Free School Meals - What price on bad PR?

[ladymuck]

There is no right answer, Boris’ idea seems to be get people working in better paid jobs and people will not need UC and FSM, EOTHO was a way to try and stimulate the economy to keep more people working and off benefits.

Labour and others seem to think the answer is increasing benefits to a level which is more akin to the living wage.

On the surface the tories have the best idea, it just seems in practice it’s not working

The ideal is that benefits should only be there as a safety net to fall back on for those that are either short-term hindered or long term unable.

You can't keep bumping benefits up as it encourages the wrong behaviours. Equally, you can't keep benefits so low that those who genuinely need help are forced to resort to food banks to survive.

I don't know how you resolve that. Part of me wonders if the basic income idea that some countries have trialled, and which has had a sort of unoffical trial here with the furlough payments, is the way forward. That would require a significant change in how transactions, companies and individuals are taxed in order to pay for it. HMT seem unwilling to do anything about taxation other than tinker around the edges, sadly.

[SueEllen]

A bit of Pie.

School Dinners. - YouTube

[minestrone]

The ideal is that benefits should only be there as a safety net to fall back on for those that are either short-term hindered or long term unable.

You can't keep bumping benefits up as it encourages the wrong behaviours. Equally, you can't keep benefits so low that those who genuinely need help are forced to resort to food banks to survive.

I don't know how you resolve that. Part of me wonders if the basic income idea that some countries have trialled, and which has had a sort of unoffical trial here with the furlough payments, is the way forward. That would require a significant change in how transactions, companies and individuals are taxed in order to pay for it. HMT seem unwilling to do anything about taxation other than tinker around the edges, sadly.

Are you ok?

[Zigenare]

FFS. What a bunch of entitled pricks in this forum.

These are children we are talking about. I don't give a tulip if their parents blow the cash on weed or large TVs, but this is just a stereotype.

Let's remember that UC had to be increased as Mr & Mrs Jones could not live on what the impoverished have been expected to for years.

I am more than happy for children to be fed on my tax contributions. It is a much better use of money than Boris' moonshots, cumshots or whatever his latest plan of the week is.

Ok, let's start at the beginning, what in your opinion is the problem that needs to be solved?

[SueEllen]

Are you ok?

She's fine.

It's obvious if something isn't working then you fix it.

The tax and benefits system isn't working so it needs fixing.

[minestrone]

She's fine.

It's obvious if something isn't working then you fix it.

The tax and benefits system isn't working so it needs fixing.

When Karl Marx was a boy, he took a hard look around, he saw people were starving all over the place, then he come up with a plan, dun dun dun dun

[ladymuck]

All these Tories now saying they're uncomfortable with the government's stance on free school meals are getting on my nerves. They voted against providing them so surely it's a bit late to suddenly have a crisis of conscience when you've endorsed HMG's approach. Perhaps they should have had a think about what their constituents thought before voting and determined what would best serve their needs?

[darmstadt]

All these Tories now saying they're uncomfortable with the government's stance on free school meals are getting on my nerves. They voted against providing them so surely it's a bit late to suddenly have a crisis of conscience when you've endorsed HMG's approach. Perhaps they should have had a think about what their constituents thought before voting and determined what would best serve their needs?

That's about as likely to happen as Johnson coming out as a drag queen...

[minestrone]

All these Tories now saying they're uncomfortable with the government's stance on free school meals are getting on my nerves. They voted against providing them so surely it's a bit late to suddenly have a crisis of conscience when you've endorsed HMG's approach. Perhaps they should have had a think about what their constituents thought before voting and determined what would best serve their needs?

The conservatives have a 80 seat majority.

[MaryPoppins]

Yep some of it is trolling but watch some poverty porn! Plenty of troubled individuals do make these decisions. I know a few.

however it is obvious just throwing money at it isn't the answer.

End of Year Stats - The Trussell Trust
Interesting that the number of food parcels went up by ~150,000 (2017 - 2018)~250,000 (2018-2019) and 300,000 during 2019-2020. The demand seems to be accelerating nicely before the pandemic.

I agree down south the problem is housing cost but then we increased our population without increasing our housing stock no government has bothered to build enough.

We need to
1. separate housing cost from benefits.
2. Reduce housing costs by building some homes and moving people out of expensive areas.
3. Train people how to live on a smaller take home from benefits.
4. Take the kids off the fuqwits.

there are plenty of working people with kids living in one bedroom flats on low wages.

I did not say that there are not poor decisions being made by parents – there are, of course. For many reasons.

My point – badly made– is that we could as a country help these children, and children of parents in crappy situations who are making the best decisions they can –by providing food. Simple as that – not money as stated above, but the same sort of food they get in term time. That food isn’t great, but it is better than nothing. The argument that benefits should cover this doesn’t really add up, since it is obvious this isn’t the case given the stats on child poverty in this country.