Housing Benefit Illustrates Britains Disgraceful Wasteful, Benefits Culture
Politics / UK Tax & Budget Jun 23, 2010 - 06:31 PM GMTBy: Nadeem_Walayat
The Coalition government's measures to cut spending on Britians huge £110 billion benefits bill by £11 billion per year by 2014-15 is being met with much outrage and indignation by vested interests. However it is ordinary tax payers who should feel the real indignation when they find out that people are able to claim upto £1,000 per week, that's £52,000 per year in housing benefits alone, which is more than twice the average salary.
The coalition government's intention is to lower the cap on housing benefit from £1000 per week to £400 per week which would still amount to £20,800 per year for this just one benefit, it is no wonder that as many as 3 million people of the 8 million that are economically inactive choose not to work as in a many cases they are able to receive far more in benefits than average earnings.
Today, Channel 4 News presented the case of a single parent who chose to live in Islington (London), who was in receipt of housing benefit of £583 per week towards a rent of £690 per week. The sob story was that the single parent family could not afford to live in the £690 per week house in Islington if housing benefit were capped at £400 per week. Well over 90% of hard working tax payers who are NOT in receipt of housing benefit also cannot afford to live in a £690 per week rental property. Clearly the answer is to either move to a property within the persons means or seek to gain employment that is better able to afford a rent of £35,580 per year, the answer is NOT for the state to step in a provide a huge £30,316 in housing benefits alone which is MORE than most peoples total annual earnings.
Many people reading this on salaries of as high as £50k per year may be shocked to find out that there are also many benefit claimers out there that net far more than them without ever having done a single days work.
Labours Benefits Culture Legacy
Under Labour the benefits culture has gone completely out of control where people are rewarded for NOT working. The benefits culture where the aim exists to maximise benefits received by permanently non working parents by means of increased number of children who themselves will go on to perpetuate the self same behaviour of their parents and grand parents has dire implications for Britains future as the money for nothing generational benefits class that has no inclination for work has continued to grow far beyond the rate of the working and middle classes, therefore has lead towards an escalating unproductive tax on the UK economy. As the number of children born into the working and middle class averages less than 2, whilst the number born into the benefits class numbers more than 4, which given the fact that there is little incentive to educate will eventually lead to the dumbing down of society and a drain on future productivity.
Despite 10 Years of debt fuelled Economic Boom into the End of 2007 the Benefits Class had continued to grow relentless and now totals more than 8 million of those of working age against the working population of 28 million.
The coalition government's planned £11 billion (10%) cut in annual benefit payments is on the right track of trying to socially re-engineer the country in favour of work rather than the culture that seeks to maximise the amount of benefits that can be claimed at the expense of ANY productive activity.
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By Nadeem Walayat
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Nadeem Walayat has over 20 years experience of trading derivatives, portfolio management and analysing the financial markets, including one of few who both anticipated and Beat the 1987 Crash. Nadeem's forward looking analysis specialises on UK inflation, economy, interest rates and the housing market and he is the author of the NEW Inflation Mega-Trend ebook that can be downloaded for Free. Nadeem is the Editor of The Market Oracle, a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. We present in-depth analysis from over 500 experienced analysts on a range of views of the probable direction of the financial markets. Thus enabling our readers to arrive at an informed opinion on future market direction. http://www.marketoracle.co.uk
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