Proposed benefit cuts Options

[massifheed]

Was just reading this...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16812185

and wondered what people's thoughts were. The example family in the link get approx £30,000 per year in benefit, and could stand to lose £4000 if the cap were introduced. Looking at the family's ougoings I find it hard to have a great deal of sympathy. The guy has been out of work for 10 years (so one wonders why he hasn't retrained or at least found something in that time), they manage to find the funds for a Sky TV subscription - with movies, 200 cigarettes and 24 cans of lager a week.

They clearly go without in other areas - they have no car and don't go on holiday every year (although many other people don't either!), but it seems obvious to me that if people are able to be in receipt of the equivalent of a respectable salary (30k is way more than I earn) without, in theory, having to leave the house or even get up in the morning, then we will end up with generations upon generations of families who will simply choose not to work. Cutting benefits so that people can no longer afford to use them to fund Sky TV, 24 cans of lager and 200 fags a week may be the start needed.

[blackdog]

Looking at the article it is easy enough to get worked up about the Sky TV, mobiles, fags and booze - cutting those out might fit this family into the £26 limit.

But imagine what the same limit would mean to a family around here, or in London - where £76 a week wouldn't get you a tent, let alone space (just) for a family of eight.

Sure the chap should be retrained which would, ideally see him working - but he lives in North Wales - where the chances of getting a job with his CV must be below zero. If they relocate to somewhere where jobs exist - say Newbury, could he get a job paying enough to support and, notably, to house the family - I doubt it.

The £26k cap will force families to move to places where they can exist on £26k - usually areas with high unemployment. I'm not sure how that will help?

Another simple issue - a family with 6 kids has to survive on £26k in N Wales, a family with 2 kids in the south-east will get the same £26k owing to massively higher housing costs. Is that fair? All unwaged large families must move to sink estates in poverty striken areas.

Unless the government subsidises housing in some other way (eg building thousands of council houses) I can't see how this 'one size fits all' cap will work in any way that could be defined as fair.

[Guest_xjay1337_*]

Looking at the article it is easy enough to get worked up about the Sky TV, mobiles, fags and booze - cutting those out might fit this family into the £26 limit.

But imagine what the same limit would mean to a family around here, or in London - where £76 a week wouldn't get you a tent, let alone space (just) for a family of eight.

Sure the chap should be retrained which would, ideally see him working - but he lives in North Wales - where the chances of getting a job with his CV must be below zero. If they relocate to somewhere where jobs exist - say Newbury, could he get a job paying enough to support and, notably, to house the family - I doubt it.

The £26k cap will force families to move to places where they can exist on £26k - usually areas with high unemployment. I'm not sure how that will help?

Another simple issue - a family with 6 kids has to survive on £26k in N Wales, a family with 2 kids in the south-east will get the same £26k owing to massively higher housing costs. Is that fair? All unwaged large families must move to sink estates in poverty striken areas.

Unless the government subsidises housing in some other way (eg building thousands of council houses) I can't see how this 'one size fits all' cap will work in any way that could be defined as fair.

So why doesn't he look for jobs nationally and if he gets one then relocate? That's a stupid amount of money to be getting on benefits and after 10 years this guy has clearly got no will to get another job..
Location isn't an excuse really, not when you've been bone idle for a decade. You can happily live in pretty much any area in and around Newbury for a **** of a lot less than £26k...I was on £15k and managed to rent my own place, pay finance, insurance, and what not.. it's not really that hard to look for cheaper places to live.