The benefits of the welfare state (From Bucks Free Press)

Is it 'piran' who foams at the mouth about the iniquities of the state and the virtue of the private sectors?

Re the comments of Sanders the Telephone Butler at 10:00pm
~
I am sorry but I have no idea.

let me give you one answer to that .. a mum and dad work they pay full rent . they pay full council tax . but get tax credits for their children . once one of your children has left school you no longer get tax credits ..for them if your child gets a job which lets face it wouldnt be much in wages . then your tax credits for your younger child in school would go down as the whole amount of your childs income is taken into consideration .. this means your child would then be responsible for making up the rest of the money .. hardly fair really .. a partners wages should all be taken into account . but not the whole of your childs . its not the older childs job to pay for the younger kids .. so the solution is . to get your child to rent a room . on a low income recieve some housing benefit .and nhs discounts . which means you will then be entitled to full tax credits for your younger child . the system is twisted . your dammed if you do and your dammed if you dont . a child will now if they want a good education agree to put themselves up to 21 thousand pounds in debt with the college depending on what course they did if they included the first year college course in six form then they would be half qualified before they start . meaning less loan less debt less stress .. only the strong will survive . usually the money makers . some which are honest . but most bankers and lawyers are twisted like the government . so the prospect of jobs for the students that leave home . are exactly that .. beg borrow and steal your way to the top . or struggle along with part time work and benefits . but be honest . there are some honest people there and im not tarring all the well educated people with the same brush .. but name me one priminister or president or banker or police commisioner or govenment official or lawyer that didnt lie to get where they are . or to get a result . I rest my case . the government want to govern us and control us and make us pay taxes on everything . and in exchange for our co operation they give us free medical treatment and benefits . smell the coffee people . why shouldnt we take back something our ancestors worked hard to achieve . and look what the government did with all those workhouses . . most of them are derelict and rotten . dont assume the youngsters of today are wasting money . try blaming the king who employed a government to rule over us .. freemen used to rule england .. now money does ..

Re the comments of bonkers2010 at 12:08am
~
I see your point. Surely it would be better to mend the system so the children do not have to move out in the first place?
~
Why are we punishing the young after all they our hope for the future.
~
Perhaps I am in the predicament I find myself today because I am too honest?

I would like to add that the majority of young people do not move out of their family home 'on a whim'.

I work as a housing advisor for Connexions, an advice and support service for young people, and am aware that most young people do not choose to leave their family home and receive housing benefit.

Young people are often forced to leave home due to emotional, sexual, and physical abuse. Some leave because they experience neglect. Some have to leave home to avoid forced arranged marriage. Some children leave home because their parent re-marries, and they have difficulty settling in with a new parent and siblings.

Many young people who are lesbian, gay, or transgender are forced to leave home because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Some have to leave because their lifestyle does not match their parents expectations.

Some young people leave home due to overcrowding in the family home. Some leave home to be away from family problems, such as alcoholism or domestic violence. Some young people move out and receive housing benefit because of sudden family trauma, such as a parent passing away. Many children who leave the care system receive housing benefit.

Young people living in supported accommodation, such as people with learning disabilities or mental health issues may also receive housing benefit, as they can be unable to support themselves financially.

All of these groups of young people would probably do anything to be able to live at home with their family, but would risk their lives and happiness doing so. I am certain that the large majority of the 380,000 under 25's who are in receipt of housing benefit fall into the categories I have mentioned. Put simply, if a young person comes from a stable, supportive family, they would not give that up in order to live in a dilapidated council flat.

Please consider the reasons behind the figures you quote, and please refrain from suggesting that young people move out 'on a whim'.

Heres is an idea for the government .. choose 10 or more local companies from each area . in practical skilled categories . ie. building, carpentry, electricians plumbers , shopkeepers . etc .. use the college system thats already in place . choose children who maybe are not so good at reading and writing . but can whip up a lovely bird box or metal stick man . and knows there way round the technical depatrment machines . or the cookery department etc , send them off to their chosen workplace . to do apprenticeships. with day release college .. . get shops to purchase local supplies . the council has lots of unused ground . get kids from all the schools to come and learn gardening and make an allotment with chickens and veg and fruit . then the council can supply the local shops with the stuff or sell it to the school for their lunch . but the problem is . that the government state that you have to have a signed consent for everything . and insurance , liability cover . a license its rediculous .. parents and children should be allowed to choose what they allow their kids to do . i understand you have to be safe . but if the teacher is qualified and the right kids are given the right work plan it could all work out great .. it would re build the community . I fear that this simple solution is too hard for the government to manage . they like complication . its easier to get followers to follow with a few impressive speeches that most people dont understand about this reform and that reform . SO are there any companies in high wycombe that would agree to take on say 2 kids a year from a school within 5 miles of the company. to give them apprenticeships .. Are the council going to give up their unused land for garden lessons to local schools ..there are hundreds of companies . just ten percent of this would do a great deal for our kids . and give them something to do . my son left school with 8 gcse. btech . and has microsoft qualifications . from zenos academy .. he studied till he was 19 working part time . he cant find a job in his chosen career . so is making coffee in a cafe to earn a living and is unhappy . there is endless traffic . from people who travel miles to work stretching peoples budget with extra petrol costs . because they dont work locally .. things can . change . and an idea can become a reality if the right people pick up on it . so ivor . send this idea to all the people you know . and make this happen .. now there is a challenge for you .

The problem is low wages and a disgraceful housing market. Only one in eight housing benefit recipients is out of work; the rest are in low paid jobs. Rents are astronomical. Is it any wonder they require supplementation? I am sick to death of privileged and usually older people bemoaning that all young people receiving benefits are feckless and lazy, guzzling their hard-earned taxes on swish city pads and living outside their means (my generation have been happily doing that for decades). The reality is grim, grim, grim. I employ several u-25s, hugely intelligent, capable and with shining degrees from excellent universities (far more career-focused than I ever was) and I dearly wish I could pay them more; some of them live in crumbling ex-council properties and pay 60-70% of their monthly salary on rent. They live hand-to-mouth where any hope of saving enough to get on the property ladder is a fruitless dream. This is often the same for those over 25.
.
We voted for these idiots.

I forgot to add, introduce rent controls like they have in Germany. Then there would be little need to for housing benefit outside the vulnerable.

Edna_Welthorpe_ wrote:
The problem is low wages and a disgraceful housing market. Only one in eight housing benefit recipients is out of work; the rest are in low paid jobs. Rents are astronomical. Is it any wonder they require supplementation? I am sick to death of privileged and usually older people bemoaning that all young people receiving benefits are feckless and lazy, guzzling their hard-earned taxes on swish city pads and living outside their means (my generation have been happily doing that for decades). The reality is grim, grim, grim. I employ several u-25s, hugely intelligent, capable and with shining degrees from excellent universities (far more career-focused than I ever was) and I dearly wish I could pay them more; some of them live in crumbling ex-council properties and pay 60-70% of their monthly salary on rent. They live hand-to-mouth where any hope of saving enough to get on the property ladder is a fruitless dream. This is often the same for those over 25. . We voted for these idiots.

Privileged, older people who live in huge, inherited Halls all on their own? Who bang on about family values but engage in seedy flings in Bourne End? Who seem to have nothing but contempt for other peoples' children?

MrsStape wrote:

Edna_Welthorpe_ wrote:
The problem is low wages and a disgraceful housing market. Only one in eight housing benefit recipients is out of work; the rest are in low paid jobs. Rents are astronomical. Is it any wonder they require supplementation? I am sick to death of privileged and usually older people bemoaning that all young people receiving benefits are feckless and lazy, guzzling their hard-earned taxes on swish city pads and living outside their means (my generation have been happily doing that for decades). The reality is grim, grim, grim. I employ several u-25s, hugely intelligent, capable and with shining degrees from excellent universities (far more career-focused than I ever was) and I dearly wish I could pay them more; some of them live in crumbling ex-council properties and pay 60-70% of their monthly salary on rent. They live hand-to-mouth where any hope of saving enough to get on the property ladder is a fruitless dream. This is often the same for those over 25. . We voted for these idiots.

Privileged, older people who live in huge, inherited Halls all on their own? Who bang on about family values but engage in seedy flings in Bourne End? Who seem to have nothing but contempt for other peoples' children?

exactly people like that.

Edna_Welthorpe_ wrote:

MrsStape wrote:

Edna_Welthorpe_ wrote: The problem is low wages and a disgraceful housing market. Only one in eight housing benefit recipients is out of work; the rest are in low paid jobs. Rents are astronomical. Is it any wonder they require supplementation? I am sick to death of privileged and usually older people bemoaning that all young people receiving benefits are feckless and lazy, guzzling their hard-earned taxes on swish city pads and living outside their means (my generation have been happily doing that for decades). The reality is grim, grim, grim. I employ several u-25s, hugely intelligent, capable and with shining degrees from excellent universities (far more career-focused than I ever was) and I dearly wish I could pay them more; some of them live in crumbling ex-council properties and pay 60-70% of their monthly salary on rent. They live hand-to-mouth where any hope of saving enough to get on the property ladder is a fruitless dream. This is often the same for those over 25. . We voted for these idiots.

Privileged, older people who live in huge, inherited Halls all on their own? Who bang on about family values but engage in seedy flings in Bourne End? Who seem to have nothing but contempt for other peoples' children?

exactly people like that.

Yes I am sick to death of them too.

Edna_Welthorpe_ wrote:
I forgot to add, introduce rent controls like they have in Germany. Then there would be little need to for housing benefit outside the vulnerable.

Cant have it both ways Edna, rent controls exist in Germany partly due to a different culture of house ownership. Young people in this country now think that house ownership is a right.

Personally I dont care if it takes a generation or 2 to change the culture in this country whereby people have to actually work over a long period in order to be able to save sufficient funds for a deposit, especially if thats what is takes to produce a more stable housing and rental market in the long term.

I left home a little over 20 years ago, have never claimed any form of benefits, am not a high earner and yet am now in the position where I am on the housing ladder.

It has taken years of hard work to get where I am and I am not going to shed a tear for anyone who moans that they cant afford to save a deposit. Work harder then or get a second job, if you want something then sometimes it takes a great deal of sacrifice.

Edna_Welthorpe_ wrote:
The problem is low wages and a disgraceful housing market. Only one in eight housing benefit recipients is out of work; the rest are in low paid jobs. Rents are astronomical. Is it any wonder they require supplementation? I am sick to death of privileged and usually older people bemoaning that all young people receiving benefits are feckless and lazy, guzzling their hard-earned taxes on swish city pads and living outside their means (my generation have been happily doing that for decades). The reality is grim, grim, grim. I employ several u-25s, hugely intelligent, capable and with shining degrees from excellent universities (far more career-focused than I ever was) and I dearly wish I could pay them more; some of them live in crumbling ex-council properties and pay 60-70% of their monthly salary on rent. They live hand-to-mouth where any hope of saving enough to get on the property ladder is a fruitless dream. This is often the same for those over 25.
.
We voted for these idiots.

It only allows me to click the thumbs-up once but just pretend I did it 100 times.

You have summarised the situation perfectly.

We seem to have a political-economic culture at the moment where house price inflation is seen to be a good thing. It's not, it causes problems for everyone other than those who own houses they don't need to live in.

As ever the gap between the haves and have-nots grows wider

Re the comments of FrankWilliams at 1:45am
~
If as you say the majority of young people move out of home because of troubles the young generation of today must be in desperate trouble as figures say that around 380,000 youngsters have found themselves in that position and are claiming housing benefits.
~
Surely we should be tackling the issue at source and reinstating family values or at least providing shelters for the youngsters rather than consigning them to a life of welfare dependency?

Re the comments of Bonkers2010 at 10:38am
~
You make a good point. The health and safety culture of today is actually holding us back in lots of areas and rules need to be relaxed.
~
Sadly the system is preventing the youngsters of today reaching their full potential indeed this is nothing new as I found the same all those years ago when I was young.
~
I think I make take your ideas further in a future blog as they are eminent suggestions.

Re the comments of Edna_Welthorpe_ at 12:34pm
~
As you say the housing market is based on over inflated prices which such the income from most youngsters. They are working to live and survive rather than working for reward.

Re the comments of Edna_Welthorpe_ at 12:44pm
~
The introduction of rent control would certainly rebalance the housing market.

Re the comments of MrsStape at 12:48pm
~
If you are referring to me then let's not worry about those living in large residential properties of Hall status. I fear we need to focus on the plight of the youngsters....

Re the comments of Edna_Welthorpe_ at 1:08pm
~
No, I disagree....

Re the comments of MrsStape at 1:13pm
~
I am sorry to hear that....

Re the comments of smuggles at 2:21pm
~
Sadly the people of the UK think that house ownership is their right.
~
The problem is that trying to save for a deposit is a fruitless task as the house of your dreams is constantly up in price quicker than you can save for the deposit.

Re the comments of tom.marlow2 at 3:32pm
~
Well said.