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Benefits.....your view
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I like many other people watched the programme Wife Swap on channel 4 the other night and am amazed that the couple on there who have 8 children, get £37:000 a year in benefits, yet the couple who they swapped with who actually worked are on £27:000. I appreciate the other couple only have 2 children, but come on £10:000 better off..........nah tis making a mockery out of those people who do work.
Now to me the system is wrong, why should they be better off for not working ? what is this saying to people ? The system needs to be adressed because currently people can be much better off not working.
What are your views ?
Now to me the system is wrong, why should they be better off for not working ? what is this saying to people ? The system needs to be adressed because currently people can be much better off not working.
What are your views ?
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I personally believe that people should only have children that they can afford to look after, and not expect the government to finance their family. Certainly not having a large family when you have little money, that's crazy. Have they heard of contraception?
I only wish this was true... if only everyone had the attitude of Becky's husband (see TV lic thread).
But from my experience, a lot of the people I've heard whining about assylum seekers taking the governments money are on benefits and too lazy to get a job anyway.
Oh and I'm on £4.10 an hour, I do 16 hours a week to make ends meet with college. Whilst people need money to live, I still find it unfair that some people are doing bugger all and scabbing off the dole whilst others are working...
Then again, I realise that there has been a shortage of jobs in some areas.
We are, just indirectly.
Depends on earnings really. There is child benefit, paid to all of about £10 per child (approx. average) but the rest is related to your earning, number of children.
The first child will get £x the second less and so on.
Yes there are benefits, but when you consider that the cost of the rains a child is a couple of grand (minium) per year, the benefits related to children don't cover the cost.
£37,000 for 10 people versus £27,000 for 4 people,who is better off?
Do the Math :rolleyes:
So as Toadborg mentioned Demographs are concerned about the shortage of children, while you want to tax the ones who actually get more than the average and help a situation which seems to be doomed?
In less than a generation you will face an extremely big group of elders, and a very little group of people in work to support this. All connected to welfare, and quality of life. People finish their education later in life than before, and don't want to lengthen their years in work, even though they do get elder, so they can enjoy their last 20-30 years in style.
While I am not a big supporter of benefits (all relative of course, but in general), to tax people for getting children seems completely mornoic in times like these.
In my view it is one of the main signs of a civilzed society, one that looks after its members when times are hard (not to mention the economic benefits)
As said it is relative, and definitely depends on each case. I just think that the benefit system I live under, makes people expect and demand goods and luxuries, when in reality the state shouldn't interfere in more than the basic nutrition for people to survive.
A lot of people can do a lot more than what they do, but the current benefit system makes people think that they deserve special treatment, when it in reality wasn't built for that. But for the people who really can't afford nutrition and health, and don't have the means to work to get it.
Here I've seen people on benefits who have kids with Playstations, mobile phones, and generally more than enough.
And yes most people get benefits in one way or another, especially here, where you pay more than half of your wages and in return get free health care and education. Frankly, I don't think it's worth it.
Our doctors are underqualified, and just from myself I have more than enough stories to fill out a thread, and in general the schools are under a lot of criticism. There is a difference in education between private and public schools. So I can't see what it's worth.
Ideally it should be each to their own, and a safety net to whoever can't support themselves.
Do the working out in your head.
1) Man and woman have to work to pay bills, pay mortgage etc.
2) Man and woman sit at home, smoking, drinking beer and getting everything paid for them ? (im talking about the couple in wife swap, not saying everyone).
So you now do the working out in your head, who are the idiots who go out to work for less money than if they were signing on :rolleyes:
I dont begrudge all benefits, I get angry when I see people getting a lot more money when they are signing on compared to a family man who is going out to work.
You say 10 peoples mouths versus 4, the family im talking about had I beleive 3 very young children, they had milk out of bottles, yes work that out..........FREE MILK also given to them :rolleyes:
Some people abuse the benefits system but then again as mentioned they keep telling us there's not going to be enough people working to support the future pensioners.. so maybe we need people like these makig lots of babies to go out there and work to support all those pensioners .. of course if they also go on the dole and on benefits then it don't quite work!!
That's one of the problems. Usually you'd want to set the best example for your kids. And setting the example of benefits instead of working, is not the best introduction to society.
And I agree. It is such a shame to see people bringing child after child into the world, when they know they don't have the means for them. Of course once the child is born it deserves as good an upbringing as possible, which is why the state needs to interfere with benefits.
I wanted to make sure lol
benefits are there to help the needy be they kids, the elderly, the disabled or the unemployed. naturally there will be some people who abuse the system. I have loads of friends who were/are on the dole and who have fewer financial stresses than I do, even though they could easily go and get work if they could be bothered. But for every one of those people there are possibly three more who really need the benefits I pay for with my taxes and so I don't begrudge them.
There are tests/procedures in place to try and stop fraudulent claims and I guess some of them are easy to pass with a little bit on ingenuity (Couples living together and claiming benefits as though they were single for example) but very often people who are in real need fail those tests and have to appeal the decision.
My belief is we can't stop people from having the freedom to give birth several times, but we can educate them so they make informed decisions about the hardship it can cause not only for them but for their children.
Its just fortunate for most of us here that we are middle class, educated and aware. Some people aren't and we cannot penalise them for that.
I'm sure they get some government help but not enough to pay for the extra pair of hands needed to take care of so many babies.
2. The husband WAS working until 2 years ago, so the vast majority of their children were born when he was actually in paid employment. He was laid off work and hasnt found another job yet. ANYONE can fall on hard times, what do you expect them to do with their children? put them in a home because he suddenly found himself unemployed?
I personally thought they were a ghastly couple, but thats not the point. They WERE supporting their children themselves until recently. They HAVENT gone and had child after child whilst on benefits.
some of people who are on benifits dont need to be but there are alot who do..my mam is on income suport and DLA (disability living aloence) were not excatly poor but we struggle alot and have debts to pay due to my father.. yet there are people on benifits who DONT need it and some can get twise as much as my mam...
im unsure if its relvent or not but i think people on benifits can get to much for nothing and dont need it...
sorry if i rambled on bout shit...
what about the scabs who are screwing pension funds to line their own pockets whilst paying slave wages and laying people off ...onto the benfits system?
what abuot people making millions and having offshore bank accounts so they don't have to pay a p[enny back into the system they are making their millions out of? these people usualy consider themselves to be very patriotic! how can it be moraly right to have little islands off the coast of the uk ... which are part of the uk except for tax purposes?
there are far bigger fish ripping you off than a handful of scallies at the bottom of the pile.
OK what about working 16 hrs a week getting the £4.50 minimum wage, then on top of that they work an extra 30/40 hrs at a reduced wage. Then on top of that they claim working families tax credits getting the highest amount available. So just work that one out. I know for a fact that in my area a lot of people do this, its a scam to get more money and what people think is because they are declaring they are working ex amount of hours then the benefits agency will not investigate them. This is done very frequently in my area, I dont know about yours.
I have no problem in people who need benefits getting them but I do have a problem with the ones who con the system. Our system makes it easy for the ones who desperately need help not get it. The one who really need the help are not listened too.
and how the hell a man can survive on the minimum wage with wife and kids is beyond me ...
You have seen, or you actually know people?
How much benefit can you get?
It is the actual figures that matter not the display of wealth on the outside........
small companies have to some times, with all their overheads some like my hubby have to. But then again working long hours for less than the employees I can understand why they do the odd fiddle job.