Spring Statement on Wednesday.

[japancool]

I am aware that at least one North east counsil used part of it to help people who had council tax arrears, by giving them a year's free council tax. Hardly helps pay for food and heating as most people would just not pay it because they can't.

Unfortunately, with councils using such aggressive measures to recover council tax arrears, that saves up problems for the future.

 

[Newchodge]

Unfortunately, with councils using such aggressive measures to recover council tax arrears, that saves up problems for the future.

If you can't afford to eat and you can't afford to keep warm, you don't have a future to save up problems for!

 

[STDFR33]

Helpful for all thosue copany director who take basic salary.

It has always been a nonsense that the level at which you pay NI is lower than the level you pay Income tax and it will help a lot of the lowest paid workers.

Long term how is this going to effect NI credits for state pension of those lower paid workers?

 

[Newchodge]

Long term how is this going to effect NI credits for state pension of those lower paid workers?

Currently you get credits if you are paid £120 per week, hopefully that will stay the same. It hasn't matched the point when you start paying NI for years.

 

[STDFR33]

Currently you get credits if you are paid £120 per week, hopefully that will stay the same. It hasn't matched the point when you start paying NI for years.

As always, the devil will be in the detail.

I wouldn't put it past this government to give a crumb and take the full sandwich.

 

[japancool]

If you can't afford to eat and you can't afford to keep warm, you don't have a future to save up problems for!

Yes - but when the council sends bailiffs who slap ever-increasing fees onto the debt, then demand that debt is repaid by deducting it directly from universal credit payments, it's not much of a future to look forward to either!

 

[Newchodge]

As always, the devil will be in the detail.

I wouldn't put it past this government to give a crumb and take the full sandwich.

I am not sure they have even goven a crumb to the least well off. Those without earned icnome, for example.

 

[Newchodge]

Yes - but when the council sends bailiffs who slap ever-increasing fees onto the debt, then demand that debt is repaid by deducting it directly from universal credit payments, it's not much of a future to look forward to either!

It won't matter, you will have died of pneumonia exacerbated by malnutrition.

 

[japancool]

It won't matter, you will have died of pneumonia exacerbated by malnutrition.

What's the point if you're just going to die of the same things a few years later, exacerbated by local politicians?

My point is that councils need to deal much more equitably with council tax debt, precisely BECAUSE people aren't paying it because they can't otherwise eat or stay warm. They have to recognise that they may not get some of that money back because people don't have it, not just pile more debt on top of them.

 

[Newchodge]

What's the point if you're just going to die of the same things a few years later, exacerbated by local politicians?

So suicide for those in poverty is your answer?

 

[japancool]

So suicide for those in poverty is your answer?

See edited post above.

In your myopic rush to disagree, you're entirely missing the point.

 

[japancool]

So suicide for those in poverty is your answer?

And yeah, you know what? That's exactly what aggressive council tax recovery drives people towards.

The strain of having council bailiffs turn up on people's doorsteps demanding money or else, has causes massive strains on people's mental health and DOES cause people to consider suicide. It's not something you can dismiss with a throwaway comment.

It's something that is entirely unnecessary and within the control of local politicians. Yet nothing is being done to address it. With council tax rising along with the cost of living, more people will find themselves in this position.

Not the bailiffs, obviously.

 

[japancool]

Employment allowance rising to £5000. Slight bit of good news for employers. Which doesn't offset the 1.25% NI rise.

 

[Newchodge]

See edited post above.

In your myopic rush to disagree, you're entirely missing the point.

It is nothing to do with my eyesight if you post a response and then edit it later.

 

[japancool]

It is nothing to do with my eyesight if you post a response and then edit it later.

It has everything to do with the fact that you apparently have tunnel vision.

 

[MarkOnline]

Its an unfortunate fact of life that the inequality gap has widened still further. The divide is greater than that at the turn of the last century. Its not fair and its getting even more unfairer. Thats what happens when the retail banks can create unprecedented levels of debt. You dont need to be asset rich anymore, all you need is the ability to service debt and wait for time and inflation to work its magic.. We need money not currency to stabilise this insane growth in asset values.

 

[Paul Norman]

The budget itself is OK, I believe. I disagree with some of the measures, but as an overall package I have no strong feelings about it.

A separate topic emerges, for me, and it was there before.

What do we do about people who are in real poverty? That is obvious a multi-faceted question. It is not, primarily, a matter for the budget. But society, and it's government, needs to think about how the safety net works, or even if it wants one. I believe that, currently, the safety net is failing in key instances.

Anecdotal arguments don't work here. We can all cast about and find someone who is failing themselves. But it is simply not true that all poverty is self inflicted, and even if it is, I am not sure that we ought not still to help.

This budget didn't address the issue, nor did it answer the question. But I am not sure that the budget is the key moment to do that.

 

[Gill Courage]

Whoever does whatever, it’s going to hurt. The world is in a mess and there’s no way (now) to shield a country from it.
What we need is a proper, grownup, planning effort for many aspects of our lives. For decades our pollies have ducked the issues because they are too difficult and party politics rules out genuine long term plans.
Plan forhousing. Not the crap we get now; no space, no storage dark small rooms and inadequate energy performance.
Get real on energy and plan for an orderly move towards “green” power supplies. Meanwhile, make sure we don’t filth up our planet unnecessarily. Work with nature and build digester units at every farm. Dyson has it in operation; electricity with a side of milk, cheese, strawberries and fertiliiser. What’s not to like?
Tell the truth about elderly care. Almost nobody can afford six grand a month for a residential home. Build homes that older people can live in independantly with help coming in. The over55 homes being built now are way to expensive and not suitable for anyone who needs mobility help. Government or housing associations need help to provide these places at something like affordable on a retirement income.
Stop wasting taxpayers money on vanity projects and overpriced tat. The NHS pays far too much for a lot of things. Our money needs to be spent as carefully as we would ourselves. Other government departments are no better.
Put money into defence and use it as a feeder to train youngsters in tech/med careers that we need. That’s when a spend becomes an investment.
And let’s be honest about the spend. When Boris pledges x million for the NHS, how much of that comes back to him in taxes of every kind? Income tax, NI, VAT, business rates, fuel duty, CT from the manufacturers of “stuff” purchased with that money.
If we ran our little businesses like the government run the country we’d have been put of business long ago - they only manage because they can borrow endlessly, on our tab!