I haven't had any state benefits since 1986 so I couldn't even tell you what there is.
Obviously I make use of the NHS when I have to, but otherwise it seems to be all one-way traffic
Chat Forum
Lets talk State Benefits
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Posted 7 months ago #
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so flashheart, are you any further on in working out who need/deserve benefits?
Posted 7 months ago # -
druidh - really? you're entitled to tax credits? i thought you'd have too high a household income for much child tax credit. you seem far too well off
Posted 7 months ago # -
Indeed. I've never understood why child benefit is paid regardless of need.
widening the electorate to whom benefits are paid gets "buy in" from those that might otherwise not have much support for them.
Posted 7 months ago # -
winstonsmith - Member
I think we're due £40-odd per month??? Remember, we might have no mortgage, but we're not high income.
druidh - really? you're entitled to tax credits? i thought you'd have too high a household income for much child tax credit. you seem far too well offPS - no bottles of champers hidden away either!
Posted 7 months ago # -
I am a single parent and work part time. Me ex fecked off a few years ago and left me "holding the baby". Until recently I worked full time and found it virtually impossible to balance books with all the child care involved. Me being a bit thick and limited to type of work I can get didn't help. At the moment my wages are topped up with housing benefit and tax credits. I haven't lost a penny and if anything I am slightly better off. On the plus side I get shite loads of time with the nipper and a load of time to ride.
Every cloud eh...
Posted 7 months ago # -
Welfare universalism, to put it another way:
"It speaks to another important thing: are you for a residual welfare state that is just for the poor, which is the Tory position, or are you for a more inclusive welfare state? What the Tories are saying about child trust funds, child tax credits and Sure Start – they're saying, 'let's residualise, let's make the welfare state just for the poor' but [this goes against] all the evidence in terms of maintaining public support [for the welfare state]. Why does Sure Start work as an institution? Because it brings people together." The People's bank would be aimed as much at the well off as the less well off."
*if you think that "maintaining public support [for the welfare state]" is really what's important as opposed to making sure the welfare state is meeting the needs of those most needing it then universalism is all fine and dandy. Cant say I agree, but that probably makes me a "Tory boy" or some such labelled rubbish.
* http://www.nextleft.org/2010/03/milibands-manifesto-to-defend.html
Posted 7 months ago # -
ah yeah druidh, it's the lack of housing costs - that must make a massive difference
Posted 7 months ago # -
Maybe that's one of the fundamental flaws in the system then?
Posted 7 months ago # -
there's flaws in any system
Posted 7 months ago # -
You can be right/left wing and support/not support/support to a certain degree a state welfare system. Or you can turn it into a left-right argument.
Posted 7 months ago # -
I've never understood why child benefit is paid regardless of need.
Yeah as Stoner suggests, we once had what was called "the universal welfare state". Unlike Stoner, I totally support the concept - it's the bedrock of social democracy. Welfare "for the needy" is a neo-liberal concept.
In a universal welfare state/social democracy those who can contribute more, do, there is therefore no need to stop their entitlement.
I don't support safety nets for the needy, a universal social wage helps to maintain social cohesion and maintains higher standards. It is absolutely imperative imo.
Posted 7 months ago # -
ernie - I thought the original welfare "product" was specifically a safety net measure, pensions, nhs etc?
[hijack]
PS, Ernie while you're in here, would you mind passing on the benefit of your experience over here pls
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/neighbours-have-fitted-power-shower-on-wall-adjoining-our-bedroom#post-3105036ta
[/hijack]
Posted 7 months ago # -
Watching this on BBC2, it occurs to me that universal childcare and lots of social housing would be pretty handy..
Posted 7 months ago # -
In a universal welfare state/social democracy those who can contribute more, do, there is therefore no need to stop their entitlement.
If you do this properly with a progressive taxation system (or at least one which isn't too regressive) you should get the same result as with means testing without the social stigma. Then again child tax credits is mean tested, and whilst a lot of criticism can be levelled at the system it does generally seem to work OK - extending it to a level where it's not just the "poor" claiming it seems to have removed the stigma from claiming (just leaving the bureaucracy as the main disincentive).It's not often I agree with ernie and disagree with Stoner - I must be getting old.
Posted 7 months ago #
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