Reply to: limit child benefit to three children?

[d000hg]

As one in four babies born in the world today is Chinese, shouldn't Beijing pay for the forth?

Is that bridge STILL not painted?

[MyUserName]

Neither as both will leave the kids hungry in an hour.

In regards to the health claims I like quite a few people I went to university with was brought up eating lots of potatoes. Potatoes can be microwaved, boiled, fried or baked in the oven.

When I was at university I could survive for ages on large sacks of unwashed potatoes from Tesco and stacks of value beans combined with pints and pints of water - ah the good old days

[SimonMac]

As one in four babies born in the world today is Chinese, shouldn't Beijing pay for the forth?

[SueEllen]

It costs 3 times to feed a family healthily as the cheapest method.

You have 60p. You are in Tesco. You have to feed your kids. 2 apples or 5 doughnuts?

The only way is to give these children to those who can afford to feed them....

Neither as both will leave the kids hungry in an hour.

In regards to the health claims I like quite a few people I went to university with was brought up eating lots of potatoes. Potatoes can be microwaved, boiled, fried or baked in the oven.

[BrilloPad]

Problem is one policy doesn't fit all.

In the UK cities I've lived in the market stalls and greengrocer shops sell fruit and veg cheaper. However in the towns I've stayed in there is nothing but supermarkets.

Believe it or not there is now a lot of ignorance around cooking now. Schemes have found when people are told where to buy, how to keep and cook veg and fruit they will do it.

It costs 3 times to feed a family healthily as the cheapest method.

You have 60p. You are in Tesco. You have to feed your kids. 2 apples or 5 doughnuts?

The only way is to give these children to those who can afford to feed them....

[DodgyAgent]

It is possible to control peoples behaviour by controlling the environment they live. If you pay enough in benefits then people will live accordingly. The downside is that they have no motivation to interract with other people because they do not have to.

Remove benefits and people will be forced to take responsibility. whether that is by getting a job or becoming a criminal depends on what they can manage best to do.

The benefits system combined with the health and education systems has incentivised many girls/women to have children. many of these have grown up in dysfunctional environments and are poorly educated either because the schools are bad and or the parenting they received is bad. Often it is a vicious circle. If you adopt policies that affect the child it is counter productive to trap them into the same vicious circle as their mothers have lived.

The only solutions to stop this cycle of perpetual dysfunctionality are drastic. Send them to high quality boarding schools would be one way of breaking the cycle Victoria Cross for gallantry in Afghanistan awarded to former Christ , sterilisation and workhouses are others

[MicrosoftBob]

For £4 a week we get more fruit and veg delivered than we can eat, courtesy of a local food collective.

In somewhere at least semi rural that works, all the ones I know produce more than they can sell locally

I don't know if my area is especially abundant in fruit and veg, but maybe more could be sold into cities this way ???

[SueEllen]

It might be cheaper but that's not what most people do. Our town centre - hardly a rich area - supports 1 small proper greengrocer's, and one market-stall type thing. It also supports two medium size super-markets (there were 3 but Iceland shut) and 2-3 Tesco Metro / Sainsbury Local type places. The greengrocer is definitely substantially cheaper but remains small and rough-looking.

Outside the town centre, I don't think there is a single green-grocer. Every satellite village is lucky to have a Nisa or Spar or Sainsbury Local.

So I don't know "we can't use the vouchers everywhere" is a strong enough argument. Most people don't even cook from scratch anyway.

Problem is one policy doesn't fit all.

In the UK cities I've lived in the market stalls and greengrocer shops sell fruit and veg cheaper. However in the towns I've stayed in there is nothing but supermarkets.

Believe it or not there is now a lot of ignorance around cooking now. Schemes have found when people are told where to buy, how to keep and cook veg and fruit they will do it.

[FatLazyContractor]

Because then you would never have been born? How do you think your mum afforded all those fags & booze. She only charged 20p a blow job, it doesn't pay the bills.

You still think I am Suity's sockie, don't you? Fat feck!

[d000hg]

How do you separate out that child benefit money from other money? Lots of people who get child benefit work. In regards to other benefits the state pension and winter fuel payments are benefits, why should old people be stigmatised? Why should disabled people and their carers be stigmatised?

Also market stalls don't take cards and it's cheaper for most people to buy their fruit and veg from market stalls than supermarkets.

It might be cheaper but that's not what most people do. Our town centre - hardly a rich area - supports 1 small proper greengrocer's, and one market-stall type thing. It also supports two medium size super-markets (there were 3 but Iceland shut) and 2-3 Tesco Metro / Sainsbury Local type places. The greengrocer is definitely substantially cheaper but remains small and rough-looking.

Outside the town centre, I don't think there is a single green-grocer. Every satellite village is lucky to have a Nisa or Spar or Sainsbury Local.

So I don't know "we can't use the vouchers everywhere" is a strong enough argument. Most people don't even cook from scratch anyway.

[SueEllen]

Okay, maybe I didn't think it through as carefully as I should have.

If you really want to know where most benefits money goes its not hard to find out.

The majority goes on pensions then housing benefit.

We can't decrease pension spending without killing people so we need to reduce housing benefit.

As a lot of people claiming housing benefit work then we need to put measures in place to make homes cheaper to rent and buy. The bedroom tax was the right idea but impractical due to the amount and type of social and private housing stock available.

[GlenW]

Ever thought about being a politician?

No, that would mean I'd need to be a paedophile or at least not criticise them.

[mudskipper]

Okay, maybe I didn't think it through as carefully as I should have.

Ever thought about being a politician?

[GlenW]

How do you separate out that child benefit money from other money? Lots of people who get child benefit work. In regards to other benefits the state pension and winter fuel payments are benefits, why should old people be stigmatised? Why should disabled people and their carers be stigmatised?

Also market stalls don't take cards and it's cheaper for most people to buy their fruit and veg from market stalls than supermarkets.

Finally they did a voucher scheme with asylum seekers at the end of 20th century. All it did was cause problems as it took longer for the shops to process the vouchers.

Okay, maybe I didn't think it through as carefully as I should have.

[SueEllen]

It isn't even £20 a week it is £13 something. £20 is only for the first child, £13 for subsequent children.

I do like the idea of putting benefits onto a card, it would be fairly straight forward to limit what people could buy, no cigarettes, no alcohol etc.

How do you separate out that child benefit money from other money? Lots of people who get child benefit work. In regards to other benefits the state pension and winter fuel payments are benefits, why should old people be stigmatised? Why should disabled people and their carers be stigmatised?

Also market stalls don't take cards and it's cheaper for most people to buy their fruit and veg from market stalls than supermarkets.

Finally they did a voucher scheme with asylum seekers at the end of 20th century. All it did was cause problems as it took longer for the shops to process the vouchers.