The Budget 2024 thread

[wesimmo]

If the state benefits are that poor, why are people coming here? Anyway the easy way to cut benefits is to time-limit them. For example they could limit unemployment benefit to 12 months. Another way would be to severely limit benefits paid to non-citizens (e.g. illegal immigrants). Another way would be to put the responsibility on relatives. And so on.

More positively they could cut benefits by needing to pay out fewer benefits. For example, if parents could use the personal allowances of their children then there would be less need for child benefit. If you allow children to use the remainders of their parents' personal allowances then you encourage elderly parents to move in with their children.

People are coming here to work and contribute to the economy.

It's just the Tories have taken to
spending money, holing them up in purgatory and making them a PR win to sell to the weak minded.

 

[arknor]

The chancellor says this not "going to happen any time soon".

One idea he floats is that "you can merge income tax and national insurance".

Combine two taxes.
You pay the same tax as before, but the tory logic is "we got rid of national insurance"

Repeat that mantra every interview, or even better slap it on that big bus Boris had.

What a magnificent win for the Tories that would be, they could even do that old VAT trick, where they lowered the VAT by 2.5% temporarily, but then raised it back up by 5% permanently after.


looks like a vote winning tax cut, then you get shafted

 

[robfosters]

If the state benefits are that poor, why are people coming here? Anyway the easy way to cut benefits is to time-limit them. For example they could limit unemployment benefit to 12 months. Another way would be to severely limit benefits paid to non-citizens (e.g. illegal immigrants). Another way would be to put the responsibility on relatives. And so on.

More positively they could cut benefits by needing to pay out fewer benefits. For example, if parents could use the personal allowances of their children then there would be less need for child benefit. If you allow children to use the remainders of their parents' personal allowances then you encourage elderly parents to move in with their children.

Put responsibility on relatives?

Do you mean get people to pay for their unemployed relatives upkeep?

 

[Richie]

Anyway the easy way to cut benefits is to time-limit them. For example they could limit unemployment benefit to 12 months.

And what happens after 12 months? How are they housed, clothed and fed?

 

[Quartz]

And what happens after 12 months? How are they housed, clothed and fed?

Precisely. You only have to look to America to see how well that works. I didn't say my suggestions were good suggestions.

 

[413x]

Instead you get stories like this

Birthrate in UK falls to record low as campaigners say ‘procreation a luxury’

Total fertility was 1.49 children per woman in 2022 amid rising housing and childcare costs

www.theguardian.com

Can't see this being reversed.
I felt an outlier in my early 20s saying "I never want kids" and it made dating hard.

Now, it seems much more common.

Obviously anecdotal. But the numbers speak for themselves.


There's juts more to do with money now. And kids are more expensive. And you generally need 2 incomes for a household.

 

[adidan]

Can't see this being reversed.
I felt an outlier in my early 20s saying "I never want kids" and it made dating hard.

Now, it seems much more common.

Obviously anecdotal. But the numbers speak for themselves.


There's juts more to do with money now. And kids are more expensive. And you generally need 2 incomes for a household.

Unfortunately the reduction tends to be more likely amongst the people with higher IQs according to any recent studies.

 

[m@rty]

Unfortunately the reduction tends to be more likely amongst the people with higher IQs according to any recent studies.

So in 50 years the new generations will all be knuckle draggers?

 

[413x]

Unfortunately the reduction tends to be more likely amongst the people with higher IQs according to any recent studies.

I agree with this.

Although I don't know many dumb dumbs.. The people I do know all have decent jobs. At worst. And great jobs at best.

A lot have adhd type behaviours or diagnosis too. Again.. Anecdotal.

Me and my gf included.

 

[adidan]

So in 50 years the new generations will all be knuckle draggers?

Lol, maybe not all the population but the relative percentages perhaps.

 

[malachi]

Can't see this being reversed.
I felt an outlier in my early 20s saying "I never want kids" and it made dating hard.

Now, it seems much more common.

Obviously anecdotal. But the numbers speak for themselves.


There's juts more to do with money now. And kids are more expensive. And you generally need 2 incomes for a household.

I dont have any kids and I am 40. I meet plenty of women who dont want kids either but I also meet women my age still hoping for kids

 

[413x]

I dont have any kids and I am 40. I meet plenty of women who dont want kids either but I also meet women my age still hoping for kids

I have a friend of a friend who. Is desperate for biological kids.
One of those very attractive girls. But unfortunately she's hopped from guy to guy (picking the high flyers and chads) and is now 35. So she's under pressure to settle.
She kind of has pick Of everyone. The blessing and curse of being in the candy shop of dating.

The next guy would also have to be OK with knowing maybe "he'll do" I guess.

I do not envy women in that position.. Time running out, under pressure to just settle.. Not really any more chances of this one goes wrong.



I guess these people often end up without kids.. But want them. Just out of time.

 

[Zefan]

Really interesting to see you posting about not having kids again 413x. You mention it extremely often.

Just out of time.

These people have been disgracefully let down by our culture. I view it - a negligent abdication of duty at best, and a purposeful plot at worst - as a crime against humanity by our nation's leaders.

 

[413x]

Really interesting to see you posting about not having kids again 413x. You mention it extremely often.

These people have been disgracefully let down by our culture. I view it - a negligent abdication of duty at best, and a purposeful plot at worst - as a crime against humanity by our nation's leaders.

I do. I find it fascinating how child free is growing, why it's growing. I still hear people say "you're missing out" etc. Less so "you'll have them one day".

I think its the rate of change that grabs me most. And the futility of governments thinking they can throw small amounts of cash to stem it.

Its also super patronising to have mega rich like Elon musk etc harp on about it.


Its such a big differentiating factor in people's life path too I find.

 

[shadow_boxer]

Fairly insignificant to be honest. Little bit extra in my pocket each month. Disappointed about lack of IHT changes, IR35 and corporation tax cuts.

 

[malachi]

I guess these people often end up without kids.. But want them. Just out of time.

Yeah, a woman I used to work with said "It didn't happen" When it came to having kids. Which was code for "I thought I had time then I hit 40 an realised I did not"

But Im sure big pharma, including the NHS. Are cashing in with the amount of egg freezing and IVF treatments.

 

[Begbie]

I have a friend of a friend who. Is desperate for biological kids.
One of those very attractive girls. But unfortunately she's hopped from guy to guy (picking the high flyers and chads) and is now 35. So she's under pressure to settle.
She kind of has pick Of everyone. The blessing and curse of being in the candy shop of dating.

The next guy would also have to be OK with knowing maybe "he'll do" I guess.

I do not envy women in that position.. Time running out, under pressure to just settle.. Not really any more chances of this one goes wrong.



I guess these people often end up without kids.. But want them. Just out of time.

It's very sad. It took me to her age to figure out that it's the only thing in life that's worth anything.

But this isn't the thread for this.

I do agree that the budget should be centered far more around parents though, even if not one myself.

 

[adam cool dude]

Can't see this being reversed.
I felt an outlier in my early 20s saying "I never want kids" and it made dating hard.

Now, it seems much more common.

Obviously anecdotal. But the numbers speak for themselves.


There's juts more to do with money now. And kids are more expensive. And you generally need 2 incomes for a household.

Yeah instead of fixing the reason why they just open the floodgates instead.

The flux of immigration is purely to keep wages low and the commoner at the mercy of his overlords.

 

[413x]

It's very sad. It took me to her age to figure out that it's the only thing in life that's worth anything.

But this isn't the thread for this.

I do agree that the budget should be centered far more around parents though, even if not one myself.

Its so hard for parents. The tax breaks are a step in the right direction.

 

[slinxy]

Ref: procreation a luxury

You guys never seen the comedy, Idiocracy?

I read a report the other day that the average cost of having a child is 12k a year which magically happen to be the similar to be the personal income allowance, 250k from birth to them being financially independent from their parents. But I suspect the mean average is more…