Protests planned across North-East to fight "bedroom tax" (From The Northern Echo)

Employed Tax Payer, Central Darlo wrote:
Sorry, I can't come along to the party, it's a work day!

David Lacey wrote:
Housing benefit costs the country too much. It must be reduced.

the-big-yin wrote:
Does this government not understand that there are no 1 and 2 bed properties for people to down size into. Yes the benefit paid needs to be reduced, but where are people going to move to?
Why not use common sense and get this country building houses again. 1 and 2 bed properties would then allow people to down size, thus allowing larger families to move into those properties that are then available.
This con / dem government does not have the sense to do this. They would rather see people be made homeless. Build and get people working, then working people have wages that can be spent in the shops and then the economy grows. As the meerkat says simples !!!!!!!

Ian James wrote:
Just listen to the Beatles song, Taxman off Revolver and it sums it all up perfectly, I think!!!

outragedofmiltonkeyn
es wrote:
Leave school. Get a job. Leave home and buy a house. Work to pay for the house. Retire and enjoy the fruits of your labour.
Alternatively:
Leave school. Have children. Leave your parent(s) council house for a council house of your own. Have more children.Never work to pay your own way for anything. Die young as a result of never having any ambition, eating crap and not exercising and smoking the benefit money that might have paid for decent food for your children. Repeat the cycle while each generation of your ilk became more ignorant than the last.

jude666 wrote:
I really can't see what the problem is here. You are not entitled to live in your council house for life, you just rent it from your landlord, ie the council. People with mortgages downsize when they can no longer afford to pay for a big home. Why do people on benefits want it every which way without any sacrifice. If you want your third bedroom pay for it like the rest of working saps have to.

Copley23 wrote:

jude666 wrote:
I really can't see what the problem is here. You are not entitled to live in your council house for life, you just rent it from your landlord, ie the council. People with mortgages downsize when they can no longer afford to pay for a big home. Why do people on benefits want it every which way without any sacrifice. If you want your third bedroom pay for it like the rest of working saps have to.

Spot on jude666. Well said.

Jonn wrote:

Copley23 wrote:

jude666 wrote:
I really can't see what the problem is here. You are not entitled to live in your council house for life, you just rent it from your landlord, ie the council. People with mortgages downsize when they can no longer afford to pay for a big home. Why do people on benefits want it every which way without any sacrifice. If you want your third bedroom pay for it like the rest of working saps have to.

Spot on jude666. Well said.

Who has said they want their council house for lfe? I would think most just want a property to suit their needs as a bigger house means bigger bills but stock is very limited and suitability even more limited. Basically, you get what's available at the time.
People with a mortgage may not downsize due to affordability, maybe they just want a smaller home but at least they have a choice of when and where to move to. You could be working and end up in a house miles away from your job.
This Government has just decided that as from April, pay up or get out, despite a huge shortage of 1 and 2 bed homes.
I repeat, where are all these smaller homes for people to move into?

smiler03 wrote:

outragedofmiltonkeyn

es wrote:
Leave school. Get a job. Leave home and buy a house. Work to pay for the house. Retire and enjoy the fruits of your labour.
Alternatively:
Leave school. Have children. Leave your parent(s) council house for a council house of your own. Have more children.Never work to pay your own way for anything. Die young as a result of never having any ambition, eating crap and not exercising and smoking the benefit money that might have paid for decent food for your children. Repeat the cycle while each generation of your ilk became more ignorant than the last.

Ah ha!! Work to pay for the house. How?

More and more jobs are becoming part time. Real purchasing power of incomes hasn't risen in 7 years. Bigger deposits than ever are required to buy a house (thank you bankers). People are having to live longer and longer with their parents because they cannot raise enough money to buy a house.

Your sentiment is good but hopelessly out of date.

Retire???

That's a great one,. Thanks to record low interest rates you now need to save 3 times more that just 5 years ago to get the same pension. Final salary pension schemes no longer exist. The pension age is being moved in line with increasing (for now) life spans, forget retiring in your healthy years. Inflation is getting bad (do you buy food, fuel, gas or electricity?) and will be getting worse very soon.

I suspect that you own your own house and are comfortably retired with a guaranteed pension, possibly even index linked.

Lucky you, if not, welcome to cloud cuckoo land.

loan_star wrote:
Bigger deposits required to buy houses? Thats true, however isnt that down to the fact that there was a upsurge in house prices under Blair and Brown so bigger deposits were bound to be needed!!

johnny_p wrote:
Another Taxpayer- you're a dying breed. Benefits are no longer used to help the genuinely needy, but have been firehosed at as many people as possible so that they are bribed to vote Labour. There's a whole new generation of people now, who are completely disinterested in working, bettering themselves or being innovative.

As far this (misnamed) "bedroom tax"- I don't want to pay for other peoples' ineptitude and sloth. Benefits should be there for the needy, infirm and disabled.

outragedofmiltonkeyn
es wrote:
In fact if anyone would like to see a prime example of a workshy sponger milking the system and getting a three bedroom house paid for i could organise an urban ramble and point her out. At 15:00 she takes her three pedigree pug dogs out to deficate where children walk on the way to school. At 18:30 she then sets off to the pub without the dogs but with a crutch and appears to have contracted a terrible disability in the intervening three hours for the effort she has to put into dragging herself out for six bottles of special brew is inspiring. Or maybe there is sod all wrong with her and she is fiddling?
Oh yes and this happens EVERYDAY at exactly the same time. Thats why the general working population is completely sick of whinging people who do nothing and expect everything.

Jonn wrote:

loan_star wrote:
Bigger deposits required to buy houses? Thats true, however isnt that down to the fact that there was a upsurge in house prices under Blair and Brown so bigger deposits were bound to be needed!!

Just as there was an upsurge under the Tories.

outragedofmiltonkeyn
es wrote:
In fact if anyone would like to see a prime example of a workshy sponger milking the system and getting a three bedroom house paid for i could organise an urban ramble and point her out. At 15:00 she takes her three pedigree pug dogs out to deficate where children walk on the way to school. At 18:30 she then sets off to the pub without the dogs but with a crutch and appears to have contracted a terrible disability in the intervening three hours for the effort she has to put into dragging herself out for six bottles of special brew is inspiring. Or maybe there is sod all wrong with her and she is fiddling?
Oh yes and this happens EVERYDAY at exactly the same time. Thats why the general working population is completely sick of whinging people who do nothing and expect everything.

greenfinger wrote:

Jonn wrote:

loan_star wrote:
Bigger deposits required to buy houses? Thats true, however isnt that down to the fact that there was a upsurge in house prices under Blair and Brown so bigger deposits were bound to be needed!!

Just as there was an upsurge under the Tories.

but it's not those in work that are complaining, it's those on the dole or incapacity benefit that are twisting that they've not got enough to pay the extra.

greenfinger wrote:
and i cannot wait until next winter when fuel bills are even higher. freezing cold heating your extra rooms on less money. happy days!

IanfromCrook wrote:

outragedofmiltonkeyn

es wrote:
In fact if anyone would like to see a prime example of a workshy sponger milking the system and getting a three bedroom house paid for i could organise an urban ramble and point her out. At 15:00 she takes her three pedigree pug dogs out to deficate where children walk on the way to school. At 18:30 she then sets off to the pub without the dogs but with a crutch and appears to have contracted a terrible disability in the intervening three hours for the effort she has to put into dragging herself out for six bottles of special brew is inspiring. Or maybe there is sod all wrong with her and she is fiddling?
Oh yes and this happens EVERYDAY at exactly the same time. Thats why the general working population is completely sick of whinging people who do nothing and expect everything.

You have an obviously active imagination. There is a critical hole in this comment which leaves me to believe it is completely made up. The hole being, if anyone were to read your previous observations they would realise that if this were true (how you would know so much is very odd) you would have informed the fraudline and the lady looked into. Now if this is accurate then I believe what you have clearly done is jumped to the wrong conclusions, they investigated and she is still there so this has outraged you as you believe what you say true and everyone else is wrong.
I think your name needs a little teak outragiousofmiltonke

ynes.

Jonn wrote:

outragedofmiltonkeyn

es wrote:
In fact if anyone would like to see a prime example of a workshy sponger milking the system and getting a three bedroom house paid for i could organise an urban ramble and point her out. At 15:00 she takes her three pedigree pug dogs out to deficate where children walk on the way to school. At 18:30 she then sets off to the pub without the dogs but with a crutch and appears to have contracted a terrible disability in the intervening three hours for the effort she has to put into dragging herself out for six bottles of special brew is inspiring. Or maybe there is sod all wrong with her and she is fiddling?
Oh yes and this happens EVERYDAY at exactly the same time. Thats why the general working population is completely sick of whinging people who do nothing and expect everything.

Amazing how you find time for your job if you are daily recording the EVERYDAY activities of your workshy sponging neighbour?

outragedofmiltonkeyn
es wrote:

IanfromCrook wrote:

outragedofmiltonkeyn


es wrote:
In fact if anyone would like to see a prime example of a workshy sponger milking the system and getting a three bedroom house paid for i could organise an urban ramble and point her out. At 15:00 she takes her three pedigree pug dogs out to deficate where children walk on the way to school. At 18:30 she then sets off to the pub without the dogs but with a crutch and appears to have contracted a terrible disability in the intervening three hours for the effort she has to put into dragging herself out for six bottles of special brew is inspiring. Or maybe there is sod all wrong with her and she is fiddling?
Oh yes and this happens EVERYDAY at exactly the same time. Thats why the general working population is completely sick of whinging people who do nothing and expect everything.

You have an obviously active imagination. There is a critical hole in this comment which leaves me to believe it is completely made up. The hole being, if anyone were to read your previous observations they would realise that if this were true (how you would know so much is very odd) you would have informed the fraudline and the lady looked into. Now if this is accurate then I believe what you have clearly done is jumped to the wrong conclusions, they investigated and she is still there so this has outraged you as you believe what you say true and everyone else is wrong.
I think your name needs a little teak outragiousofmiltonke


ynes.

No sadly its not made up it is a fact. Whats odd about noticing the same person doing the same thing everyday? Or dont you take any notice of whats going on around you? Oh yes and i have laid her in and i await the outcome with eager anticipation. Who knows she might have to live in a tent and eat her dogs.

outragedofmiltonkeyn
es wrote:

Jonn wrote:

outragedofmiltonkeyn


es wrote:
In fact if anyone would like to see a prime example of a workshy sponger milking the system and getting a three bedroom house paid for i could organise an urban ramble and point her out. At 15:00 she takes her three pedigree pug dogs out to deficate where children walk on the way to school. At 18:30 she then sets off to the pub without the dogs but with a crutch and appears to have contracted a terrible disability in the intervening three hours for the effort she has to put into dragging herself out for six bottles of special brew is inspiring. Or maybe there is sod all wrong with her and she is fiddling?
Oh yes and this happens EVERYDAY at exactly the same time. Thats why the general working population is completely sick of whinging people who do nothing and expect everything.

Amazing how you find time for your job if you are daily recording the EVERYDAY activities of your workshy sponging neighbour?

I take it you live in a council house and are in receipt of benefits then Jonn?

outragedofmiltonkeyn
es wrote:
Ahh you must be a workshy sponging ignoramus as well then "ian from crook"?

Jonn wrote:

Ian James wrote:
Just listen to the Beatles song, Taxman off Revolver and it sums it all up perfectly, I think!!!

To quote Bob Marley, "a hungry mob is an angry mob".
It's coming!

Jonn wrote:

outragedofmiltonkeyn

es wrote:
In fact if anyone would like to see a prime example of a workshy sponger milking the system and getting a three bedroom house paid for i could organise an urban ramble and point her out. At 15:00 she takes her three pedigree pug dogs out to deficate where children walk on the way to school. At 18:30 she then sets off to the pub without the dogs but with a crutch and appears to have contracted a terrible disability in the intervening three hours for the effort she has to put into dragging herself out for six bottles of special brew is inspiring. Or maybe there is sod all wrong with her and she is fiddling?
Oh yes and this happens EVERYDAY at exactly the same time. Thats why the general working population is completely sick of whinging people who do nothing and expect everything.

Amazing how you find time for your job if you are daily recording the EVERYDAY activities of your workshy sponging neighbour?

the-big-yin wrote:

Jonn wrote:

outragedofmiltonkeyn


es wrote:
In fact if anyone would like to see a prime example of a workshy sponger milking the system and getting a three bedroom house paid for i could organise an urban ramble and point her out. At 15:00 she takes her three pedigree pug dogs out to deficate where children walk on the way to school. At 18:30 she then sets off to the pub without the dogs but with a crutch and appears to have contracted a terrible disability in the intervening three hours for the effort she has to put into dragging herself out for six bottles of special brew is inspiring. Or maybe there is sod all wrong with her and she is fiddling?
Oh yes and this happens EVERYDAY at exactly the same time. Thats why the general working population is completely sick of whinging people who do nothing and expect everything.

Amazing how you find time for your job if you are daily recording the EVERYDAY activities of your workshy sponging neighbour?

I-m sorry but i agree with john. I have my own business and cannot afford the holidays and flash cars, unlike my neighbours who are all not working ( at least 7 families in the same street as me ), but have several holidays a year , flash cars ( off the mobility ). They make me sick, as i see them every day out with their dogs or doing their gardens up. But come doctors sick note time they have their walking stick with them and then get another yearly sick note, or are registered druggies or p.i.s.s.h.e.a.d.s...

it is time to start laying every one of these blagging scum in to the benefits section. Also before anyone says i could not care if they lose their benefits or houses.They need sorting out.

Fossildog wrote:
Calling this a tax clearly shows where the Northern Echos political leanings lie.

To give someone slightly less free money than previously is not a tax.

And to all the whingers moaning about lack of bedrooms I was brought up in a very small council house, a 3 bedroom where I shared the second bedroom with my two brothers, my two sisters had the smallest room with my parents having the small main bedroom. And it did not do me any harm

James HMP Durham.

Fossildog wrote:
Calling this a tax clearly shows where the Northern Echos political leanings lie.

To give someone slightly less free money than previously is not a tax.

And to all the whingers moaning about lack of bedrooms I was brought up in a very small council house, a 3 bedroom where I shared the second bedroom with my two brothers, my two sisters had the smallest room with my parents having the small main bedroom. And it did not do me any harm

James HMP Durham.

Taxpaying Homeowner wrote:
I think the only way to address this is to wait for the next local government elections and vote the inept biased current lot out. DBC for one treat Council Tax payers with utter contempt. They use local non issues to try and play national politics and undermine central government, then bleat on like a bunch of children when things don't go their way.

Council Tax Benefit reduction is not a 'Bedroom Tax' although it is labelled as such for opposition political reasons because the benefit is paid out and then requested back based on over occupation. Perhaps the alternative would have been reduce the initial funding payout.

The whole benefits system is out of control. It was set up to assist people at times when they needed it, not to be a longterm solution to inflexibility and unwillingness to adapt.

Not enough jobs in the area, look further afeild........

outragedofmiltonkeyn
es wrote:
I think he was being ironic.
James HMP Durham?
Jonn it appears to gone over your head like a giraffe ****.

jude666 wrote:
I really can't see what the problem is here. You are not entitled to live in your council house for life, you just rent it from your landlord, ie the council. People with mortgages downsize when they can no longer afford to pay for a big home. Why do people on benefits want it every which way without any sacrifice. If you want your third bedroom pay for it like the rest of working saps have to.

Taxpaying Homeowner wrote:
Not all of these people have to move, they need to accept that they will not be able to keep use all of the benefit if there is over occupancy!!!!!

Before you counter stating that they cannot afford this, the low paid will have a further tax break because the Income Tax threashold will rise in April.

The fact is the counrty cannot afford to dish out money at the rate it is.......

Jonn wrote:

Taxpaying Homeowner wrote:
Not all of these people have to move, they need to accept that they will not be able to keep use all of the benefit if there is over occupancy!!!!!

Before you counter stating that they cannot afford this, the low paid will have a further tax break because the Income Tax threashold will rise in April.

The fact is the counrty cannot afford to dish out money at the rate it is.......

You mean the Government cannot afford to dish out money to the masses when it can be dished out to a few Banks, Corporates and Private Companies.
The debt is still rising, spending is still rising, Tax receipts falling.

CynicaloldGit wrote:

jude666 wrote: I really can't see what the problem is here. You are not entitled to live in your council house for life, you just rent it from your landlord, ie the council. People with mortgages downsize when they can no longer afford to pay for a big home. Why do people on benefits want it every which way without any sacrifice. If you want your third bedroom pay for it like the rest of working saps have to.

Your parents did. You said they bought it........and I might add, at a knockdown price so please don't come on here stating such tripe. They didn't buy the house at the market value, they got huge discounts, so much so that anyone such as your parents, were fobidden to sell it on before 5 years had gone by. Try looking up the word hypocrite, see if the cap fits eh?

CynicaloldGit wrote:
Which bit of my post is tripe or hypocritical may I ask. All of it!!! But here is another defintion.......to benefit from something but deny it to others..........your family benefited from the state when buying a house and knockdown prices (not an aution) but you want to deny others the benefit of the state, ie, housing benefits to pay for a room to accommodate visiting children...disabled people who need a carer to stay over night, etc etc However, your view is typical of i'm alright Jack, or my life is sh i te so I want yours to be too. Well said argo

Taxpaying Homeowner wrote:

Jonn wrote:

Taxpaying Homeowner wrote:
Not all of these people have to move, they need to accept that they will not be able to keep use all of the benefit if there is over occupancy!!!!!

Before you counter stating that they cannot afford this, the low paid will have a further tax break because the Income Tax threashold will rise in April.

The fact is the counrty cannot afford to dish out money at the rate it is.......

You mean the Government cannot afford to dish out money to the masses when it can be dished out to a few Banks, Corporates and Private Companies.
The debt is still rising, spending is still rising, Tax receipts falling.

Absolutely it can't afford it....

It's worth pointing out that the banks were bailed out by you beloved benefactors I the last government. Attempts are being made to reprivatise the banks that were bailed out, the balance sheets are ropey due to PPI and other factors.

Corporate tax receipts are being addressed but that issue has been going on for decades.....

Jolly Roger wrote:
I am sorry but you don't own your rented property so if the landlord says you have 1 or two bedrooms un used you have to pay extra so be it.

I own my own house and pay full council tax and strongly object to having to pay more than those who are on benefits living in the same style of house as me paying far far less.

So yes I agree with these messures as I downsized when I did not need a three bedroomed house anymore for someone who did, so should all those in a similar situation.

You all have to remember you don't own your property do you.

valevers wrote:

Jolly Roger wrote:
I am sorry but you don't own your rented property so if the landlord says you have 1 or two bedrooms un used you have to pay extra so be it.

I own my own house and pay full council tax and strongly object to having to pay more than those who are on benefits living in the same style of house as me paying far far less.

So yes I agree with these messures as I downsized when I did not need a three bedroomed house anymore for someone who did, so should all those in a similar situation.

You all have to remember you don't own your property do you.

On a council waiting list and offered a house, you can refuse only once if you dont whant to go back on the list, all there was to offer were TWO bedroomed houses, so there was no choice, it was a two bedroomed house or nothing, why should I be penalised for living in a two bedroomed house the Council chose to give me. I exist on £260 pm I am 61 and dont get state pension till 2014, I cannot work due to health issues but i claim nothing but housing benefit, and was just managing, now I'm not sure what will happen, do i move into a one bedroom flat/bungalow away from family who provide the moral and physical support I need, or do I stay, and cut backon heating, food, etc? you tell me.

valevers wrote:

Jolly Roger wrote:
I am sorry but you don't own your rented property so if the landlord says you have 1 or two bedrooms un used you have to pay extra so be it.

I own my own house and pay full council tax and strongly object to having to pay more than those who are on benefits living in the same style of house as me paying far far less.

So yes I agree with these messures as I downsized when I did not need a three bedroomed house anymore for someone who did, so should all those in a similar situation.

You all have to remember you don't own your property do you.

On a council waiting list and offered a house, you can refuse only once if you dont whant to go back on the list, all there was to offer were TWO bedroomed houses, so there was no choice, it was a two bedroomed house or nothing, why should I be penalised for living in a two bedroomed house the Council chose to give me. I exist on £260 pm I am 61 and dont get state pension till 2014, I cannot work due to health issues but i claim nothing but housing benefit, and was just managing, now I'm not sure what will happen, do i move into a one bedroom flat/bungalow away from family who provide the moral and physical support I need, or do I stay, and cut backon heating, food, etc? you tell me.

Fossildog wrote:

valevers wrote:

Jolly Roger wrote:
I am sorry but you don't own your rented property so if the landlord says you have 1 or two bedrooms un used you have to pay extra so be it.

I own my own house and pay full council tax and strongly object to having to pay more than those who are on benefits living in the same style of house as me paying far far less.

So yes I agree with these messures as I downsized when I did not need a three bedroomed house anymore for someone who did, so should all those in a similar situation.

You all have to remember you don't own your property do you.

On a council waiting list and offered a house, you can refuse only once if you dont whant to go back on the list, all there was to offer were TWO bedroomed houses, so there was no choice, it was a two bedroomed house or nothing, why should I be penalised for living in a two bedroomed house the Council chose to give me. I exist on £260 pm I am 61 and dont get state pension till 2014, I cannot work due to health issues but i claim nothing but housing benefit, and was just managing, now I'm not sure what will happen, do i move into a one bedroom flat/bungalow away from family who provide the moral and physical support I need, or do I stay, and cut backon heating, food, etc? you tell me.

The over sixties are exempt from this change so nothing to worry about

Fossildog wrote:

valevers wrote:

Jolly Roger wrote:
I am sorry but you don't own your rented property so if the landlord says you have 1 or two bedrooms un used you have to pay extra so be it.

I own my own house and pay full council tax and strongly object to having to pay more than those who are on benefits living in the same style of house as me paying far far less.

So yes I agree with these messures as I downsized when I did not need a three bedroomed house anymore for someone who did, so should all those in a similar situation.

You all have to remember you don't own your property do you.

On a council waiting list and offered a house, you can refuse only once if you dont whant to go back on the list, all there was to offer were TWO bedroomed houses, so there was no choice, it was a two bedroomed house or nothing, why should I be penalised for living in a two bedroomed house the Council chose to give me. I exist on £260 pm I am 61 and dont get state pension till 2014, I cannot work due to health issues but i claim nothing but housing benefit, and was just managing, now I'm not sure what will happen, do i move into a one bedroom flat/bungalow away from family who provide the moral and physical support I need, or do I stay, and cut backon heating, food, etc? you tell me.

The over sixties are exempt from this change so nothing to worry about

CynicaloldGit wrote:
Startreck, you are just too intelligent for some people on here, the likes of spragger and jude et-al just won't understand what you're talking about. Good on yer mate.

maur1 wrote:
odd drink?? i know people on benefits and heavy smoke system allows them too like its their right nrver worked for years, but why should they