Soozywoo, the level of dependence we have on the benefit system at the moment is unsustainable.  Labour are living in cloud cuckoo land.  They are frightened to tell you that there will have to be massive cuts.  Whether its Labour, Liberal Democrats or Conservative in power it simply cannot continue at this level.  Cameron wants to start reducing the deficit now, Brown does not.  But it was Brown himself who said that you cannot spend your way out of recession.  Good luck whoever gets in, its going to be a bumpy ride.

I'm heartily sick of Cameron banging on about how people who have bought their home and want to pass it on to their kids are "doing the right thing"

Us kids stand to inherit my Mam's house...I've told her plenty of times to sell the bugger and enjoy the money.  SHE worked hard to buy that house, we didn't.

I'm not knocking anyone who does want to pass money/property whatever on to their kids, it's their choice ...but it's the way he's wording it.  It's making me wanna chuck things at the telly.

All parties have agreed that there will have to be cuts.
GB's argument is that to do so now and end up with more people out of work and a higher benefits bill, risks sending us back into recession. I think the way GB has handled it so far has proved that we can ride this out without causing too much damage to ordinary people and massive unemployment, with the necessary bills to the country.

It is going to be a bumpy ride squiggle, but why jump on the people who receive benefit. What about the tax evaders who manage to squirrel away millions. The Tories will never do anything about them, but rather satisfy the popular view of scroungers.  I will suffer financially if the tories get in and I'm already at rock bottom.

Just interrupting the thread to give Leccy a massive snog.

LTNS.

Maybe they were rich

So how exactly is raising the threshold on inheritance tax going to achieve that? People who bought houses twenty or thirty years ago have made vast sums on their property ...............they haven't 'earned' it - it's all to do with massive rises in the housing market. Why are people so indignant that their children might have to pay tax on that increase?

People who never managed to afford to buy their own house and live in the rented sector pay on and on and on ..............far and away above the average mortgage of 25 years.

It irritates me that people get so indignant about their children having to pay tax on #money they've worked hard for'. They didn't work hard for it at all ...........................if they paid 60,000 for a house that has increased to 120, 00- lucky them ..........they've not worked hard for it at all and maybe that is where the country should be looking to tax and reduce the 'huge' deficit that you're so worried about.

Oooh snogging in a political thread.  I approve!

Oh and good point very well made Sazza

Everything he says makes me think that Still, he's not as bad as Hague though, he makes me want to chuck the telly through the window

I amuse myself, I really do

Oh and Cameron's bright idea to chuck all the public sector workers in the North East and Northern Ireland on the dole is going to help...how exactly?

Maybe he should consider that the reason Newcastle has a reet big tax office is because it's eleventybillion times cheaper to have it up here than anywhere else.

Or maybe completely scrap the system. Thatcher thought she'd made herself popular with that and I guess she did, but where was the replacement housing? Something she'd conveniently forgot and we are still paying the price now.

Ahh, in this house that is the Osborne effect rather than the Hague one.

I wish everyone would not keep quoting the mistakes that Brown keeps repeating.... Cameron has NOT said he will get rid of winter fuel allowances, or free tv licences, and is only going to end working tax credits for those earning OVER 50k.....  and quite frankly, I think anyone earning over 50k doesn't  deserve tax credits... * and breathe Baz*

I'll have one of them too please. I've been through the mill.

Indeed he hasn't but neither has he pledged in his manifesto that he will keep them at the current rate .......when challenged he will not commit. It's not rocket science is it?

Hope you're feeling a bit better now.

To be fair to you Baz (and to Cameron ) Yes he has only said those over 50k.

However, to be fair to Brown I've never heard him say "poor families" or "poor children"... Just "children"

God I think I need a lie down now

I wouldn't know..... I'm not a rocket scientist. But if we are going to base it on those lines.... about what is NOT in a manifesto, then what about the cuts that are NOT in Brown's manifesto, which he will not front up to.... even though he and his government are the only ones who have access to accurate figures as to what is needed.

to be fair, I do agree with that

LOL... Hi Leccy No, but he and his cohorts over the last 13 years have managed to widen the gap between rich and poor....which doesn't suggest to me that he has the interests of the *working * class at heart

One from me 

we bought our house 20 odd years ago for 60 odd grand and it is worth much more than 120 grand, and I can tell you that we have worked very, very hard for it

I couldn't agree more .........those fortunate enough to be able to buy their home choose a house where they#'d like to live and possibly bring up their children ...........after 25 years (in most cases) it is their own ......nothing more to pay. They've had a lifetime in a house and bought up their kids .........if there is a massive profit at the end to leave to the kids that's great ..............if it's subject to tax ..........the kids are still gonna get something out of it. It's not as if it's money that's been 'worked' for .....it's a bonus.

Ditto Rexi....  and now we are having to think about selling it, just to be able to live....

I was simply plucking figures out of the air but ..............you paid £60,000 for it I'm sure you've worked hard but you still only paid £60,000 for it ......................people in rented accomodation pay year after year with no return. All I am saying is that you rerally haven't 'worked' for that profit you paid what you did. If money has to be found to finance public spending it's as good a place as any to start. If you have £50, 000 to leave your kids and they only end up with £38,000 ............so what? they've still profited haven't they?


And before anyone starts to accuse me of being jealous etc. - we have a house that has more than tripled in value and three businesses ..........maybe I'll spend the lot before I die .....maybe I wont. whatever the kids get after tax is a bonus - nobody ever left us anything.

I understand Baz

Why? is it not paid for?

I don't really understand what you are saying sooz??

We have made a profit on our house ... I don't deny that.

Don't be jealous though, it didn't come easy, we had to work hard and do without lots of things. We have been made redundant 3 times and have no pensions to speak of.

We have earned our profit. How we choose to 'spend' it is surely up to us?

NO.... it should have been... but we had to extend our mortgage because of early retirement due to illness... and because the pension we worked and saved so hard for is no longer worth what it was..... and we are just over the limit to receive any of the benefits so quoted in this thread.  THAT is the other side of Brown's pensioner policy.

I have to say Rexi, I don't really get the jealousy thing.  As I said up there ^^ my Mam has made out her will so that we kids get her house, which is a lovely and generous thing to do...BUT I didn't work for her house SHE did...so if a bit was scooped off for the taxman before we got our share then fair enough.  It wasn't OUR'S to begin with.

Though if I get my way she'll sell it now use the proceeds to go on nice holidays and buy even more shoes.

And i agree leccy - I don't want any of my mum's house ... and I think she has taken that on board coz she is partying for england, and I am so happy for her

I have also told my children not to expect a penny from us - I am assuming that we will have to pay for decent care when we are elderly ... I would never, never want to look after elderly relatives, so I don't expect my children to look after us.

Ahh that's cool Rexi, Saga-louts Cariad used to call pensioners who are living it up

It's the way Cameron is wording it "people who have worked hard, saved and done the right thing bla bla bla"

And then saying "people who haven't done the right thing"  my Grannies never owned property but woked damn hard and never did a bad thing in their lives.  It's the way he's wording it, it's really getting my goat.

I agree with that too...... but tbh I'm a little confused about this issue. I'm a single parent earning far far less than that and I didn't even qualify for working tax credits last year,....and only the teeniest amount of child credit.

Maybe it's the age of the child and the number of children...... even on £50,000, if you worked full time but had say four young children maybe you'd still struggle to get by after paying extortionate child care costs?

I'd be interested to know the conditions that someone on that amount qualifies for tax credits. I'd be willing to bet it isn't as simple and straight forward as many assume.

I think it could be to do with the number of children Ducky

Right back

That's what I aspire to

Mind you - I've already flown with Saga, in 1982 - after Freddie Laker went kapput ... but I don't tell many people that

Admit it, about 50% of it is just his face

we only qualified for them when hubby took this job ducky... when he was recruiting... we were over the limit the moment he got one commission (which was all he sometimes got)...  
the 50k family that get tax credit... I would love to see the breakdown for that....  they must both work.. but have 18 kids... all in childcare...  that kind of thing.