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Being a bit more right of centre than I used to be, I thought that the benefit cap was a good thing. And I guess I still do but then I got the thinking.
They set the cap at £26,000 because that it the mean average income for UK households. All good so far.
But then it occurred to me that this average household, with average income, still get child benefit and thus their income is more than £35,000.
And more pertinently, you could have a house hold with an income from two adults of almost £80,000 and they would still be eligible for child benefit.
How is that fair? I still can't believe that we get child benefit; I mean it's completely ridiculous given our household income.
If you're going to have a benefit cap, then it should be a cap on all benefits above that level for everyone, not just those on benefits.
They would probably have to be at two different levels. The £26000 figure is proposed to "make work pay" so that you are better off working than on benefits while still not being able to survive. But it is ridiculous that certain benefits are given out to wealthy people. Winter fuel allowance being one example and child tax credits being another.
From an economic point of view for the universal benefits it is often cheaper to give them to everybody than to means test them. Of course then you get the half empty brigade saying it's unfair that the well off get the same as the less well off without appreciating the economic arguments.
no less unfair than my multi millionaire aunt with homes in florida and majorca to spplement the family home in england getting a winter fuel allowance and a widows pension ( she pays the grandkids 12 of em public school fees..)