Could you live on £7.50 a day?

[formant]

The trouble with this jbs for benefits / workhouse business is that it will cost more than simply giving them cash. Even painting railings will need paint, paintbrushes, railings and supervisors. Not to mention the inevitable health and safety issues.

The largest part of the bill is the state pension. The only way to get it down is to not give the money to the old people. This would be political suicide.

Therefore we are ****ed.

Agree with this.

[petergriffin]

Our local Polish shop does 2 reds for a fiver. Handy for removing those stubborn stains.

I bet all your friends are Polish.

[vetran]

And they found one

Iain Duncan Smith was right! You CAN live on just £53 a week says cash-strapped teacher Kath Kelly who survived a year on £1 a day | Mail Online

And £1700 / month is enough to survive

Britons 'require £1,700 a month to survive and £4,400 to live in luxury' | Mail Online

[NickFitz]

Here's an MP who's actually tried feeding herself on £18/week, that being the amount some of her constituents have to feed themselves with, and how it turned out: House of Commons Hansard Debates for 27 Feb 2013 (pt 0003)

[DaveB]

Here's a handy money saving tip

[Zippy]

Here's a handy money saving tip

<removed image of awful rag>

[hyperD]

Here's an MP who's actually tried feeding herself on £18/week, that being the amount some of her constituents have to feed themselves with, and how it turned out: House of Commons Hansard Debates for 27 Feb 2013 (pt 0003)

Although I despise all MPs (of all colour) that try this propaganda bollocks:

Out of their £71.70, they have to find £10 for electricity, £20 for heating—gas or coal—£6 for water rates, £4 for bus fares in the case of those who live in villages and have to get to the main town, and £10 for the bedroom tax, which left them with £23 for weekly living expenses.

With the Cold Weather Payment, yes it's tulip, not everyone pays the "bedroom tax" but it's not terminal. And every other domestic expense is paid for.

It's crap to be honest, but better than nothing.

[NickFitz]

Although I despise all MPs (of all colour) that try this propaganda bollocks:



With the Cold Weather Payment, yes it's tulip, not everyone pays the "bedroom tax" but it's not terminal. And every other domestic expense is paid for.

It's crap to be honest, but better than nothing.

Cold Weather Payment only happens when "when your local temperature is either recorded as, or forecast to be, an average of zero degrees Celsius or below over 7 consecutive days" (https://www.gov.uk/cold-weather-payment/overview). That leaves a lot of time when you have to pay for heating out of your normal benefits.

And as this was a debate about the bedroom tax, she naturally considered the circumstances of those caught by it.

[hyperD]

Cold Weather Payment only happens when "when your local temperature is either recorded as, or forecast to be, an average of zero degrees Celsius or below over 7 consecutive days" (https://www.gov.uk/cold-weather-payment/overview). That leaves a lot of time when you have to pay for heating out of your normal benefits.

And as this was a debate about the bedroom tax, she naturally considered the circumstances of those caught by it.

Yes, the Cold Weather Payment is effectively a political sleight of hand by all governments, and ignoring the House Insulation benefits that you can get, the bedroom tax is just a sneaky way to trim an excessive social welfare bill.

I don't agree with it NickFitz, it's a political "hot potato" but it does a great job from distracting from the real issue of a "fair and proper" benefits catchall, and the failings of it that have not been addressed properly by Labour nor the Tories.

[doodab]

and the failings of it that have not been addressed properly by Labour nor the Tories.

I think that's the crux of the matter. The whole debate is a lot of bollocks, polarised and politicised and what we actually need is some smart people to take a step back, look at the situation and think "how can we sort this out". Unfortunately the nature of modern Britain means that the necessary smart people are either busy thinking "how can we make money out of this" or busy making money out of something else.

Oh dear, we really are proper ****ed aren't we.