tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post8133056758501902935..comments2024-03-05T10:52:24.691+00:00Comments on Mark Wadsworth: Benefit cap funMark Wadsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07733511175178098449noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-5710176893859493922014-08-28T22:02:43.249+01:002014-08-28T22:02:43.249+01:00MW. Well, yes. I could today now take on at least ...MW. Well, yes. I could today now take on at least two people which is >10% of our establishment. Job done.Lolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04586735342675041312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-38156988933693837682014-08-28T19:02:15.329+01:002014-08-28T19:02:15.329+01:00DBC, yes agreed. The unemployed did not cause the ...DBC, yes agreed. The unemployed did not cause the economic crisis and persecuting them won't solve it. <br /><br />B, seconded.<br /><br />L, agreed. But the real economy can expand surprisingly quickly - most businesses could easily expand by ten per cent in a couple of years, hey presto, that's three million new jobs. Sorted.Mark Wadsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07733511175178098449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-92098327905168322512014-08-28T17:28:08.865+01:002014-08-28T17:28:08.865+01:00DBCR. That's a bit of a confused post.
I ag...DBCR. That's a bit of a confused post. <br />I agree absolutely that it is wrong to demonise people as 'benefit scroungers', the vast majority are not any such thing. But money is hurled at them in order (IMHO) to enslave them. <br />Land rents are a (the?) problem. But once you have some way of dealing with the economic rent from land - i.e. LVT/CI - you cut out the need for all sorts of benefits. What that combination also does is to make work pay. Or to put it the other way about employers are able to pay the market rate which people can live off.<br />On the 'invested capital bearing down on wages' point I flatly disagree. My 'invested capital' in my business enables my employees to have a job. In effect I have invested in them. <br /><br />Of course 'cutting welfare' is not going to magic up jobs. But the cutting the tax imprests on the profits of private business, which is the only place where the wealth can be found to fund benefits, will lead to an increase in production and 'more jobs'. <br /><br />The point is you want to maximise production as that will maximise employment. Taking my business again, I really need to employ two more people to drive expansion and deliver better mousetraps, but under a combination of confiscatory taxation plus a regulatory tax burden of about 25% of revenue - I can't. Tax and regulatory costs are destroying jobs.<br /><br />The trouble will be in getting from here to there. There will be a time gap between weaning us off benefits and releasing millions of state employees (who are also on 'benefits') to find more satisfying and productive jobs in wealth creating private business.Lolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04586735342675041312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-65017305053034790492014-08-28T13:31:22.863+01:002014-08-28T13:31:22.863+01:00"Cutting welfare is not going to magic up new..."Cutting welfare is not going to magic up new well-paid jobs."<br /><br />It's not intended to, what's intended is to keep the Daily Mail readers on side by making a great show of cutting welfare, but actually doing almost nothing.<br /><br />Having said that, cutting housing benefit doesn't hurt anyone but landlords.Bayardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15211150959757982948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-91647260033281861382014-08-28T10:55:22.252+01:002014-08-28T10:55:22.252+01:00All of this scroungers get more off benefits than ...All of this scroungers get more off benefits than working bollocks does rather founder on the point that wages are now too low and in too short supply to make any comparison meaningful.You're bound to get more off a paynent system that reflects need than one which represents the demands of invested capital bearing down and land prices pressing up.<br />Cutting welfare is not going to magic up new well-paid jobs.They tried this in the Thirties.DBC Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17891849727783879145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-65685556606740814572014-08-28T10:32:54.113+01:002014-08-28T10:32:54.113+01:00I thought all parties wanted to narrow regional in...I thought all parties wanted to narrow regional inequality? Is there any data that shows how HB is spread by region?benjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11544297406005346095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-58691188525461311422014-08-28T09:44:23.238+01:002014-08-28T09:44:23.238+01:00@sobers. Had a client come to us for mortgage. His...@sobers. Had a client come to us for mortgage. His pay was about 19k gross. He had six children. When you grossed up the benefits he was paid he was on the equivalent of 60k per annum Lolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04586735342675041312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-71242683511379045272014-08-28T09:36:56.051+01:002014-08-28T09:36:56.051+01:00This guy got more than £500/week in non housing be...This guy got more than £500/week in non housing benefits:<br /><br />http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16812185<br /><br />Only just mind, and he did have 8 kids, but it shows it is possible. If he was living in more expensive part of the world than North Wales, his total benefit income could easily have been a lot higher still.Sobershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11407417389022146963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-92048224767683489242014-08-28T09:04:18.859+01:002014-08-28T09:04:18.859+01:00"so why any large party would oppose a cap on..."so why any large party would oppose a cap on Housing Benefit is a mystery to me."<br /><br />Don't you mean "propose"?<br /><br />What gets me is the complete denial of the positive feedback inherent in the whole HB system. It's enough to make one a conspiracy theorist.Bayardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15211150959757982948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-69965472938408093392014-08-28T07:38:20.717+01:002014-08-28T07:38:20.717+01:00those living in expensive areas claiming Housing B...those living in expensive areas claiming Housing Benefit<br /><br />Not just expensive areas either.James Highamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14525082702330365464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-15726871875923137662014-08-28T07:38:18.811+01:002014-08-28T07:38:18.811+01:00those living in expensive areas claiming Housing B...those living in expensive areas claiming Housing Benefit<br /><br />Not just expensive areas either.James Highamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14525082702330365464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-60024172657482500832014-08-28T07:12:46.627+01:002014-08-28T07:12:46.627+01:00Lola said: "break the cycle of failure."...Lola said: "break the cycle of failure."<br /><br />The Indian Marketing Cycle of Failure perhaps?<br /><br />The politicians are simply too scared of the consequences, both for themselves personally and the country as a whole. The political left and the media will target them mercilessly.<br /><br />I think what will happen is we will muddle along for a few years with things getting progressively worse until eventually we will get a dictatorial leader (democratically or otherwise) and Britain will effectively become a dictatorship, but people will put up with it because they will be so tired of all the chaos.Rich Teehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14037296506942507747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-2932375940253930892014-08-28T07:03:03.562+01:002014-08-28T07:03:03.562+01:00MW. Quite. I think that there must be huge vested ...MW. Quite. I think that there must be huge vested interests in keeping it complicated.Lolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04586735342675041312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-64125574954867970082014-08-27T23:15:16.398+01:002014-08-27T23:15:16.398+01:00L, I'm a simplification campaigner if nothing ...L, I'm a simplification campaigner if nothing else. <br /><br />Citizen's Income is better than our weird mix of "welfare" " pensions" " tax breaks" and "subsidies".<br /><br />Flat income tax is better than our weird mix of "regressive' VAT and NIC and "progressive" income tax.<br /><br />Land Value Tax is better than our weird mix of regressive council tax and progressive SDLT and IHT and so on.<br /><br />And so harmonised, national welfare rates are better than all this localised shit. <br /><br />Simple is good. <br /><br />At least if it doesn't "work" you only have to tweak one variable at a time, you know, be a bit scientific about it.Mark Wadsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07733511175178098449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-16051823167078194612014-08-27T21:46:45.116+01:002014-08-27T21:46:45.116+01:00Every time you write up something like this, or I ...Every time you write up something like this, or I see similar nonsenses elsewhere my instinctive reaction is think about how this can all be changed. We know it's wrong. People in general when you point out the issues undertand why it is wrong. So why do we go round in circles? Someone, somewhere somehiw must be able to break the cycle of failure.Lolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04586735342675041312noreply@blogger.com