crystaline said:
Eh? It's far far more than 44 a week with a family..
it's almost 60 quid on the lowest level for an individual. Add to that family credit, income support, housing benefit, free pretty much everything, and it's no surprise that some people are worse off.
Nick, can i just point out that I said in my very first answer that I have no problem with people that are genuinely unable to get a job. However there are far many more that now take the mickey because they are better off on the dole than they would be if they were to take a job. It's not illogical, or ill-thought out - it's a FACT. And if you don't want to see it, so be it, but it doesn't make it any less true.
Lets take for example a single mother.
Currently she gets housing benefit (so no fees to pay on the house). She has no childcare because she doesn't go out to work. She gets income support and child support and whatever else she's entitled to. She gets free travel/council operated facilities such as the gym etc, and she pays no council tax.
Now lets take the same woman who goes back to work. Let's say she earns minimum wage - and does 40 hours a week. So she takes home around £230 per week. Of which she'll lose 1/4 tax and have to pay NI. So lets say she's now taking home around 160-180 after deductions. From that she has to pay for 40 hours childcare (assuming she has no-one to look after the baby), which would cost more than that to start with. Add to the fact that she now has to pay council tax (approx £100 per month), all her own travel expenses, rent (approx £100) per week.... she already has more going out than is coming in.
How can you say that the system doesn't allow for people to be worse off if they work? And what 'bad decision' has she made? The only bad decision I can see she's made is to try and get herself back into the working community with a government that does nothing to encourage people going back to work and everything to enourage people to feed off the working population.