The big challenge facing the benefits system | IFS Zooms In

We’re looking at the working age benefits system and answering the questions likely being asked by government ministers: how can the rising costs of benefits be managed, and what changes could improve the system?
With disability and incapacity benefit caseloads rising and the Universal Credit rollout still ongoing, what options does the government have to address these challenges? How might frozen housing support and past cuts to working-age benefits be impacting the most vulnerable? Should the government abolish the two-child limit?
To tackle these questions, Paul is joined by Tom Waters and Carl Emmerson from the IFS.
Find out more: ifs.org.uk/pod...

[@andyevans8585]

I can help with the issue on why so many more people are applying as I recently did and note I've worked full time since I was 16. Sadly just over 2 years ago I found myself ill. It's not life threatening but does prevent me from working. It took 8 months to get a diagnosis (so it's just as well it WASNT life threatening) and the initial medication did nothing to help. That was Feb 2023. I've been waiting since then for a different medication which wasn't prescribed initially because it costs more, despite it being far more efficacious. My saving are spent, my mortgage on an interest only, and so I needed benefits to keep myself afloat. There are over 2 MILLION working age people on NHS waiting lists, but because we're not under 18 or over 60 we're "low priority" and keep getting shunted down the list. There's your increase.

[@rjw4762]

I do sympathise Andy. But it is worth making the point that for every deserving case like yours, there will be 20 that are not....or 40 if you include the Immigrants who have moved here the past decade with no intention or ability to work. The thing is to make sure that people like you do not 'fall through the cracks' whilst making clear that UK plc is not to be used as some sort of free money tree for lazy Brits or feckless foreigners.

[@mariog1051]

wouldn't have it been more effective to spend your savings in the private health sector to speed up the diagnosis and prescription, instead of burning them up waiting for the NHS?

[@skylineuk1485]

@@mariog1051lots of people feel they paid already via taxes and it’s a large amount for some procedures. Me I skipped the queues as had private health insurance but if I hadn’t I would probably be down at least £10K. Also friends I know keep getting told “next month” and it never happens for specialists and scans which also stops those going private in good time.

[@colincampbell4261]

@@mariog1051 nasty.

[@willrossetti2360]

I’m really sorry to hear about your experience, which must be a hard thing to live through. Fixing the NHS is so important morally and economically, we are wasting people’s lives on waiting lists. Hope you get a treatment that works soon.

[@anniewhateverwhenever8936]

The 55p taper coupled with childcare disincentivises working full time or over time, and therefore reduces in work opportunities for progression. Most people would rather be at home with their kids rather than working for almost nothing to pay for the nursery top up.

[@debbietodd5780]

People wouldn't have to claim UC if the wages paid enough to live on

[@Sausagerolex]

I thought about this. I wonder why none of the three of these guys mention paying people enough so the state doesn't need to top them up.

[@jamie_ar]

Increase wages, cost of goods and services increases, inflation rises, people ask for wage increases, cost of goods and services increase...

[@melindagallegan5093]

@@jamie_arSo prices don’t increase from taxpayers topping up wages instead?

[@jennil7797]

I wonder how many don't claim b benefits they could get because they are self employed and their income and ability to work goes up and down, depending on how well they are each week. My son earned only £6000 last year and is a single father. He has a permanent physical condition with very frequent flares when he is unable to work and has to cancel contracts. Constantly going on and o off benefits is problematic when you are honest and don't want to take things you are not truly eligible for for perhaps three weeks and then need it again.

[@AndrewPinnell-r9u]

The country is run by big businesses and the very Rich. If they paid the people of the country a fair wage then we wouldn't need to top up the wages with UC. They employ thousands of underpaid staff, and get the government to make up their wages with UC. These businesses don't pay the same corporation tax as the high street or the millions of small businesses in this country. Government is too scared to solve.

[@Uneducatedopinion57]

That’s incorrect, the majority increase is in people who have no work requirements, I don’t think raising wages will affect that

[@Lord_Saruman]

many people choose to work only 20 hours per week to qualify for UC, food for thought -

[@Tensquaremetreworkshop]

One would have thought that the increase in working from home would reduce the number requiring support.

[@leighgoodwin1726]

Re the rise in working age benefits. Why hasn’t anybody thought that when these types of phemomena happen, absent an obvious macroeconomic driver, that it’s to do with the UK benefits system and how easy it is to abuse it? It may come as a chock to the IFS, the civil service and Liz Kendall, but there are a large number of benefits cheats, fraudsters and criminals in our society. If Labour assumes - as its ideology seems to suggest - that this behaviour as well as the rise in working age benefits is all to do with “underfunding” the NHS and “Tory austerity”, then heaven help us. I’m not sticking around to pay for it

[@ryanchisholm1681]

I laugj when they bring out the fraud statics, they inly get that number off the amount of people caught , i know about 10 withing a 5 mile radius lol.

[@Lord_Saruman]

indeed, it seems as if these folks at the IFS are not in the real world. I've met many people on benefits in this country and all of them were gaming the system in some capacity - there is a time and place for true claims but a huge percentage of claims are just taking advantage of the wrong incentives the system has created -

[@galaxianx01]

No research is really needed. The ultimate answer is big food. Ultra processed food is behind most of the health disaster that blights the uk, as it does a lot of countries. This drives almost all major health spending and by extension the disability benefits. But big food works its socks off ensuring our elected representatives do as little about it as they can. It does this by - sad to say it but it happens - pay offs. There’s tens of thousands of jobs based in big food of course, and any threat to their income is pushed back on by threatening jobs. It’s a long established tactic in many sectors and it works.

[@rjw4762]

Yes, I make the same point above. Far too may of the 'too ill to work' people have brought it on themselves. That sounds harsh - but it's true.

[@michaeloconnor9465]

​@rjw4762 if they banned seed and vegetable oils and went back to animal fats the next generation would much more healthy. Seed and vegetable oils are toxic to the body because of the very high omega 6, 20 times a healthy intake.

[@stephfoxwell4620]

The big question is why the Neo-liberal Labour party refuse to spend a few quid.

[@dboynette]

Well said. Diabetes in particular, easily preventable for most people. If they took sugar out of foods and drink it would save the country tens of billions. Tax it out and government will make money both ends, win win. 😀

[@theramenshamen9599]

"No reasearch needed", proceeds to gabber about something that has minimal impact of general health of public in relation to work. This kinda thing is why we do research, so ignorant dullards like you or those in power can make informed descisions. What a stupid take

[@PennyBluebottle]

I am a working pensioner living in a social housing development where I am a leaseholder. There are about 20 units where I can vouch that only about 5 tenants work full time, 5 tenants who are genuinely mentally unwell and the rest just lifestyle unemployed and these are young men. They pass my window every day to buy their a) cans of beer b) kebabs or from fast food shops which have now proliferated in the high street. I am angry that they all live in beautiful homes paid for by the state.

[@detritiv0re144]

Who are you to decide if someone is "lifestyle unemployed"?

[@tancreddehauteville764]

I'm angry with you for your arrogance.

[@surpriserakins9067]

​@@detritiv0re144so who is to decide?

[@colincampbell4261]

Loads of inwork people have to claim benefits because wages are so low and cost of living so high.

[@SmileyEmoji42]

Because the definition of the poverty level rises faster than inflation

[@Matt-ou7tu]

​@SmileyEmoji42 no, because UK wages are garbage.

[@colincampbell4261]

@@SmileyEmoji42 weird.

[@al24v5i]

the benefits system needs reforming some people get benefits for absolutely no reason

[@detritiv0re144]

And your evidence is?

[@WildBill-py6vn]

True millionaire mps for one

[@al24v5i]

@@detritiv0re144 nearly 9 million people receive benefits that's a huge number i don't think all of these people are disabled or mentally unwell

[@kohvazein7798]

​@@detritiv0re144 I think the value of people getting the benefits who probably shouldn't is miniscule, but it is common. I have a number of family members who do this. They claim Pip for things like depression, some claim Pip for degenerative diseases they have cough very early. For example, one has MS. It's very early and impacts her life somewhat, she still works, but claims around £500 a month in Pip because she exaggerated her symptoms. I don't think there's an easy fix, I'd rather a system where people who didn't need it got it rather than one where people who needed it were turned down. But it does happen.

[@northwestcoast]

Eeeh some people ey?

[@carlgroves8072]

One last connection for the pod team: if in-work incomes were better, there would be no need for so much in-work benefit support! People don't earn enough for working. Now then, why? It is linked to the extraordinary costs of having a large retired population, which at one and the same time is the wealthiest demographic.

[@lightweightben]

The best solution to this has got to be inheritance taxes. Rather than taxing the working age population more take it from those who have benefited most from the health system without having to pay for it. Yes that will mean some working age people get less of a big windfall on the death of their parents, but windfalls don’t actually benefit the economy as much as income from work and they also encourage early retirement (as many receive the inheritance in their 50s or 60s) which adds pressure in the economy.

[@olixz]

Imagine if the housing benefit bidget was spent on social housing!. You'd save money in the long run imo.

[@Funeral_Tango]

The video suggests that those with mental illness are physically fit, so they can work. I've seen many not view depression as an illness, nor understood much about schizophrenia. There's an assumption just a few comments up that people with depression are simply lazy. What do you really know about mental illness? Anyone who wants to work should absolutely be supported and encouraged to do so. Fortunately there isn't the same level stigma. Mental illness is real, as real as cancer and actually kills more people. Mental health services right now are thin on the ground.

[@DS76204]

No, clinical depression is very very real. The ever day 'I feel a bit down' depressed is not the same thing, nor is anxiety, and god knows everyone seems to be that these days. So I'm not sure you would want someone with a serious mental health condition working. Certain conditions might have catastrophic implications.

[@lisalu3994]

Child benefit should use the universal credit system, it seems stupid having separate systems

[@advocate1563]

52% of pepple in uk pay NO tax. The rest of the pop can't carry that number I'm afraid and certainly not in context of ageing population. Govt need to cut back what the state does.

[@SmileyEmoji42]

Politcally impossible. We are locked in to ever increasing spending until we reach catastrophic breakdown

[@K4rmaRules]

Everybody pays tax. Stop being silly.

[@MasterWhimp]

I think he’s talking about paying no income tax

[@SmileyEmoji42]

@@K4rmaRules We all know that the OP means income tax. Stop being obtuse

[@NBush-nz8ph]

57% of adults pay income tax. A lot of people pay VAT. Your statement is false.

[@carlgroves8072]

Who gets the £29,000,000,000 housing benefits money? The landlords of privately rented houses!! Hence, the lack of rent controls.

[@stuartburns8657]

This 👏 The Tory catastrophic 'Right to buy' which decimated social housing, destroyed affordable hones for new buyers and families and bankrupting Councils

[@MrKarlUnderwood]

+ councils and housing associations . . .

[@jonothonlaycock5456]

Alot of this is subisdising corporations who pay low wages.

[@paulbrightwell3621]

The Government needs to make people take more responsibility for their personal health. While i have huge sympathy for those who have a disability or health problem through no fault of their own . to many people eat and drink too much, too often, with unhealthy diets and don't exercise enough - squander their money on cigarettes and alcohol and then expect the NHS and the benefits system to sort the problems they have caused on themselves. Sounds hard but we would be a happier and healthier and more prosperous society if this happened.

[@debbietodd5780]

If the NHS was better then this would also impact the people who are on benefits to, also if the government didn't give billions away to forgine countries then they wouldn't have a 22 million pounds black whole it's pretty easy to work this out

[@detritiv0re144]

In order for sick and disabled people to work there needs to be employers willing and able to hire and pay them. Are we considering that side of the equation?

[@melindagallegan5093]

Employers are barely hiring healthy people. So what chance do the sick and disabled have?

[@carlgroves8072]

It always amazes me how even highly intelligent people can not see connections. If you have an older and ageing population, this obviously decreases the overall health of the population but also has an adverse effect on the younger population's health! For younger generations, real incomes are lower, taxes are higher, and prices of essentials are much higher. Do I need to explain how this comes about? You need another member of your podcast team.

[@northwestcoast]

Yes, you do need to explain. I will then attempt to challenge your assumptions.

[@jamie_ar]

Let's take a basic concept like probability: what is the probability that a random commenter on a KZbin video has achieved an economic qualification, spent their career in economics, carried out research on these specific topics, assessed and digested current figures and reports, and has then used all of that experience to write two insightful sentences that would really expand the minds of the podcast's hosts? 🤔

[@Lord_Saruman]

young people have an increasing number of issues cos they are spending an insane amount of time online, it is actually that simple - my grandparents generation had next to nothing but they were actually active!

[@twonewns]

1) Lack of research funding for diseases that get worse /snowball over time, but especially ME/Cfs 2) lack of treatment options for long covid because of above lack of research into infection associated chronic diseases that affect young people. For those who don't know what these infection associated illnesses are, I'm talking about ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia, POTS, AND now long covid. These primarily affect women in their prime ages and in total affect about 4 million, many of whom 1/3-1/2, will not be able to work. Government funding for IACC has been negligible. It's laughable to hope these people if ill for more than 2 years can easily be back in to work without treating the underlying conditions. Research and resources are required

[@rjw4762]

As a certain 'far right' commentator said 5-6 years ago, "If you aren't bothered about your own health, why should anyone else be !?". My GP friend tells me that when he first entered the profession 27 years ago, SMoking was still the major health concern....which was replaced by drinking....and now it's obesity, he says. Fat People are everywhere - they have little self control - they get ill, can't stand up to do a job and as for walking, forget it. It will be very difficult to CUT benefits when the cost of living in so high.....allowing the population to grow by 15% in 25 years forces the cost of living up. Perhaps start there.

[@johnmunro4952]

All 3 of those things are a result of massive corporate campaigns to get the public to smoke, drink alcohol and over consume frankly toxic processed "food" . Attempts to combat those campaigns is branded " nanny statism".

[@michaeloconnor9465]

People are fat because the food industry changes our diet to toxic seed oils and high carb diets. They take grains and pump them full of cheap seed oils to make a product. Toxic combination. Killing everybody with chronic disease.

[@SmileyEmoji42]

Fat people are voters

[@rvp589]

Can we have a breakdown by ethnicity. The benefits given by ethnicity 10 years ago v now Have we imported a benefits culture ???

[@rjw4762]

I drove through a Midlands city last night and barely saw a white face. It was 70% Muslims and 30% blacks. Question is ; WHO is going to be employiong these people - they looked UNEMPLOYABLE. Until the Govt realises that there is a direct connection between WIDE OPEN BORDERS and OUT OF CONTROL Benefits, we are screwed.

[@dboynette]

No chance this will be revealed, might break our cultural harmony 😀

[@jan2000nl]

It’s home grown. Generation after generation of natives on benefits. It’s why there is such a need to bring in foreign labour; someone has to do the work.

[@rvp589]

@@jan2000nl what utter rubbish.

[@advocate1563]

Data to support that assertion?

[@XenosFiles]

Really elucidating and balanced podcast. I subscribed.

[@alejandro_mery]

The term "work-age benefits" gives the false impression that people receiving them doesn't work, it would be nice to get an analysis about "working people on benefits" and "homeless working people".

[@thatguy2608]

Economic metaphors > > are all amusing to me, but taken literally by those not of an economist's bailiwick. Welfare/benefits are market stablizers. They are in essence an insurance policy against a chaotic market environment. You can see the effects from a scant system in India. Labour vs leisure is how it gets framed a large portion of the time. It is actually return for time invested. This where fraud and other philosophies concerning the return for labour offered will undoubtedly never be fully satisfied. So do you go with the stick approach(negative reinforcement) of basic sustenance? Or the carrot approach of positive reinforcement? The UK minus London is on par with the poorest regions of the US. That doesn't happen by accident. The economy being inadequately structured/run has given the output of a bloated welfare budget. Trying to fix the output without addressing the input will just be a circular finger pointing contest. I do believe a wide spectrum for economic prosperity is the immense undertaking that Starmer/Reeves and co. have put before themselves. The lack of borrowing by Reeves might be that a green economy is deflationary and is looking to appropriate funding more efficiently before going to the well. She might be over hedging her through line here. With a fledging economy the incentives to be productive become less. Without that... it won't be pretty.

[@cfalvl2380]

It does amaze me how a functioning economy is taken as a given. It is very fragile. You pointing out the function of benefits being market stabilisers will not sink in for most. At a certain level an economy will cease to function. What that point is... no one knows until the rules based society goes third world. The Covid response was to prevent an irreparable breakdown. Starmer has his hands full getting this thing turned around. Food banks are up to around 1,700. It's already not pretty.

[@SmileyEmoji42]

It seems inevitable that the state will continue to grow until it collapses. There are already too many voters dependent on state handouts to ever go back via any "Normal" means 😞 Even those who are not dependent vegrudge any reduction in any benefit that they curremtly receive (e.g. welathy pensioners and the winter fuel allowance or free bus passes)

[@russellwild8329]

the 2 child limit didn't historically affect people, you have a choice to have more than 2 children. if you want more, work more. People are responsible for their own lives and should live within them where they can.

[@lisalu3994]

We're a 4-person family, both adults work, we get a top-up through universal credit. When my yongedt reaches school age, i will try get more hours at work. I dont know anyone who doesn't work.

[@ThatMuslimDoctor]

Years long waiting list to see a specialist, underfunded mental health services, spiralling cost of living, lack of social housing, low wages and the government is suprised we are too sick to keep up with the never ending hamster wheel the public has been pushed into?

[@bigbillkruse]

Savings is entirely the wrong term. No money is saved, it simply doesn't get created into the economy in the first place.

[@colincampbell4261]

£29 billion goes to greedy landlords not tennants.

[@dboynette]

Trope. Most landlords would make more money investing in the bank deposits accounts.

[@SmileyEmoji42]

All the landlords I know try to do the right thing and are screwed over by the government and their tenants. I'm sure that there are bad landlords but there is no way to penalise them without also penalising the good ones. The net result will be to force out the good landlords and make the bad ones worse.

[@colincampbell4261]

@@dboynette weird comment

[@dboynette]

@@colincampbell4261 logic, just do the maths

[@colincampbell4261]

@@dboynette you deny landlords take housing benefit of the government (from our taxes) £29 billions worth?

[@olixz]

I wonder if the issue with cutting budgets wirk on the short term but in the long term cost you far more.

[@bigbillkruse]

£29bn in housing costs... blame Thatcher for handing mortgages over to banksters leading to a gigantic housing bubble.

[@First_Principals]

Replace income tax and council tax with land value tax. That would motivate people to work and people who can't work or are not able to pay for the place they live will move to cheaper areas. Over time wages, price of living will equal out across the UK.

[@duckweedy]

Would help if we actually had a mental health service and insisted all places of work over a certain size had mental health support on site.

[@BB-jk1le]

We were productive before without it, it's incredibly expensive and usually fixes problems that could be addressed by the individual

[@Matt-ou7tu]

​@@BB-jk1leThe country hasn't been productive since 2008.

[@carlgroves8072]

There continues to be a stigma attached to larger families in the benefits system and in the way these people are talked about. But remember that this approach means Britain needs mass inward migration. Connections again IFS Team!

[@JohnJones-k9d]

UK does not need mass immigration thats not true. The big issue in UK is the high level of underemployment. EG too many working part time then topped up by benefits. Working family tax credits and crap employers mean is wages have been driven down. If we could get everyone back to full time work it would achieve 2 things. Reduce the need for immigration. Drive up the minimum wage which is the key to future growth. Get rid of working family tax credits which just pushes people to work part time but get it made upto to full time by benefits.

[@Melaisis]

Why did the host keep apologising for being "hyperbolic"? It is not hyperbolic to literally read off the facts about the spending on benefits. If you think that just reciting those numbers is pushing a narrative then that says everything really.

[@Lord_Saruman]

well said, they cater to a left leaning viewership hence they are always walking on egg shells to not hurt feelings -

[@iansimpson936]

Good video on what is a very difficult topic. You can see this from the comments. Didn’t appreciate the complexity with housing benefits. I wonder if selling off government assets (eg council houses) was such a good idea? Feels very short term thinking

[@SmileyEmoji42]

All government thinking is short term. It has to be. You don't get elected by telling people that you are going to make them worse off and you can't change anything if you are not elected. Just look at the opposition to means testing winter fuel payments - There is no, politically possible, escape.

[@davidfraser1966]

Thankyou for this video. I too have subscribed. If there were easy answers that didn’t affect people they would have been enacted by a previous administration. Obviously the super rich should contribute more but if you penalise them too much they just move somewhere else that has a lower tax rate. I’m surprised that there isn’t a move to give tax relief on private health insurance. Surely we want to decrease the burden on the NHS. Effectively those who can afford to pay will pay if given an incentive to do so. Difficult choices ahead 😬

[@clivepierce1816]

“A small number of ultra-poor people” According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation more than 1 in 5 people in the UK (22%) were in poverty in 2021/22 - 14.4 million people - and poverty has worsened since. The IFS is almost as out of touch as the last government.

[@Lord_Saruman]

that poverty line is actually made up - we all have seen people begging with iphones and throwing away food if given some cos they are actually begging to get alcohol, drugs, etc. -

[@tancreddehauteville764]

At 45% the top rate of income tax is too low. The threshold should be lowered to £100k a year and the rate increased to 55%.

[@northwestcoast]

What would be the incentive to work had and progress in one's career? Someone close to me earns £77k and after tax they take home barely £53k. An incredibly difficult job with high level of responsibility ought to be rewarded not penalised. It's wealth that needs taxing properly then income taxes can be low. A zero tax rate up to £20k, then a flat rate of 20% up to £200k, and 40% on anything over £200k would be my suggestion. Increasing taxes on inheritance, huge increases in council tax on houses upward of £500k. Nobody needs millions of pounds, but people should be encouraged to earn hundreds of thousands of pounds to live a fulfilled life if they are working hard. High Income tax does nothing to encourage hard work.

[@tancreddehauteville764]

@@northwestcoast Rubbish. Taxing wealth is not going to be effective, nor is it practical. A zero tax rate up to £20k would need to be followed by a 50% tax rate on anything above that in order to balance the tax intake. Huge increases on council tax for houses over £500k??? Are you insane? Where I live £500k will buy you a 3 bedroom semi. This would be harmful to the majority of people in the south of England. And, by the way, I earn £80k and I am doing a very difficult and demanding job requiring in-depth technical knowledge. £53k after tax is still a very good after tax income.

[@melindagallegan5093]

@@northwestcoastWhat about a flat tax rate of 20% on all income levels? This might encourage workers to earn in the millions then.

[@northwestcoast]

@@melindagallegan5093 The problem with flat tax is that it doesn’t recognise that a basic level of income, around £25k is needed by everyone to cover their essentials. That money is often taxed when it’s spent, via VAT, fuel duty, interest on mortgage, and so on. There is a moral obligation to make this essential spending immune from taxation when it’s earned, otherwise it’s taxed twice. Money over and above this becomes increasingly disposable, and the morality question of leaving it untaxed, or taxed at a low rate comes into play. Society needs to be funded, not by taking money off people who have little, but by taxing higher incomes and wealth.

[@northwestcoast]

@@tancreddehauteville764£300k house in Blackpool attracts £3k council tax. £3million penthouse in Kensington attracts £2k council tax. That’s a wealth tax that could be effective and practical; discuss.

[@glennperry2108]

If the government raised minimum wage then working people wouldn't have to claim benefits. Also with 7 million people on the waiting list for operations no wonder people claiming disability benefits has risen.

[@Lord_Saruman]

only problem, loads of people are actually choosing! to work only 20 hours per week in order to get UC -

[@michaeloconnor9465]

Who created the big housing benefits Bill. Politicians who have let's rents run wild while at the same time bringing in millions of migrants that pushed rents even higher while wages stagnate.

[@Jeremiah59]

Massive nhs waiting lists, moldy homes, the list goes on

[@des_bloom]

If you have an older and ageing population you can bet the state pension wont be there when someone of my age reaches the pension bracket. Any political party that vows to keep the state pension will get my vote. Period

[@mjg6966]

I know people who refuse to work a full week because they lose their benefits even if the full week would see them be no worse off.

[@stuontwo677]

Why would they work a full week for free though (as in your example). If the government wants people to work, then they should be better off financially.

[@mjg6966]

Pride

[@laurencooper3169]

@@mjg6966 there’s no pride in other people bringing your kids up while you stack shelves for minimum wage

[@jinyuichi6460]

@@laurencooper3169and there’s pride in scrounging off other people’s hard work?

[@laurencooper3169]

@@jinyuichi6460most people take more pride in raising there own kids with love and presence than what a stranger on KZbin thinks about them being a free loader.

[@Simpaulme]

Depressing! Suddenly I have mental health problems 😟

[@colincampbell4261]

Housing benefit goes to pay much too high rent to greedy landlords.

[@bigbillkruse]

£149bn spent on benefits.. a little context here, the BoE is currently practicing QT which is aimed at shrinking the economy by hundreds of billons of pounds. That's reducing it overall, inevitably reducing economic activity. £140bn pales beside that... and benefits, OTH, increase economic activity, leading to growth, which is what the govt claims to be seeking. They increase economic activity, get taxed back, more benefits are then spent into the economy to increase it some more, rinse, repeat. How exactly is this a bad thing?

[@jamesholt4449]

The BOE saw profits of £120 billion from 2012 to 2022. The £140 billion is spread over till 2029. With each year the losses will decrease.

[@bigbillkruse]

@@jamesholt4449 The BoE creates the national money supply from thin air. It's not in the business of profits and losses. The terms simply don't apply.

[@jamesholt4449]

@@bigbillkruse commerical banks create money by credit. The boe just controls the flow of money.

[@bigbillkruse]

@@jamesholt4449 The BoE creates money from thin air. The commercial banks, under license from the BoE, do likewise.

[@AKcoxy]

Cap rents, that'll bring the housing bill down, and/or force more house's onto the property market which if rents are capped are more likely to go to house owners not landlords... win win

[@apemoon1731]

Rent and house prices are subject to the laws of supply and demand. We have too many people arriving here too quickly to even keep up with demand, let alone make up the backlog.

[@AKcoxy]

@@apemoon1731 House prices have been determined by what debt people can afford to take, interest rates being kept artificially low for so long saw a lot of people over leveraging for 'easy' passive income from buy to lets. When interest rates increased, this failed investment plan has been passed onto renters. The government bringing caps in brings a balance to this discrepancy, I'm a through and through Conservative and I don't like rent caps, but someone's failed investment shouldn't effect the renter. As for immigration I completely agree that's had a massive impact as well.

[@dboynette]

@@AKcoxy and cause a housing crash and subsequent depression. Lower house prices would be good (imo) in the long run but it would need to be done very gradually over a decade or more.

[@advocate1563]

Cap rents and there will be no houses to rent. We've run that experiment catastropj8cally around the world, most redently in Berlin.

[@AKcoxy]

@@advocate1563 we've also run the "free market" experiment and it doesn't work. Interest rates come down people get greedy, house prices shoot up more and more because money is free, introduce a cap and it stems that greed. This needs to happen before interest rates come back down

[@evelbsstudio]

Tory government, * 500+ applicants per low skilled job opertunity. * cuts to treatment and NHS funding. * cost of living inshop prices (due to increased costs of importing goods and foods at the boarder and paperwork processes). * unfair new benefits system. * electeicity and gas price caps infavour of energy companies making profit. * fuel price -price per barrel of oil is pre covid prices but prices to the fuel pump are still high). * rent and house prices (mortgage) prices are still very high. These are just a few point that have effected the public from the tory tule an wonder why the mental health of people is efected. That and underfunded mental health services and inaccessible services due to underfunded, thanks tories.

[@dboynette]

10.16 ‘The additional spending on these (disability) benefits compared with five years ago is more than 20 billion pounds… for reasons we frankly do not understand…we have twice as many people starting on these benefits per month than three or four years ago’… 11.52. what has driven this change? 11.53 no one has a clear idea. There are a few hypotheses… health is getting worse.. mortality rates have gone up since the pandemic… we don’t really have a clear idea and fair to say no one has a clear idea. 18.36 … what on earth is driving this? So they ought to be spending a lot, tens, hundreds of millions really to understand what’s really driving this. 36.43 Am right in saying the benefit cap doesn’t apply if you are on disability benefits?’ - BINGO. I’m not a greedy man, I’ll accept the ten million.

[@michaeloconnor9465]

It has a lot to do with the lockdown self-harm policy. After over a year off on 80% pay, people decided they wanted the life where they were free. And found a way to fund that life. Myself I get PIP because I have COPD and Parkinson's. COPD was not caused by smoking but inflammation in my lungs from asthma. The icing on the cake is the Parkinson's, and because so many people are claiming PIP, who shouldn't, now I will be a target for the government.

[@davidhayes4814]

Even when scratching the surface one soon realises that there is no solution

[@advocate1563]

That's a bit like saying that which cannot go on, won't go on. I presume you want us to slam into the bond vigilante/IMF wall before we do anytjing.

[@daithomas9859]

​@@advocate1563idiot

[@alejandro_mery]

I think you are ignoring the people who became homeless due to rent increases and is now housed by councils

[@michaeloconnor9465]

A policy that goes back to Thatcher. The banks and Blackrock are coining it in, and the reason they moved into the rental market. Now migrants are housed before our homeless and the government wonder why housing benefits Bill is so high. Corporate greed.

[@jinyuichi6460]

Cut all benefits.

[@turokforever007]

Do you know many have to claim UC when in full-time work.

[@SuperMarion61]

Lets hope you never get seriously ill & or get various disabilities, as you’re more likely to do if you’re older. God help anyone who’s in your black & white world😮😢

[@SmileyEmoji42]

Politically impossible. You can't get ellected on a minifesto of making your voters poorer

[@jonothonlaycock5456]

Is the IFS saying people who are disabled should not be supported?

[@MargaretDeakin-d6m]

It is shameful that our governments since the 80s have allowed neoliberal Capitalism to destroy the health and lives of workers through poor pay and conditions while increasing passive income for shareholders.Landowners and property owners suck renters dry.And...Austerity Austerity Austerity.........as you do not seem to be looking at cause and effects, I hope this helps.

[@chrisduffill5248]

There is now a correlation between the food people eat can have a devastation on there health, modern food that has been made easy to eat is the worst….get the uk back on eating wholesome foods with high mix of veg, and fruit, take away convenience foods and snacks… tax these high and use the money to pay the bill

[@K4rmaRules]

True. I'm disabled so all I can afford anyway, are vegetables. Processed foods are a huge problem..

[@moomin7461]

​@@K4rmaRulesand vegetables are sprayed with pesticides.

[@debbietodd5780]

WE'VE JUST HAD A PANDEMIC WHICH PEOPLE HAVE SUFFERED MORE HEALTH CONCERNS DUE TO NOT BEING ABLE TO GET NHS TREATMENT

[@jonothonlaycock5456]

These benefits are not easy to get. The question is why are so many more being disabled by are economic system?

[@melindagallegan5093]

The NHS is broken, that’s why.

[@jonothonlaycock5456]

Positive engagement with the hated DWP, you having a laugh.

[@Kath-ks9yi]

So people claiming disability started increasing massively in 2021? These guys have lost all credibility with me for not mentioning the jabs

[@SmileyEmoji42]

Even if we believed your conspiracy theory, how is it relevant?

[@Kath-ks9yi]

@@SmileyEmoji42 because you first have to understand (or admit) what the problem is before you can fix it

[@SmileyEmoji42]

​@@Kath-ks9yi Irrelevant. Suppose, for the sake of argument, that whatever you believe about COVID jabs were proven true. That might allow you to blame somebody but it would do nothing to fix the challenge facing the benefits system (which is the point of the vid).

[@jamesholt4449]

Conspiracy theory

[@mjg6966]

Did Gordon brown bring in working tax credit.

[@moomin7461]

It was family credit before that (1986)

[@JP-lv8fx]

Disability? If you are autistic but not blind and can walk you don’t have any disability benefits. Not working, claiming benefits but driving new BMW , having council house - that’s should and make you think…. I see this every day … and yes I know what I’m saying.

[@melindagallegan5093]

Most autistic people don’t make it through the hiring pantomime most jobs force you to go through nowadays.

[@debbietodd5780]

FIX THE NHS AND YOU REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE ON BENEFITS

[@MrJudgementday99]

For me it is the rise of the victim culture. Perhaps ask the parents of these people who are on benefits. People claim mental health issues when they are basically lazy or incapable of any responsibility. I know I am now old being 57, but for me through my life I was bought up with shame if you ask for benefits. I have variously had three jobs at one time, my wife and myself bought our first house and because it was a new build we could only afford the basic place, so no carpets for 12 months, no holidays for three years. I am certain we could have claimed benefits but had pride we have never had any. I left home to go to University at 18 and never received any money from my parents because I worked through Uni. Nowadays it is all to easy to blame everyone but yourselves and no shame in claiming benefits. It is easy to blame everyone but yourself, it is harder to look at yourself. As for the rich, it is easy to blame them but the top 1% of earners pay over 30% of income tax. Perhaps people need to just look at themselves, knuckle down and work harder.

[@rjw4762]

A 73 year old friend of my wife's shocked us recently when saying that he 35 year old son has "mental health issues". When asked, the reason SHE gave for his mental health was that he "doesn't like his job". Pathetic.

[@MrJudgementday99]

@@rjw4762 actually on that level, I was talking to a friend on Friday night, my wife sort of adopted him when he was 20 and we have helped him in lots of different ways since. He was commenting how great my working life had been, working all over Europe America and Japan. I agreed, I I used to love getting up a 4 on Monday morning to fly to Amsterdam, train to Rotterdam and then working 12 hours to go back then to the cheapest apartment I could get and fly back on a Friday, he said it seemed very glamorous from the outside, but reality and perception are two different things, I just didn’t complain and did what it took.

[@apemoon1731]

Absolutely 💯

[@stuontwo677]

You need to stop bringing up the housing analogy to back your case, because back when you bought a house it WAS affordable. Houses were maybe 3-4 times salary. Not the case anymore, its more like 8-9 times salary. House prices have more than doubled relative to wages, leading to a significant decline in housing affordability over time.

[@stuontwo677]

Furthermore on your point about the top 1% This is also true: The wealthiest 1%, particularly those earning over £150,000 annually, have access to more sophisticated avoidance schemes. Offshore accounts and trusts are commonly used by this group. In some analyses, it was found that top earners could be avoiding 10% to 20% of their tax liabilities through legal tax avoidance methods. In 2021 HMRC, estimated that £35 billion in total was lost due to tax evasion, avoidance, and non-compliance annually.

[@richardfoster6494]

Beggers belief!

[@melindagallegan5093]

I have a severe young women’s disease. If you don’t want 1 in 10 women and growing being forced out of work due to the pain and bowel and bladder dysfunction this disease causes, find a cure!

[@SmileyEmoji42]

I sympathise with your condition but, if you wouldn't expect your friends and family members to support you, why would you expect strangers to do so?

[@melindagallegan5093]

@@SmileyEmoji42 My friends and family already do support me. They pay the taxes so that people like me can get the support that I need.

[@SmileyEmoji42]

@@melindagallegan5093 If that was the way that it worked there'd be no need for taxes - They could just pay you directly - It would be just like the good old days of 100 years ago

[@detritiv0re144]

@@SmileyEmoji42 Are you on a mission to make the most callous and useless comments possible?

[@SmileyEmoji42]

@@melindagallegan5093 As do I (not that anyone gave me the choice). You're welcome

[@anthonybrown4874]

Becayse they can i would if i qualified.

[@TobiasStarling]

The managed decline of the NHS resulting in a massive backlog of ill people. Equally real wages have declined while billionaire wealth has exploded. Wealth is a massive determinant of health so more I’ll people. Children are shrinking because the people can’t afford proper nutrition resulting in greater health complications. Insecure living and poor wages results in greater mental health issues. This isn’t rocket science, it’s political choices not to tax the billionaires who’s the only people exponentially better off.

[@davideyres955]

Absolutely agree. The problem is we are obsessed in not paying people wages that match the increase in cost of living so companies can reward people at the top. We need to discourage the disparity between the workers and the senior management. We can’t tax the general population more to make up for the workers getting paid too little.

[@danielwebb8402]

Median real wages are higher than in 2010. Nhs budget increased in real terms from 2010 to 2019 by 20%.

[@TobiasStarling]

@@danielwebb8402 not sure where you get your facts from but it’s well accepted real wages are ~10% lower than 2008. NHS spending, did increase 20% in absolute terms over your 2008-2019 period that’s not real terms. This does not take into account inflation. This would also not factor in aging population or the increasing poverty issue previously mentioned. Happy to be corrected with sources. *NHS budget easily found with a simple google search *real wage decline published by the ONS, LSE, IBIS and basically every British newspaper.

[@TobiasStarling]

@@danielwebb8402 those facts are completely incorrect. Real wages haves fallen in the by ~10% since 2008. This is published by LSE, ONS, Government, every British newspaper, basically everyone. You potentially are getting confused between real (inflation adjusted) and raw number. The NHS budget did increase by 20% as you mention but not real, ie not adjusted for inflation. During 2008-2019 period, to buy the same 2008 £1 item in 2019 you’d need £1.30. This essentially means in real terms, despite the raw monetary increase in NHS budget, what it can actually buy has been reduced. On top of this, demand has significantly increased due to all the poverty related issues mentioned. I’d be interested to know where your stats came from, they seem very wrong?

[@TobiasStarling]

It seems I’m currently blocked from replying to your comment @danielwebb8402 those facts are completely incorrect. Real wages haves fallen in the by ~10% since 2008. This is published by LSE, ONS, Government, every British newspaper, basically everyone. You potentially are getting confused between real (inflation adjusted) and raw number. The NHS budget did increase by 20% as you mention but not real, ie not adjusted for inflation. During 2008-2019 period, to buy the same 2008 £1 item in 2019 you’d need £1.30. This essentially means in real terms, despite the raw monetary increase in NHS budget, what it can actually buy has been reduced. On top of this, demand has significantly increased due to all the poverty related issues mentioned. I’d be interested to know where your stats came from, they seem very wrong?

[@dartskipper3170]

Because they're sick of the Labour Government already.😂

[@Spencerlayne]

What challenge? You either give people enough to survive on or yoy dont. Given what they've just done to pensioners is suspect the latter

[@BB-jk1le]

Or we don't give anything and people sort themselves out

[@SmileyEmoji42]

How many people have died of starvation in the UK last year?