Off Topic And Now for Something Completely Different

Tricky to read on my phone, but doesn’t the 36.7% figure include pensioners?
The numbers of others getting benefits is less than half that?

 

The figures arent like for like.

The UK 36,7% (ca. 24 million head of population) you quote includes ca. 13 million pensioners. So already that figure should be more than halved to compare. Then you've got to remove those who are not on disability benefits, but on working credits/UC (whatever it is called now) and you have probably got a percentage figure that is less than Norway's percentage of who is on disability benefits.

To me, and this is personal opinion, a figure of around 10% who are unable to work due to illness and who are unable to work due to just being unsuitable for employment... isnt unexpected.

 

Sorry you are correct it does. There are 9.3m people on working-age benefits.

I'm not saying benefits are a bad thing. They are a vital safety net to keep people out of poverty. However, unemployment benefits should, in an ideal world, be a short term support people get back into work.

Additionally it seems crazy to me that a person in full time work is paid so little they need their income toped up with in-work benefits just to be above the poverty line.

It's not as simple as just increasing the minimum wage either we need to address why peoples cost of living is so high.

In the 70s in Sweden there was a sever housing shortage driving up costs so the government put a program to build 1m homes. Which they did creating thousands of jobs and bringing down housing costs.

Likewise food prices seem to be raising at crazy rates and at the same time farmers are saying they are not being paid a fair price for their produce so where is all the margin going? Could government not step in. It's not a supply and demand thing because in the 90s all we heard about were milk lakes and butter mountains s owe can produce enough it needed.

 

See my reply to Den I got the figures wrong. And I happily hold up my hands to that.

However, I think there is something wrong in the system when people in work are below the poverty line and that small number people choose not to work, I have close family members who have never had a job in their lives.

 

The only person I know who has never had a job had very wealthy parents

Do you mean they live on benefits ? Or just rely on family members ?

 

A lot of people who claim 'unemployment benefit',claim it through their N.I contribution history(contribution based J.S.A or 'job seekers allowance').It's an automatic entitlement that you can claim whether you have money in the bank or not(essentially even if you are a millionaire,you're entitled),the alternative being 'income based J.S.A'.Income based assumes you have little,if any, savings.

With contribution based you are entitled to claim for a maximum of 6 months,then if you have money in the bank above the current thresholds,you are expected to keep yourself(income based keeps on paying indefinitely).If I'm out of work I claim contribution based J.S.A as I'm actively seeking employment and I'm slightly above the threshold for savings.Some lie about their savings but if you're caught you face having to pay it back,so in my eyes it's not worth the risk.To summarise,most people on Contribution based benefit are chasing work from day one as they know their benefits will run out eventually.Those on income based are under less pressure as their benefit is indefinite and in the majority of cases they are also receiving housing benefit,council tax benefit and other various top-ups.

As for food prices,I'm afraid to say that is down to the greed of our Supermarket owners.The suppliers are more or less told what the supermarket chain intends to pay,like it or lump it.

Something needs to be done in terms of how much profit these companies are allowed to be making while a large proportion of the public struggle to put decent food on the table...

 

Benefits we are a very working class family.

One of my uncles was on unemployment benefit until his mid-forties when he became a caregiver for for his mother and switched to those payments. When she died he went onto unemployment again until he got his pension. A cousin has always been on disability benefits due to sever asthma which he freely admits is made up. Another cousin has had 5 kids with none of the fathers in the picture for long and has been on various benefits. I'm not in anyway saying these are typical. Other cousins are working their arses off in low paid jobs and having to rely in tax credits.

 

Tesco are forecast to make £2.9 billion in 24/25...Tiny profits eh?

 

Nothing wrong with a business making profit. I had my own business for over thirty years, in the odd year that I made no profit I had to cut back on staff, investment, and personal spending. When I did make a profit I was able to employ more staff, buy new equipment, and spend more with local businesses.

 

There are a few living in my vicinity(I could name 3 families in 14 houses) who have never worked a day in their puff and never intend to...****ers jump around in taxis!!!

 

How many of those are in sixth form or university?

I don't doubt it's a problem...but ultimately, as a company owner yourself, there's going to be a couple of million ppl in the UK that you'd never want to employ to work for you.. the alternative to a lifetime on benefit is them starving on the streets.

 

I never said there was anything wrong with making a profit,good luck to anyone who has taken the leap into business.

Tesco and others are making a profit with absolutely no concern for who they're ripping off ,yet they've been cutting their staff numbers recently?

There's a difference between making a profit and ripping the p!ss out of people (IMHO).

 

In Sweden I'm a member of a Union, despite my not being Unionised (we are 16 people) and me being a minority equity holder. However, for a about £10 per month (and I pay the most expensive premium) I get income insurance which gives me an income of up to £15K per month for 9 months depending on my last 12 months earnings. After that it drops to 50% of income plus what the government pays. I'd say 99% of people pay into similar schemes.

 

Fair points, ST. Slightly off topic... If your cousin has five kids, aren't the fathers paying child support? Obviously she's entitled to the state child parent support that every foresatte gets but shouldn't the fathers be legally enforced to contribute? I've got friends/colleagues in Norway and Sweden paying between 4500-16000kr a month for kids, dependent on assessed income.

 

It's a good idea.I'd gladly contribute towards a scheme like that but sadly they don't exist in the U.K.

 

This to me is the issue with the UK - not that benefits are too generous for those that don't work, but that the incentive/rewards for those that do work are too low.