well in this case they can get away with it on the basis that 'preserve' ~= 'not scrapped'. Child benefit still exists, they're just moving the goalposts as to when it gets paid out...

I find it funny how some people who have kids complain about others being dependent on the benefits system yet don't see their want for child benefit as being a dependency.

I do recall one of the news programs going round interviewing people on benefit cuts. Lots of them were very pro cuts until the reporter started mentioning things like child benefits and winter heating allowance etc and then they really weren't so keen. A definite sense of 'as long as it doesn't affect me'.

I'm quite happy to see the scrapping of ALL benefits to those who do not, and never have paid into the system.. My tax bill would be a damned site less.

Believe me, I am not dependant on the benefits system .. it is dependant on ME!

I agree that higher rate earners should not get this benefit, but I also think you need to look at household income. As stated earlier a single parent with 2 or 3 kids on 45k a year in the South East will REALLY miss that income and not for second cars / holidays etc.

Didge

Yes but think of them more as insurance. You pay in most of the time. If you lose you job then you can claim it, till you get a new job. Then what if you have a road accident which means that you can never work again. That is when it pays out. Sure there may be lifers on benefit, but the alternative is for them to move from an economic blackspot to London pushing up house prices and then your taxes will increase if all the other social infrastructure moves south. These people will need police and hospitals, at london rates.

The problem with that is that I could afford actual insurance, with, I would imagine, better cover and for a lot less than i already pay to the tax man.

Anyone who is a higher rate tax payer is putting in far more than they are taking out.

As for economic black spots, sod it, move parliament there - and the square mile - that should produce a few jobs .. they are pretty unwelcome in london anyway!



Didge,

It's still annoying me that the focus is on benefits when there's over £100 billion in unclaimed, overdue, taxes owed to the Government by, mostly, the rich and corporations.

Get that money back first.

In-fact, we could probably halve the deficit if Lord Ashcroft paid what he promised when he took his seat.

Didge

The insurance argument is complete crap. I've paid taxes for a good few years, and then got made redundant. Having gone round each of the various agencies, I was on about £50/week as basic job seekers, and wasn't allowed to claim anything else (housing, council tax etc.) It really was a joke, given that I had no assets to my name or similar to tide me over.

They could always take the "green" tack and say everybody is entitled to child benefit for the first 2 children (1 to match each parent) and none for any after.

It''ll keep the population down and discourage people from allowing their offspring to devour the entire planet.

The idea of taxpayers paying into a pot for their own possible rainy day in the future is and always has been bunk - and don't get me started on the con that is 'national insurance'. The fact is you pay taxes now for the services you use now and as a way of supporting the parts of society that cannot support themselves now. You pay for roads and police and schools and hospitals and unemployment benefit and the army and the arts and science and every other thing we all communally decide we need to have as a functioning society. The idea of 'paying for your own future' is just a way to shut up the selfish arse tendency who wouldn't pay a penny for anything they couldn't see an obvious immediate personal benefit from.

The sooner we all understand this the better, frankly.

Ni is the biggest ponzi scheme in history.

They should merge it with income tax. It is simpler and avoids the regressive nature at the lower income scales.

I'm still trying to work out how if I was self employed I'd pay £2.40 a week in national insurance whilst I pay over 10x that being PAYE

I think they take a chunk of your income tax at year end to cover the rest.