Campaigners have called for the government to scrap the two-child limit on benefits

dowie said:
I'm aware it is fairly flat, the problem is this is causing issues, global warming etc.. while the earth perhaps could sustain more people it would be better overall if the population we're reduced. I think it is rather short sighted to focus on say the current ageing population.

I think some resentment can be justified at times tbh... especially among other low income people in a similar situation who have taken on word.
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The trouble is neither politicians nor economists can deal with a declining population.

They both advocate the need to keep "topping up" the population so it doesn't shrink.

Clearly economics and quality of life are vote winners; accepting a decline in living standards to help the environment is not at this point in time a desired outcome for the majority (I assert).

Maybe the oceans will need to start boiling before people are willing to make changes; even then there will be a decent chunk who would rather die than accept having to turn off their TV (exaggeration for effect, before the "fallacy" brigade start venting steam).
 
FoxEye said:
The trouble is neither politicians nor economists can deal with a declining population.

They both advocate the need to keep "topping up" the population so it doesn't shrink.

Clearly economics and quality of life are vote winners; accepting a decline in living standards to help the environment is not at this point in time a desired outcome for the majority (I assert).

Maybe the oceans will need to start boiling before people are willing to make changes; even then there will be a decent chunk who would rather die than accept having to turn off their TV (exaggeration for effect, before the "fallacy" brigade start venting steam).
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Well some people seem to think automation inevitably will lead to mass unemployment. I don't think it will (people can always add additional value/services beyond what is necessary or indeed available now), but it will clearly lead to greater efficiency. I do wonder if we should look to some sort of managed population decline.
 
dowie said:
I'm aware it is fairly flat, the problem is this is causing issues, global warming etc.. while the earth perhaps could sustain more people it would be better overall if the population we're reduced. I think it is rather short sighted to focus on say the current ageing population.



I think some resentment can be justified at times tbh... especially among other low income people in a similar situation who have taken on word.
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I'm not focusing on the ageing population, merely pointing out that it is one factor in a complex dilemma we find ourselves in, and that we shouldn't become distracted with individual cases when planning for the future of our nation.

If we were to take action to reduce the population then we would need to either rely on technology to support the current economic model, drastically increase retirement age, or fundamentally change how the country operates (or likely a combination of all three). That's fine, but we need to be aware of the implications of this, and remove the threat of short-term political backsliding if a policy becomes unpopular. We'll likely rely on immigration to prop up our current model for the foreseeable future, however the birth-rate of developing countries is declining and the education and wealth of the general population is increasing - making it less likely for a person to want to emigrate in future.

My household income is around the median for the UK, my wife and I decided that we couldn't afford (both financially and the time we would want to give a child) to have more than one child. I'm perfectly happy to help others to raise children via tax and benefits, as I'm aware that these children are our future builders, nurses, teachers and scientists; they are the future generations of the UK and we should support them when they most need such support.

Edit: I brought up my situation to point out that if I felt that I couldn't afford to have more than one child, what hope would half the population have if some of the proposed policies in this thread were enacted.
 
Dis86 said:
A child doesn't sneak in. My mate just had his 2nd. He had the ole snippy snip booked in before the kid was even born with the actual event taking place just after the birth.
Nothing stopping others doing the same when the operation is free on the NHS with incredibly short waiting times. If you can't keep your penis in your pants in the meantime that's on you.
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Yes they do sometimes.

I had my snip op booked in 6 months after the birth of our second child (our NHS trust wouldn't let us book earlier in case 'something' happened to our second child and they refuse snip's for Dad's with < 2 children). We used contraception (using it properly) but wife fell pregnant three months after birth of second child.

Also, vasectomies can also fail. I actually produced 'viable' samples for a year after the op - was about to be booked in for a follow up corrective procedure before the little buggers disappeared.
 
Sheff said:
Edit: I brought up my situation to point out that if I felt that I couldn't afford to have more than one child, what hope would half the population have if some of the proposed policies in this thread were enacted.
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I wouldn't worry too much, whilst some on would push for a 1 child limit if they were in power, i can't honestly seeing anyone supporting an agenda like that.

amigafan2003 said:
our NHS trust wouldn't let us book earlier in case 'something' happened to our second child and they refuse snip's for Dad's with < 2 children).
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I can perfectly understand the stance of not giving you the snip until your second child was born, but i'm surprised at their stance of refusing the snip if you have less than 2 children. What if a male never has any intentions of pro-creating? Should they not be given that choice to make. Or as a number of posters have said, they've made the responsible decision not to have a second child due to financial/timing/other reasons. Seems unfair to not offer the snip to them either.
 
Semple said:
"Net contributor" is fairly subjective.

I'm not in the higher tax bracket, but fairly certain i'm classed as a net contributor.

I don't currently have any children, thankfully my health is in good shape so receiving no costly health treatment, i'm not receiving any benefits.

I can't actually think of any/many public services where i get more out of it than what i put in.
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From what I can gather it factors the education you received and all the other things you received when you were not able to pay for, not just the here and now
 
AhhBisto said:
Caitlyn Jenner
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