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Letter: Cap will widen the north-south divide
ON January 23, the minister who is responsible for this £26,000 maximum benefit Welfare Bill, was asked many questions on Radio 4 and appeared fervent that it will be sensible to pay out the full amount to a few and far less would need the maximum.
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I have written before about this maximum amount and have a great worry that it will affect the North/South divide over the average wage and with every benefit involved, including child care. First, the average wage down south is much higher than it is in the North. I haven’t accurate figures but by looking at the Jobs section in the newspapers, I suspect that in the North it’s around the £10,000/£14,000 mark and for workers in the South £16-£20,000, with just a little bit more for supervisory to middle type management. This is why I can’t get my head around this £26,000.
Until I heard this morning the last words from the minister, that the major part of this very large sum is because of the very high benefit payments in London on houses and flats, which are worth very large sums of money with rents to match. He actually boasted that his department knew every single one that was going to be targeted and the people who occupied them would be found cheaper accommodation.
If this is so, why is the whole country going to be involved in this upheaval and the large amount of money that is being spent to bring this reform in? I, and I suspect a lot of other people, want to get the “scroungers” in all the cities to be made to work and get off the benefits system but why does this Coalition have to include everyone who has to have some form of benefit to live on.
The Labour Party complains that the cuts have been made too fast and are messing up our economy, putting more and more people out of work and adding them to the benefit system. We are only into the second year of this government and they are already borrowing more and more money, which is not helping to get the cuts down. They have already said that they will not clear the deficit promised by 2015 and they are not going to change course. By the look of things, the money is being used to prop up changes – not cuts.
I don’t deny we need some changes but these should wait until we get some jobs into the system. The government say they are going to pour in money for youth employment and apprentice scheme etc. It’s all short term and we will be lucky to get six months reprieve out of it, unless it becomes a benefit that must be paid.
They need jobs with decent wage packets. Where from? Why not push the supermarket industry, who take and control a very large slice of our money? They are all prospering – except Tesco – with very large profit margins. This government loves to hear from them, like the latest one of the number of new stores they are going to open in the future and the 5,000 jobs which will be available.
It’s good news, except for the real fact which is just how many new full-time jobs will there be from the 5,000; who will be paying national insurance? Five hundred maybe, with the other 4,500 working part-time and not paying national insurance and, of course, the supermarkets will not be paying their share of the national insurance, which in turn means more profits.
D BIRCH, Cookridge
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Comments
There are 7 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
Nigel B
Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 09:37 AM@ChrisB, it is only right that people are helped when they lose their jobs, but this cannit be indefinately. I have been unemployed, and at the start you look for a really god job, but then if you dont secede, then you lower your sights untill you are sucesfull. Good luck.
ILCAPA
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 04:42 PMPending Moderation
whirlygig
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 09:29 AM"Sky"! Since when has that been compulsory? I also don't think the jobs section is an accurate way of guesstimating the average wage for the North as it's not where more lucrative jobs are advertised.
ILCAPA
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 06:11 PMMy daughter earns £20000 before stoppages.Her rent alone is £460 per month.she draws approx £1200 per month. Council Tax, Electric,Water rates TV licence Sky. Gets no money fron any where else but she is independant and I am well proud of her.Not like the Benefit Scroungers.
Brer Fox
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 05:52 PMBeing a working man who gets no child benefit,working tax credit,housing benefit or any other damn benefit I am very much in favour of the benefits cap. And to make it work properly the government must pay child benefit for no more than three children.. Do not blame the tories for this mess.Look instead at the corruption within the Labour party and ask them how they managed to concoct such a deplorable state of affairs.
tothepoint5
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 04:14 PMThe benefits cap is an amazing strategy of divide and conquer and the masses have bought it once again. The tories are comparing "in work familes net wages (no other income)" against out of work families total income from JSAESA, housing benefit, council tax benefit, child benefit, tax credits etc. That is to say, they are pretending that "in work" families are not receiving child benefit and tax credits, housing benefit, and council tax benefit so this is an unfair comparison.
Chris R
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 02:21 PMI have no idea how the benefits system works!! i was made redundant last year and have so far been unable to find work....because i own my own home with a mortgage i had to pay the mortgage for the first 13 weeks, then thankfully the benefits office took over the intrest only part of my mortgage.. I have since recieved a letter informing me that my intrest only mortgage payment benefit will stop in January next year, and that i will need to contact my lender and discuss how i will pay my mortgage!!! Its mind boggling, if i was in rented accomodation, the dss would continue to pay this for how ever long it is going to take for me to find work!!! Its a joke and a nightmare......looks like i could lose my home.....
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