Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

It may be simpler to recuperate by raising personal taxation than the administration of a "means" test.

That is what is done to a certain degree anyway.

Although it is nice to get an cash "allowance" but not realise you are paying for it.

It is Baloney.

What flavour?

they are proving once again if you save and work hard and go with out
in the end the ones that just spend all there lives and do not save but enjoy there fruits end up getting all the hand outs
and because they pay no taxes and end up better off thans ones that saved there money
the government are sending out the wrong signal
the family allowance is a disgraceful piece of law the people breeding like rats get it for all there kids .
and the people who work hard to get on lose out get nothing
what a cock up big time
the gov are telling those on benefits to breed like rats

"
SeHaystack 03 Jan 2013 13:35 - 19824 of 19827
There are calls for the winter fuel allowance to be means tested. People are not generally aware that UK pensioners living abroad in warm climates also receive it."


That offends me far less if they have paid their taxes previously, rather than extraditing ill-gotten gains to Islands in the Bahamas.
If the “pensioners” have paid their expenses throughout their “working period”, good luck to them and I must admit in the climate we have in the UK at the moment I envy them a little.

-------------------------

Skinny,

I think you mean Poloney.

A sausage made of pulverised meat scraps and old carcasses and had more colour than flavour.

My dog turned up his nose when offered one.

baloney, boloney [bəˈləʊnɪ]
n
1. Informal foolish talk; nonsense
2. (Cookery) Chiefly US another name for bologna sausage

The predicament is that the country needs more children for their contribution to future tax receipts in order to pay for the growing army of pensioners. Unfortunately where there are many children within a family claiming benefits other than child benefit, it appears that many (not all) such families are prepared to be lifelong claimants. What the government needs to do imo is restrict child benefit to the first 2 children only.
2517

2517,

Not all claimants are "unemployed", many are working in hard in "low paid" jobs and subsidised out of “general” taxation.

Also, I wonder if a society can, or needs to sustain itself by increasing its younger population.

The base of the triangle is just producing a larger and larger apex. (Bound to topple over.)

Also, hope of “full” employment seems to me to be a unsustainable “myth”, with more and more unnecessary junk being produced, out of reducing supply of “resources” and "raw" materials and detriment to "wellbeing".

Strange old world.

I didn't say all claimants were unemployed.

The younger population provide the tax revenue of the future.

Without the above, the triangle becomes inverted, try stopping that from toppling over

Agree

Agree
2517

Does anybody remember an interview with Tony Blair when he was Priminister and he was asked was he going to accept child benefit for the child which was born whilst he was in office and he smiled and said "Of course we are"!!!!! That beggered belief from where I was sitting. From what I remember parents didn't get anything for their second child years ago but hey ho - I am an old git.

I must be older, when our first was born we got nothing. Only when our second was born did we get 'Family Allowance'
2517

I have got it wrong 2517 - stand corrected, I haven't unfortunately got children. You are correct my Mum didn't get anything for my sister but got something for me - as well as the free orange juce for a while, post war supplies haha!!

215

“I didn't say all claimants were unemployed.”

Didn’t suggest that you did.

But it is often forgotten by many, that many of the low paid employees are “sustained” by various “benefits” paid from general taxation. Often, these payments can be seen as subsidising many profitable businesses, whose at “management” level have very liberal rewards in comparison. That “taxation” can be seen as giving to “company owners” disproportionate high indirect benefits. (I.e. Low pay, low production costs, higher profits.)

================

Also those many of the recipients of “benefits” are not “skivers”, but are being labelled, by some, for “political” reasons. Many of those doing the labelling often spending more on a “night out” with a meal than those who are “temporally” unemployed receive in “unemployment” benefits for a week.

(I know I have done so and reflect upon it, when I see the difficulties and conditions of those who are doing physically hard work for low pay. The majority of whom are honest, but do not have the “attributes” to do other more financially “rewarding” work, or sometimes have other reasons for their occupations.)

As far as the young paying “taxes” for the “old”, sometimes it does not appear to me to be like that, but at present when considering total direct income tax it is true.

(Reason for tax reforms.)

I believe in capitalism and reward for endeavour, but to have a decent “ongoing” society there has to be restraints to prevent “greed” at the expense of the “less” capable.

It is very difficult to know what that balance should be.

Totally agree with the above. I have just been accepted to do some voluntary work with Age UK and what a mind blower that is!!!!!

3M - bad luck; you may get me in your "pot"

Oh! Cynic I cannot wait - have dealt with worse than you over the years - Look forward to the battle of wits. Would not think you would be in my area, who is the lucky one?? Most people are grateful not cynical haha!!!

I forgot to add Cynic I have nothing to do with "pots" more to do with the above conversations that is why it is extremely "mind blowing".

Anyone fancy a bike ride?!

I don't fancy pushing the bike back to the start!

:o)

Halifax,

Re pensioners who live in warmer climates claiming the winter fuel allowance.

Many are also unaware that any EU member who lives in the UK can and do claim child benefit even if their kids live outside the UK.
The taxpayer is paying child benefit to 40,000 children who do not live in Britain at a cost of up to £36,000,000 a year to 20,000 families.

Mind you a far easier target for our government is the UK pensioner who is a UK resident, as there will be not too much backlash as there would be against the foreigner.