Welfare-Life-Reformed: 2015
Feeling Worthless? - Agnes Török Posted by
"Pathetic: both the announcement, and the pumping of fists by IDS: it is nothing to be proud of. 70 pence an hour raise of the NMW from next April will not replace the massive cuts to tax credits. The cuts will devastate the 'Hard Working Families' the cons so like to talk about. When they say 'people claiming benefits should get no more than hard working families' the point is that it's not benefits that are high, rather it's wages that have been kept low for many years. If governments
had allowed minimum wage to rise by inflation it would be £18 per hour by now, so the government wouldn't be paying much tax credits out at all. It would also have helped growth in this country, since poorer people tend to spend their money in the local economy rather than save it. More poverty for more people, whilst as usual, the rich individuals and corporations get a tax cut."
As for being Left-Wing, I admit, I am indeed, but ah, the problem arises that I'm also on the side of responsible capitalism. I believe in some of what the Conservatives have done. For example, I think it's great that families who aren't exactly rich will be able to pass on more of their hard-earned properties. I think 'Right to Buy' is a great idea, as long as replacement properties are built. I think that help should be extended to people who are privately renting too, not necessarily to buy their rented house at a discount, because despite what is said about the 'Buy to Let' sector, many people barely cover the mortgage on their rental property, and will only start to benefit in retirement. Concerning benefits, there's is a lot to be said about encouraging people back into work whether they're disabled or not; I'd give my 'left arm' if I could work again lol! I'd be earning £50 an hour and out of the DWP fear agenda. Also, I don't think that it's fair for poor people to have as many children as they wanted. People who can't claim any benefits have to work out if they can afford to have children, so why should poor people be any different? I could go on, but you see my point? I'm not necessarily against all of the Conservative principles.
Now, this is why your comment is wrong. Firstly, I'll agree that the minimum wage obviously needed raising, and of course that's good news for some, so I should really have pointed that out. My carers get way above the living wage, but only 1 of them will benefit from the rise as she has another job. I'm really happy for them because it could mean an extra £60 a week between them, and they deserve this. The problem rises if you have children and you're in a low paid job. The gov are raising the income threshold, so that will be a big reduction for tax credit claimants. Also, the 70pence they receive will largely be deducted from their benefits due to that. If claimants try to increase their work, their tax credits will reduce again. It amount to a triple cut for them. By the time the £9 per hour wage is implemented, it will still be too low.
My argument has always been for a staggered yearly rise towards a much higher figure. I haven't just plucked £18 per hour out of the air; this is what analysts have quoted as a raise in line with average wages. If it had just risen by inflation, it would be less than £18 per hour, but still quite substantial. As it stands, the least amount that will benefit people is apparently £11 per hour - and this is currently, not in the future. Again, these are not my figures. As for £18 per hour, I don't understand why it's ridiculous figure; I was being paid more than that when I was training. Many people are paid this rate: why isn't it good enough for the poor? Why is it that the services that they provide should be considered as lesser than anyone else's labour? We subsidise corporations by £93 billion a year, and we lose about £120 billion a year in tax avoidance and evasion. We waste much more by out-sourcing (though I'm not against this if it saves money). My point is that we subsidise both companies and the rich, but people don't seem to want to pay the poor a decent wage. I'm not against the rich; my grandparents were wealthy, and my family either had a business or worked professionally. I'm glad that my daughter has had a few tax breaks; she won't get any child benefit for any future children, so good for her.
You see Tithers, I'm not against people having money; I'm glad when things work out for people. The fact is though, that the £49 billion cuts have paid for further tax breaks and other things for companies. This is wrong whether you're 'left' or 'right'. Raising minimum wage was a positive thing for some; for others not so. You could say that it's at least a start. Taking the budget as a whole though, it's a disaster for anyone with a family, for young people, and for the disabled. UPDATE: I edited the above a little and I replied to Tithers on youtube, and I just got a response:
This is the point though. Why don't the politicians and the rich see that? What has happened to them that makes them behave like they did yesterday? There is no need for austerity. There is no need for Greece to be impoverished like it was some kind of third-world country. So what is going on? What will it take for ordinary people to see that there is something desperately wrong going on here? We just have to keep informing people until everyone understands the wider issues, but it's a bit hard when people are fighting for their existence, and experiencing or observing the suffering. I decided to start trying to get a message out again, and it's not easy when people have gut reactions and attack you; it has a bad affect on me. I couldn't sleep all night just for what Tithers said to me. I don't hate anyone. I don't wish harm upon anyone, rich or poor. We need that starting point: we must not hate. Nothing ever good came out of hating and despising people whatever the relative circumstances. If you hate, then you're hating humankind and nature itself, which is by nature, imperfect, often selfish, and prone to making mistakes, swinging the lead if at all possible. Go on. Admit it. Have you never done that? But out of nature, out of mistakes, out of consideration, amazing things happen. Who knows?
Statistics, Statistics, and Damned Lies? I just realise that I never posted this last year (been a bad one):
Long post, but apart from the ethics, learn why the country hasn't saved a penny from all of the changes in benefits (and this post only deals with housing). Let
me tell you a story. A few years ago, my friend's partner was made
redundant from his long term job (lets call them Julia and John).
They had 3 children and an adult son living with them (who was
unemployed at the time). Julia
told me that they were managing quite well on benefits; it wasn't the
same, but they certainly weren't going without anything necessary, and of course, John was looking for work nonetheless. After a little while, the same company John had worked for had a
new position available, so he started back to work again. Read more »
Letter a Day: The first casualty of war is truth and the war on the poor is about to escalate. This fellow has sent a letter to 10 Downing Street since the 'cons' came to power 5 years ago; always a good read and eminently salient:
http://www.keithordinaryguy.org.uk/ The first casualty of war is truth and the war on the poor is about to escalate. 21
written anything on this blog now for some years now. To be frank, I
was in fear of what might happen if I continued to write about
welfare reform or anything else. As to why I was in fear, take a look
at this blog and the documents that are linked to it:
https://kittysjones.wordpress.com/2015/06/26/how-covert-agents-infiltrate-the-internet-to-manipulate-deceive-and-destroy-reputations-glenn-greenwald/ Quite
frightening isn't it, what could happen to you if you stick your head
above the parapet? But this is what has happened over the last 5
years to people who do. Dirty tricks that not only can ruin your
reputation, but damage your close relationship with family and
Welfare-Life-Reformed: 2015
Feeling Worthless? - Agnes Török Posted by
"Pathetic: both the announcement, and the pumping of fists by IDS: it is nothing to be proud of. 70 pence an hour raise of the NMW from next April will not replace the massive cuts to tax credits. The cuts will devastate the 'Hard Working Families' the cons so like to talk about. When they say 'people claiming benefits should get no more than hard working families' the point is that it's not benefits that are high, rather it's wages that have been kept low for many years. If governments
had allowed minimum wage to rise by inflation it would be £18 per hour by now, so the government wouldn't be paying much tax credits out at all. It would also have helped growth in this country, since poorer people tend to spend their money in the local economy rather than save it. More poverty for more people, whilst as usual, the rich individuals and corporations get a tax cut."
As for being Left-Wing, I admit, I am indeed, but ah, the problem arises that I'm also on the side of responsible capitalism. I believe in some of what the Conservatives have done. For example, I think it's great that families who aren't exactly rich will be able to pass on more of their hard-earned properties. I think 'Right to Buy' is a great idea, as long as replacement properties are built. I think that help should be extended to people who are privately renting too, not necessarily to buy their rented house at a discount, because despite what is said about the 'Buy to Let' sector, many people barely cover the mortgage on their rental property, and will only start to benefit in retirement. Concerning benefits, there's is a lot to be said about encouraging people back into work whether they're disabled or not; I'd give my 'left arm' if I could work again lol! I'd be earning £50 an hour and out of the DWP fear agenda. Also, I don't think that it's fair for poor people to have as many children as they wanted. People who can't claim any benefits have to work out if they can afford to have children, so why should poor people be any different? I could go on, but you see my point? I'm not necessarily against all of the Conservative principles.
Now, this is why your comment is wrong. Firstly, I'll agree that the minimum wage obviously needed raising, and of course that's good news for some, so I should really have pointed that out. My carers get way above the living wage, but only 1 of them will benefit from the rise as she has another job. I'm really happy for them because it could mean an extra £60 a week between them, and they deserve this. The problem rises if you have children and you're in a low paid job. The gov are raising the income threshold, so that will be a big reduction for tax credit claimants. Also, the 70pence they receive will largely be deducted from their benefits due to that. If claimants try to increase their work, their tax credits will reduce again. It amount to a triple cut for them. By the time the £9 per hour wage is implemented, it will still be too low.
My argument has always been for a staggered yearly rise towards a much higher figure. I haven't just plucked £18 per hour out of the air; this is what analysts have quoted as a raise in line with average wages. If it had just risen by inflation, it would be less than £18 per hour, but still quite substantial. As it stands, the least amount that will benefit people is apparently £11 per hour - and this is currently, not in the future. Again, these are not my figures. As for £18 per hour, I don't understand why it's ridiculous figure; I was being paid more than that when I was training. Many people are paid this rate: why isn't it good enough for the poor? Why is it that the services that they provide should be considered as lesser than anyone else's labour? We subsidise corporations by £93 billion a year, and we lose about £120 billion a year in tax avoidance and evasion. We waste much more by out-sourcing (though I'm not against this if it saves money). My point is that we subsidise both companie
s and the rich, but people don't seem to want to pay the poor a decent wage. I'm not against the rich; my grandparents were wealthy, and my family either had a business or worked professionally. I'm glad that my daughter has had a few tax breaks; she won't get any child benefit for any future children, so good for her.
You see Tithers, I'm not against people having money; I'm glad when things work out for people. The fact is though, that the £49 billion cuts have paid for further tax breaks and other things for companies. This is wrong whether you're 'left' or 'right'. Raising minimum wage was a positive thing for some; for others not so. You could say that it's at least a start. Taking the budget as a whole though, it's a disaster for anyone with a family, for young people, and for the disabled. UPDATE: I edited the above a little and I replied to Tithers on youtube, and I just got a response:
This is the point though. Why don't the politicians and the rich see that? What has happened to them that makes them behave like they did yesterday? There is no need for austerity. There is no need for Greece to be impoverished like it was some kind of third-world country. So what is going on? What will it take for ordinary people to see that there is something desperately wrong going on here? We just have to keep informing people until everyone understands the wider issues, but it's a bit hard when people are fighting for their existence, and experiencing or observing the suffering. I decided to start trying to get a message out again, and it's not easy when people have gut reactions and attack you; it has a bad affect on me. I couldn't sleep all night just for what Tithers said to me. I don't hate anyone. I don't wish harm upon anyone, rich or poor. We need that starting point: we must not hate. Nothing ever good came out of hating and despising people whatever the relative circumstances. If you hate, then you're hating humankind and nature itself, which is by nature, imperfect, often selfish, and prone to making mistakes, swinging the lead if at all possible. Go on. Admit it. Have you never done that? But out of nature, out of mistakes, out of consideration, amazing things happen. Who knows?
Statistics, Statistics, and Damned Lies? I just realise that I never posted this last year (been a bad one):
Long post, but apart from the ethics, learn why the country hasn't saved a penny from all of the changes in benefits (and this post only deals with housing). Let
me tell you a story. A few years ago, my friend's partner was made
redundant from his long term job (lets call them Julia and John).
They had 3 children and an adult son living with them (who was
unemployed at the time). Julia
told me that they were managing quite well on benefits; it wasn't the
same, but they certainly weren't going without anything necessary, and of course, John was looking for work nonetheless. After a little while, the same company John had worked for had a
new position available, so he started back to work again. Read more »
Letter a Day: The first casualty of war is truth and the war on the poor is about to escalate. This fellow has sent a letter to 10 Downing Street since the 'cons' came to power 5 years ago; always a good read and eminently salient:
http://www.keithordinaryguy.org.uk/ The first casualty of war is truth and the war on the poor is about to escalate. 21
written anything on this blog now for some years now. To be frank, I
was in fear of what might happen if I continued to write about
welfare reform or anything else. As to why I was in fear, take a look
at this blog and the documents that are linked to it:
https://kittysjones.wordpress.com/2015/06/26/how-covert-agents-infiltrate-the-internet-to-manipulate-deceive-and-destroy-reputations-glenn-greenwald/ Quite
frightening isn't it, what could happen to you if you stick your head
above the parapet? But this is what has happened over the last 5
years to people who do. Dirty tricks that not only can ruin your
reputation, but damage your close relationship with family and