Why do we pay child benefits at all?

[Tradescanthia]

I would like a system in place that didn't reward people too idle to work and make money from spitting out kids.

 

People who have that job search thing when kids get to the age where the work shy parent/s are forced to work by the DHSS, the parent/s simply have another kid and they go back down the JSA ladder for another 5 years etc...

 

Did they actually let you out to go and vote ??? God forbid

[buddysbuddy]

Why are so many people so obsessed with us having status in the world? Many of the world's happiest countries have virtually no "power" in the world at all; Switzerland would be a fine example. Nobody is ever too worried about upsetting the might of the Irish, come to that.

 

If we stopped producing children of our own, the economic gap could be filled by some of the starving billions who already live in the world and can't find jobs where they are. They could come and do jobs over here.

 

re the last paragraph-- I have news for you --there is already a load of them over here now.

[Cyclone]

Were you a happy child? (I wasn't)

 

I was. That doesn't mean that I have to want one of my own though. They get right in the way of the snow boarding, either your own or other peoples.

[millhouses24]

I was. That doesn't mean that I have to want one of my own though. They get right in the way of the snow boarding, either your own or other peoples.

 

That's sound. I think there should be an online dating site for people who don't want kids, it would be very good for me .

[Magilla]

We live in an overpopulated country on an overpopulated planet and need to find ways of cutting public spending. Perhaps we ought to look at scrapping child benefits as effectively parents now get so much money thrown at them that they're better off working than they are taking a job.

 

Indeed, at the very least set a maximum so if you choose to have more kids you just get the same amount.

[bagger]

There should be a cut off point,depending on how much the parents earn.

We should also stop paying it to parents of children who don't even reside in this country.

 

Agreed. It's ridiculous that everyone, no matter their income, is entitled to this benefit.

[Cyclone]

Ridiculous, but as discussed cheaper than means testing it.

 

And a maximum would ultimately leave potential for a family to be large and thus in poverty. The whole point is to ensure that children are not left in poverty despite having feckless, workshy, contraceptive unaware parents. There's no way to square the 'children not in poverty' with 'not reward the workshy for having children' principles unless you are prepared to take their children into state custody.

[MickM]

Governments need workers.

 

Child benefits is a long term investment, once they become adults they pay for themselves via taxes and then some.

[TeaFan]

You get paid for having children , how much ?

 

£20 a week for the first one. So you're only about £100 a week worse off than if you didn't have them;). Less for subsequent ones.

[HeadingNorth]

Instead of means testing, why not increase the tax allowance of parents. No need to administer CTB, no need to means test anyone and the end result is the same.

The only fly in the ointment is those who don't pay any tax because they don't work. In which case some sort of modification to job seekers allowance for parents, which still requires minimal admin and no means testing would need to exist.

 

 

There's also - or at least, I think there would be - people who pay a little tax but not much, and wouldn't receive the full benefit of the tax allowance.

 

Could that still be dealt with using up less admin effort than the current system? I suspect it could in theory, but knowing how efficient government administration systems tend to be...