General Chat

It's a shame that the people most suited to run this country are currently working as taxi-drivers & barbers, plus a few posting on here.

Political office is the last refuge of the incompetent. Voters quickly forget what the canvassing candidate promised before the election.

I doubt if I will see any real changes in my lifetime.

Peter, even the defence budget is split up, and the Foreign military and Economic Aid comes out of that, by the looks of it!... some of it goes to NATO, I know... but do we pay into the UN as well? I'm sure we must! So all of that budget doesn't go into our own defence budget, per se.

What also interested me was the interest... we are in debt as a country... and the interest we pay on that debt comes out of our taxes....

Our interest debts are more than our *actual* defence budget, or our Protection (police?) and our transport...

And I do wonder what the *Other Spending* is about? It is a huge amount for it not to be itemised in the same way ... I presume the *Protection* is about the Police Budget?

Do you know, I am ashamed to say that this is the first time I have looked carefully at these sort of figures....... and I think they should be broken down far more, and much more transparent than this!!

I pay for this... and I want a much more detailed till receipt, I am afraid.

My sister is in fear of losing her job soon.... the NHS trust she works for has been told (by well paid managers) that a huge number of beds have to be scrapped.... and nurses to go along with that... and they are already scrabbling and bartering for beds. She works in the Acute Emergency Admissions ward!!


Sorry..... I have gone off topic.... I am going off to stew......
it is always the most needy who get it in the neck while the blinky fat cats get fatter and fatter and sit there pontificating to the rest of us!!

PS I am often too poorly to work, although sometimes I am absolutely fine... I haven't claimed benefits, but might need to soon! I am certain that I would fall in a gap, lol.... I would love to go back to work.
Love

Daff xxxx

Thanks for that Daff, you should have credited the author though....doesn't the govt have stats on expenditure?

just a question before you all jump

Gill

Mary.... the answer to that is a resounding YES.

The small amount given in DLA and carers allowance is absolutely nothing to the amount which would be needed if the state had to look after disabled people.

I have DLA and my husband has a carers allowance to look after me.
Life would be pretty dim if we did not have it. I cannot go out alone, and many little things which I used to take for granted are HUGE jobs to me now and most of them I just cannot do.
I am not alone either... you have all heard of Dawns fight for help.
By the way Dawn don't worry too much, they turned me down the first time too. They have to have an independent doctor see you anyway. So you will get it, as they will be able to see how little you can do.

My son has been of work and on invalidity now for over a year.... he is a hard working, intelligent man.... but he nearly died after a string of misdiagnosis by quite a few doctors.
To cut a long story short, he ended up with an enlarged heart, which had been fighting to cope....
he spent a couple of weeks in hospital... and was convalescing at home for a few months.
He was then put off work for ONE YEAR by the DHS doctor.
He (my son) was quite shocked at the idea that he should take that long to heal.
He has since been put off work... for another year!!
If you saw him going about his business, you may think... "he should get himself a job", his disability is invisible.

We are heart broken at what has happened to our son, we don't need people judging him on sight.

AND... he will be going to France in three weeks time for a holiday......... paid for by his partners parents.

So all you who are fit.... I wish for you that you always are.

For all you who have jobs... I wish for you that you always have them.

For all of you who are in need of the little help a bit of DLA will give you.... I wish for you that it comes through soon.

Deanna X

Incapacity isn't being scarped but it's name is being changed........the medical that has to be attended every one or two years is being changed to focus on what an individual can rather than cannot do.
I have been claiming Incapacity Benefit since 1996.........my doctor told me to. I live in a lot of pain,all the time due to the fact that most of the bones in my pelvis did not heal after a motor bike accident in 1990. My disability is not very obvious ( except for a limp )
!8 months ago I was deemed well enough to work so I had to "sign on " whilst going through the tribunal system ( for 18 months ) eventually I won my case ( it went all the way to the Commissioner for social security who deemed the doctors report as erroneous and awarded we the extra points )
On Tuesday I have to go to a medical again !!!!
I think this has probably cost the Government more money than my benefits would have if they had just left me alone.
The " system " is a nightmare fo genuine folk and the media etc make us feel terriable, yet we have not asked for this lot in life.
Sorry to" bang on" but it is not my favorite subject............lol

Contrary Mary

If that particular family needed extra income to cover the tasks the wife normally did (picking kids up from school, housework etc etc) then I think yes, they should get some help to try and make their life run as easily as possible. That is why I pay my taxes, to help those who cant help being ill.

Hi Kitty, thanks for replying :-))

I'm with you, I wouldn't either unless family circumstances changed and it became necessary.

Mary

Daff, good find.

This makes interesting reading. When people say we should cut down on foreign aid as it will save the day it shows how misinformed they are. £4.6b out of £585b isn't going to make a scrap of difference to the big picture.

Even the £38b spent on defence is fairly small fry.

Tricky one.............if it was me, I wouldn't claim unless extra expenses came up because of my disability.

But if there came a time when money was tight, then I would have to if I couldn't go out to work to help support the family.

Hi all

Here's a scenario that I would be interested in people's views on regarding benefits:

A couple get married and they decide that the wife will stay at home and look after the children. The man duly goes out to work and supports his wife and family without any help from any benefits of any kind for the next 10 years. Then his wife becomes ill and is classed as disabled..........should she then be entitled to claim DLA or IB, even though her husband is still working and earning enough to support his family just as he has been doing for the past 10 years?

All opinions welcome :-))

Mary

Good points Daff................but a genuine claimant will have his GP's support and will have the patients records to back up any diagnosis.

Without incapacity benefit, how will those with no obvious visible disability survive?

I too think that it might be disastrous for those who are genuinely ill and make it more difficult for them to claim... the fraudster will always find a way to beat the system, and often isn't caught unless someone shops them.

Kitty I agree, that money does need to be spent on tightening up on investigating dodgy claims... and the GP's who support those claims, I think, as well....

but then that might make a GP doing his/her level best for the genuine people being put into a vulnerable position, too... and may hold them back from assisting and diagnosing appropriately.

Not sure what's the best.... pitfalls whichever way you look!! :¬S

Love

Daff xxx

Afternoon all.... just done a little bit of googling, as you do, and found this... hope it c & p's ok,

I think you will be able to see the breakdown of where our taxes go quite clearly.

If you wish to look at the actual document here is the link

http://www.ukpublicspending.co.uk/uk_defence_spending_30.html

United Kingdom Central Government
and Local Authority Spending

Fiscal Year 2008
Amounts in £ billion

Pensions 99.8 total 99.8
Health Care 102.2 + 0.4 total 102.6
Education 26.8 + 49.8 total 76.7
Defence 38.4 + 0.1 total 38.5
Breakdown of defence costs
2.1 Military defence 27.8 + 0.1 total 27.9
2.2 Civil defence 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
2.3 Foreign military aid 2.9 total 2.9
1.2 Foreign economic aid 4.6 total 4.6
2.4 R&D Defence 0.6 total 0.6
2.5 Defence n.e.c. 2.5 total 2.5


Welfare 49.0 + 41.2 total 90.2
Protection 16.2 + 16.2 total 32.4
Transport 10.7 + 9.1 total 19.8
General Government 13.2 + 12.3 total 25.5
Other Spending 42.7 + 32.3 total 75.0
Interest 29.9 + 0.8 total 30.7

Balance 1.1 0.0 -6.4 -5.3

Total Spending 430.1 + 155.7 TOTAL 585.9

Sorry it is all over the place.... needed to put it back into a column form so it was more easily read.

Think you can see quite clearly where the money is distributed...

love

Daff xxx

Edit... Slapped wrist from skwirrel 1 acknowledged and accepted.

apologies for not acknowledging author appropriately in the first instance.

The author of this work was Christopher Chantrill and it was compiled for www.ukpublicspending.co.uk

The only proposal that worries me is scrapping incapacity benefit.

Yes, I know people take advantage of the system, but a greater investment in weeding out benefit cheats would sort out the fraudulent claims.

The genuinely disabled have a tough enough time as it is.................most of them would love to be well enough to work and loathe claiming any benefits, surely.

Yes you can receive Winter fuel Payment if you are living abroad, provided you can meet certain conditions

http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/winterfuel/livingabroad.asp#q7

Not sure that I agree with it though.

As a lone parent...I am at the sharp end of any changes re lone parents working, especially as I home educate (which is entirely my own choice ) ....incidently the amount of benefit I get is less than the government would spend out annually on my son's education, if I returned to the low paid work I would be likely to get in this area...I would be costing the tax payer much more.

What narks me a bit is that I am called in every 6 months to review the situation (every 3 months soon as my son is now 12 and in theory I am expected to work...although the home ed community is trying to ensure exemption ) but my son's father seemingly has managed to avoid any kind of work for 12 years! ...

He is not , as far as I am aware , physically disabled...he certainly wasn't...so in one sense I would certainly be glad to see a fairer balance...

I know many who are genuinely disabled and cannot work , (even though they might look healthy) . It is much more often those who know the system inside out who get away with things, whereas those in genuine need often get the least help and the worst treatment

Rose xx

heres a question, not sure if it is true, is it true peeps what live abroad can have heating allowance. im only asking its what i was told, if so why.

i think us peeps on here could run the country better .
my daughter has been for 30 interviews in six weeks, there excuse over qualified or under, to old she attends a goverment scheme 3 days a week to teach her out to apply for a job, lol, attends the local job centre once a week to make sure she has applied for jobs, she had to correct the spellings of the person who interviewed her what a laugh ?
the job centres havnt a clue, she has to do this she doesnt complain because she wants to work, always had to while her ex stayed at home his still on the dole nobody on his back .

the family close to me have never done a day in the 23 years ive live there thats parents and kids whats older enough to work got every benefits they can scrounge its a marvel how they can work some days cant walk the next. makes my blood boil
my oh is disabled in both legs and 2 plates in is wrists but does 40 hours a week in a foundry he was forced to signed of sick cause we couldnt cope on the measly £100 sick pay had to use our savings first the sooner the better if they can shift this lot to work for dole money

yep, well said Carole

hope you are well

Gill

Stop taking in foreigners that would save money. Sending child benefit abroad! Millions to overseas causes. About time our government started to look after it's own