http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...ks-at-stripping-welfare-benefits-7879749.html
What of the policies to tackle insufficient low cost housing, youth unemployment, low wages and poor child care provision for low income families, just to point out a few of the issues that need addressing before removing HB from under 25s, limiting benefits to families and forcing people into unpaid work for the State (state slavery???)......better to employ the long term unemployed people on community projects, building low cost affordable housing and giving child care to low income families as well as other community based projects aimed at helping those to help themselves while paying them a fair wage and the relevant training so they can take those skills into the private sector when the time comes.....give people the right opportunity and accessiblity and you'll be surprised just what they can accomplish.
I agree, Camerons statement is a great idealogical statement, but its unachievable in the UK we live in. I fully support the statement before disclaimers and exceptions, but I see it as just unworkable.
No matter what your views on minimum welfare standard to catch those most in need and whether or not thousands or millions are breeding a new generation of non-workers as the dole is just easier, the simple fact is we are not building enough housing.
Some may remember I started a thread probably 9 months ago about what would you do with £75bn. It was when one of the lastest QE spendings was annouced, I suggested the whole lot should be ploughed into social housing building affordable but non-inspirational housing throughout the UK. Getting people into work, and increasing our housing stock. Giving them a BASIC fit for purpose roof over their heads, but the sort you would aim to move out from. Over time not only would this address the need, it would also address the fact that far too much of our private housing stock is taken up non-owner occupiers.
Regarding welfare its just out of control and its been far from needs based decision making and far more about vote buying BY ALL PARTIES. You can look back at some of the labour governments decisions, and how unpopular some of them were, they didn't just make it overly easy for those at the bottom as they recognised that they also needed the support of the working middle.
If the population as a whole truly agrees that a roof over your head is the basic lowest level we will accept in the UK we should have a proper longer term building strategy that supports that. Currently we do not. The house building companies will only bulid limited housing when demand is low as otherwise they would create an oversupply and push down prices, why would they do that when they have a limited resource (building land), better just to wait until prices are going up again and demand is higher than supply for what they want to build.
Ensuring we have an adequate and acceptable quality housing stock would undoubedly cost a lot, but it would be an investment in the future for the UK. Overvalued housing just encourages general asset overvaluation, and that leads to higher wage expectations and demands. We are competing globally and our overvalued property just pushes up our costs. The NMW is a reflection of that, it is being driven by trying to fix the income of the poorest workers not trying to tackle the expenditure side. For most people their rent/mortgage is their highest monthly outgoing by far. If we could bring down our housing costs we could bring down our NMW leaving people same or better off, passing the savings back to our employers, making them more able to compete internationally and possibly attracting more to come to the UK.
I bet most people would agree to building more housing, but I bet most wouldn't want to see themselves paying for it, nor want it on their doorstep. Too many object as it is to green belt development etc yet to truly build enough housing to make a big difference in the UK (to house prices and truly affect supply) I wouldn't be surprised if you are talking of building 500,000-1,000,000 new developments over the next 5 years.
Unfortunately, like my suggestion no one is allowed to leave education with a decent level of employability, these things take a generation to change. None of the governments of the last 40 years have tackled this issue as they are too short termist, based on the electorates want for now and not later. Basically we want short term consumption rather than long term investment so thats what they give us.
