Got kids between 1986-2003?

[basshead]

Nice.

Do those of us who choose not to have kids get rewarded to ?

Yeah, not having to look after kids is your reward.

[Ardesco]

Where do you think all the people that serve you on a daily basis come from? From delivering your local paper or manning the tills at the petrol station to flying the plane you go on holiday in or supplying your gas and electricity. They were all children once.

How were they educated to a level where they could do their jobs? Who got them to school every day and paid for their school uniform, food and any number of other extras that come up every day when you're raising children?

The reward you get is the society around you, but you get it cheaper than the people that actually bother to have children do.

ooo nice comeback

[Board Game Geek]

Yeah, not having to look after kids is your reward.

Fair point ! I'll concede that one !

[dang65]

Case in point...spoke to a chap last night who had come back from his local. He was telling me about his mate's partner. She's got 17 children from 5 different fathers. (He's the fifth partner).

Suffice to say, the money they make from their children is no small amount, and allows them to live at the taxpayer's expense in their local every night.
Neither he nor his partner need to work.

Yeah, I think you might have taken a slightly extreme example there.

We've got four children, and one has left home now (he's in the Royal Navy, which I guess you're subsidising too). So, standard Child Benefit which everyone gets adds up to 43.90 a week for the other three. We get free education, though one of mine is in an independent fee-paying school, and we get free dentist treatment but none of them have needed any work done so far. Free prescriptions, which they probably use once a year for the default GP issue full course of antibiotics for some harmless infection they've picked up.

The rest is paid for by us personally. Sure, it's our choice, but the benefit to society of a well brought up, well educated and healthy citizen for really very little public investment is obvious. Referring to parents as if they are leeches which you personally are subsidising seems to miss the point completely.

[NotAllThere]

These selfish childless couples should pay far more tax than selfless parents, who are acting as national benefactors.

[Board Game Geek]

Referring to parents as if they are leeches which you personally are subsidising

My original post mentioned nothing of the sort, though I agree a subsequent post did amount to the same. If I gave offense, then I am sorry.

I'm looking at this in unemotive terms.

Going back to the original post, I was trying to point out that if there is free money being handed out to those who had offspring, why is there not free money to those who do not ?

It's purely conjecture to say "Ah but yes, my son/daughter may become a business leader, employer of people, doctor, nurse, carer, blah blah blah."

What is not conjecture is that aforesaid being is yet another mouth to feed, yet another consumer of public-funded services, yet another strain on society.

However, the Government see fit to apportion additional finances to support this being.

Therefore, why not reward those who choose to remain childless (or have fewer children), since by virtue they will not be burdening society more ?

Obviously once they hit 16 they can go and get a job (though I think some can work at a younger age under certain conditions), so they can start to self-support anyway.

It just seems at odds when people criticise the "Nanny State" in one breath, and yet take the State's money in the next for their wee bairns.

[bobhope]

To bring it back on topic.

Rushed (sort of) home yesterday to look up the details for 2002/3. Tax credit already given. Makes sense, I filled out the self-assessment form at the time and there was a tick-box for "do you have kids?"

So, I guess this only applies to people who are PAYE, have the wrong tax code and did not fill out a self-assessment form.

Can't imagine that applying to many people here.