions since ordinary working people will know how hard it is to live on benefits?
IntermittentParps · 19/03/2020 13:05
It's the classic 'worst option apart from all the other options' IMO.
Personally I'd give mine to my father, who is in two high-risk categories, still needs financially to work but is prevented by CV factors from doing so at the moment.
I myself think I'd be OK without it, but my DP is in an industry very hard hit and he/our household overall would be very glad of it.
alloutoffucks · 19/03/2020 13:05
Reading this thread I agree with the idea of a prepaid card that has to be spent by the end of the month. You want people to spend that money. Not just save it. And presumably some well-off people would just see their card wiped by the end of the month and lose the money?
So a virtual card that you logged onto, but that high street shops could deduct money from? With some help for those who can't get online - maybe through the post office? That would surely be a small number of people.
BettyIsMyFavouriteSquirrel · 19/03/2020 13:07
I heard that an academy chain is giving pupils on FSM twenty pound vouchers to buy lunches. I hope that they have arranged with local food outlets to accept them and to be reimbursed super fast, otherwise the vouchers will be worthless. Putting unworkable ideas into practice doesn't help, just adds to frustration and despair.
That would be the Co-op Academies (yes, they run schools) and the vouchers are for Co-op food stores so it seems pretty workable to me.
Whycantibetangy · 19/03/2020 13:10
My husband is a self employed barber - his clients have been cancelling all week and if the country goes into lockdown then I’ve already checked entitledto.com and he wont get a bean!
Its very VERY difficult to cut hair whilst keeping 2m quarantine and when people are trying to pay rent and buy food for their families, a haircut will be the last thing on their list of priorities once the cordon is lifted.
I’m really truly worried
Jux · 19/03/2020 13:14
My dh's income has dried up; completely almost overnight. He's on the pub/club circuit and they are cancelling everything it seems. So he's looking at no food money for the next 3 months at least..
I have food money, it's my PIP.
We do have 2 properties we let out. One's a flat and we think they're going to be OK.
The other is a shop; the last tenant left on Monday with the new tenant moving in on Friday. The new tenant is a new business requiring footfall. He's just asked if we can make a reduction in the rent for the next few months due to CV; we can't afford to do so but we think we'll have to as we'd obviously rather have something than nothing and we do want his business to succeed. If we reduce the rent (includes bills) then we can't afford to pay the bills.....
SerendipityJane · 19/03/2020 13:22
Surely this should be all tax payers. Why do the unemployed need more money? its not as if they will experience loss of earnings.
as long as someones worse off that you, eh ? You could counter by saying that's not what you want your taxes to support. But that argument is weakened by the fact that your taxes have paid the bankers bonuses for the past 10 years whilst support for the unemployed has been pared to the bone.
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