Don't Cap My Benefits...

[ferlew]

How do you feel about this programme, BBC1, now.

[naomi24]

I didn’t see the programme, but I know someone with two young children – boyfriend is a stay at home dad – and she works 16 hours a week. With benefits added to her earnings their income is £1500 a month. After rent and bills they are left with £150 a week. Not bad for one person working just over 3 hours a day 5 days a week. That is a lifestyle choice. Who are the mugs?

[sandyRoe]

If someone set themselves up in business as a Big Issue seller could they avoid these benefit caps?

[ummmm]

How old is the child, Naomi?

[naomi24]

Two children - 6 and 2.

[ummmm]

I thought as soon as the youngest started school parents were expected to look for work.

[China Doll]

I thought it was a fair portrayal all round really; the housing officers are doing a horrid and thankless job and people really are suffering. There didn't seem to be the 'look at the freak show and be outraged' aspect that seems to be what Benefit Street and other such programs go for.

I'm not entirely comfortable with people being moved out of London (especially children from settled schools, what if you have a child with severe learning difficulties?) It does seem unfair and that you're penalised for being poor. That said, I do think if you're in a vaguely decent situation financially and house wise, you do have to consider how many children you have too; the couples that had respectively seven and nine children were not in that great a place to start off with and I do think it's a consideration you have to make when you bring a child in to this world as they also suffer. Also the lady who would rather do volunteer work and study than what the council suggested to her was, in my opinion, feckless and short sighted.

I do wonder what the long term effects might be; what happens when Birmingham gets full for example, does this create some sort of ghettto? Not sure.

[ummmm]

China - your last statement was exactly what I said.

[sherrardk]

I would rather that no one gets moved from their home area - young or old, but can't see what the solution is. One person in a three bed house is of fair but neither is a family in a one bed house. Some people are just destined to get the *** end of the stick.

[China Doll]

I think it's the goverment equivelent of sweeping some pretty mucky stuff under a rug; eventually you're going to have to lift the rug. Ultimately, property prices in London are unsustainable for both rent and buying; I say this as someone earning a decent wage in a rented accomondation living in London. Wages and home prices (rent and buying) need a proper look at - there will always be lower paying roles needed in London (cleaners, hospital porters, admin staff etc) and London needs them to function - but at some point, they'll be outpriced if things carry on the way they're going.

[Jeza]

Not seen the prog and don't want to. Where I live young women get social housing and churn out kids every other year. Boyfriend is down as still living with mum but is always at girlfriends house. They all seem to have posh phones and nice clothes etc. Do I feel sorry for them NO. I do feel for the genuine people who are suffering through loosing their jobs.

It's not that many years ago that there was no such thing as housing benefit tax credits etc.

[naomi24]

Ummmm, the point is the boyfriend is a builder and decorator and could easily earn a good living to keep his family – but he doesn’t. This couple choose the easy option – and there are plenty like them who take full advantage of a grossly flawed and much abused system.

Night all.

[sherrardk]

The government seems to be having a go at families on all fronts - they tried to implement 48 weeks a year of schooling, you now can't take children out of school for a holiday without a fine (obviously not everyone can take time off work in school holiday times), 'bedroom tax' instead of sustainable social housing, those on a low income have had council tax benefit cut (separate to bedroom tax), the list is endless.

[ummmm]

Childcare costs are about 1k a month.

[Jeza]

What about one parent staying home and caring for their own children so zilch child care cost. Then jobs would be available for those out of work.

Ok Ok I know life ain't like that..............but.

[sherrardk]

Or we could just reintroduce the workhouse.

[Jeza]

Sher, you've nailed it. Can I play the artful dodger?

[New Judge]

An excellent idea, sherrardk - if that's what it takes, but I doubt that it would.

There is no reason why taxpayers should be expected to support people who have nine children, almost all of whom were born since they began to draw benefits. There is no right to live in London. I cannot afford to live in London so have to live elsewhere. People who work have to adjust their lifestyles to suit their income. They may have to move to less expensive areas and this often means uprooting their children from school and either changing their jobs or facing a commute. They cannot expect their employers to adjust their salaries to suit their lifestyles.

What has been missed here is that there are too many people in the UK. Almost all those featured in tonights programme had larger than average families and yet they continued to reproduce when they were in severe financial distress. Paying people ever increasing sums to continue to churn out children that they cannot afford to keep is not the way forward and anything that can be done to discourage people from behaving recklessly by having children which they cannot afford can only be good.

[sherrardk]

Presumably the larger than average families were included to induce such wrath. Usually gets people going when someone/a couple had more than 2.4 children.

[New Judge]

I cannot imagine the BBC wanting to induce wrath from its viewers on such a matter. I think the programme was designed to induce sympathy for victims of The Most Vile and Evil Government the World Has Ever Known.

They may have done better to find a few couples with 2.4 children, both working hard but bemoaning their lot and crying their eyes out that they had been forced to move because their wages had not kept pace with their expenses. But I expect such people are too busy working to keep their families fed and clothed to moan about their lot on the telly.