Summer Budget 2015

[jon1965]

Re: Summer Budget 2015

If you live in a rural area or even a small town there is no such thing as cheap fruit n veg because there are no markets and you rely on either poor quality high cost local convenience stores or prefaced high cost supermarket . Even in Birmingham that has a good market it is Ł4 for the bus to travel to get your veg and frankly you would need to do that at least twice a week. As for porridge , well yes lovely unflavoured porridge for breakfast dinner and tea-healthy diet (not). Have you tried cheap porridge, it is awful

There are very few responsible drinkers who if in all honesty were asked could say they stick to the governments guidelines on alcohol consumption, two bottles of wine a week puts a man over that, that's 8 medium pub glasses of wine

[Mr $quandaŁot]

Re: Summer Budget 2015

The government drinking guidelines are nonsense (some nutcase's favourite word .

Many people enjoy a couple of glasses of wine or a few pints occasionally without getting wasted or causing trouble.

[mystery1]

Re: Summer Budget 2015

Awww thank you, I don't have the confidence, and I'm not sure you'd like my policies all that much.

On the sugar thing - fresh veg is cheaper than processed crap. I'd be quite happy to price processed crap out of the market and increase education in that respect. I've just been to the shops to get some bits for one of my daughter's cooking lesson - now to me, cooking lessons should include budgeting. Not a list of ingredients with a threat of detention if you don't take them in. Cost me almost Ł10 to get the stuff for her to make a single pizza. Okay I now have some of the left over ingredients I can use at home, and we might get a half eaten soggy pizza crushed in a tub when she gets home for tea... Not the point though - that should be thought about and maybe a bit of co-op'ing going on with other students through the lesson. But that's a bit off topic.

Teach them to share and to shop and it won't cost near a tenner

M1

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Summer Budget 2015

I'm not sure if UKIP would be any worse. A former LB site team member was standing as a candidate - she came second!

:tinysmile_kiss_t4:

Rather than whingeing I am outlining my ideal budget.

State benefits to increase in line with inflation. Ł26 benefit cap.

Ł26 a week? :scared:

45% top income tax rate to remain, no threshold rises for now.

Cigarette tax to increase 25% each year. Alcohol tax unchanged.

Council tax to be part of income tax, related to earnings, not properties. Local authorities free to set rates within agreed limits.

I'd rather go with the idea of property owners being liable for property tax rather than occupiers.

Regional rates for a minimum wage, Ł6.50 per hour being the minimum for adults.

Would have to be at least double that in London!

Free bus travel for pensioners to become mean tested, related to agreed earnings, not property values.

You're obviously still far from pensionable age...

No change in inheritance tax.

Inheritance tax is rather unfair, don't you think? I think it should be reserved for the very wealthy and the Ł1m is a good start.

No tax payable on earnings below Ł11k per year. National insurance to be incorporated into income tax, along with the council tax.

I thought that was the new tax-free allowance.

Non-domicile status to be abolished immediately.

That could potentially cause an exodus of wealth and investment.

Interest rate to rise by at least 0.25% each year until the end of the parliament to end property bubble.

What about that?

The bubble keeps bubbling because there are ways to keep property prices artificially high. I would start by imposing a special tax on foreign property buyers, I don't mean foreigners who live here but those who reside abroad and buy UK property as an investment.

Well with all the respect that is due to that former site team member I rest my case

There seem to be so many regressive elements within the budget that hurt those most vulnerable , I am not sure what the meaning of social housing rents reducing means but I doubt it will help anyone . Even the long overdue movement to a living wage is a fudge because of the decrease in corporation tax , on top of that it is all well and good paying Ł9 per hour but you need to have the contracted hours to make that work. I really do not see any benefit for those most in need but substantial benefits for the better off.

Death to zero-hours contracts!

Why not make wealthier pensioners pay , link the winter fuel payments and TV licences to receipt of pension credit although I am against means testing as it is so very expensive

The infamous license should be scrapped! Why can't the BBC be funded like the rest of the channels, via advertising? That model was OK in the 60s and 70s when there were just the two BBC channels but nowadays there is so much choice and all the others are advert-funded. It's an anachronism that doesn't belong in a free market economy like this one.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Summer Budget 2015

Never smoked. Not a single cigarette.

Sugar tax could be considered to tackle childhood obesity

[COLOR=#333333]

Strange one, I wonder why? Alcohol costs the NHS a huge amount of money, not to mention police, criminal damage, emotional upset

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Imposing a sugar tax would hurt the poorest disproportionally as cheap processed food is full of the stuff

Increasing alcohol tax would punish the responsible majority for mistakes by relatively few. Strong cider and beer (typically enjoyed by trouble makers):could have a much higher tax, though.

You can buy cheap, plain porridge and veggies so no need to have a high sugar diet whatever your income.

I'm sorry but I've always been against the Nanny State. It's not up to the government to determine what we eat. One thing is education so people know what's what and can make informed choices. As for drinking, I'm all for controlling trouble in public places, but if people want to kill themselves in their own homes... well, that's, quite literally, their funeral.

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If you live in a rural area or even a small town there is no such thing as cheap fruit n veg because there are no markets and you rely on either poor quality high cost local convenience stores or prefaced high cost supermarket . Even in Birmingham that has a good market it is Ł4 for the bus to travel to get your veg and frankly you would need to do that at least twice a week. As for porridge , well yes lovely unflavoured porridge for breakfast dinner and tea-healthy diet (not). Have you tried cheap porridge, it is awful

There are very few responsible drinkers who if in all honesty were asked could say they stick to the governments guidelines on alcohol consumption, two bottles of wine a week puts a man over that, that's 8 medium pub glasses of wine

You've obviously been here! That's precisely the case, if you went to Lidl you could find the same fruit'n'veg at less than half the price, however, it would take a few quid to get to the nearest one by car or by public tran$port.

[Mr $quandaŁot]

Re: Summer Budget 2015

Ł26k of course. No point of getting smart!

You know what these phones are like.

[Amethyst]

Re: Summer Budget 2015

Teach them to share and to shop and it won't cost near a tenner

M1

lol, well yes would bloody help if she mentioned she had cooking a bit earlier than 7pm the night before ! tsk.

[jon1965]

Re: Summer Budget 2015

I'm sorry but I've always been against the Nanny State. It's not up to the government to determine what we eat. One thing is education so people know what's what and can make informed choices. As for drinking, I'm all for controlling trouble in public places, but if people want to kill themselves in their own homes... well, that's, quite literally, their funeral.

I am also against the nanny state but my point about drinking guidelines and drinking tax was because of the huge rise in tobacco duty proposed. With alcohol it is not just about getting drunk and town centre violence (or domestic violence) but about the long term health consequences of excessive drinking . I am not sure where Mr Squanderlot got the idea that the government guidelines were nonsense , as far as I am aware they are based on long term medical research. Long term, even moderate drinking causes lots of seen and unseen health problems hence if you are going to tax tobacco because of the health issue it is absurd not to also tax alcohol.
Some of the long term health issues associated with too much drinking

• Unintentional injuries such as car crash, falls, burns, drowning
• Intentional injuries such as firearm injuries, sexual assault, domestic violence
• Increased on-the-job injuries and loss of productivity
• Increased family problems, broken relationships
• Alcohol poisoning
• High blood pressure, stroke, and other heart-related diseases
• Liver disease
• Nerve damage
• Sexual problems -IMPOTENCE
• Permanent damage to the brain
• Vitamin B₁ deficiency, which can lead to a disorder characterized by amnesia, apathy and disorientation
• Ulcers
• Gastritis (inflammation of stomach walls)
• Malnutrition
• Cancer of the mouth and throat

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You've obviously been here! That's precisely the case, if you went to Lidl you could find the same fruit'n'veg at less than half the price, however, it would take a few quid to get to the nearest one by car or by public tran$port.

Indeed, where I live I have a Coop that is close but all the veg is expensive and a lot prepacked, there is a Tesco and Lidl a brisk 20 mins walk away , a round trip on the bus is Ł4 . The walk will prevent many pensioners or less fit/well people getting there. The town centre is a 30 min walk and has a small (not cheap) market Mon and Sat , again Ł4 on the bus.
In Birmingham where my Partner lives it's 5 mins walk to a Nisa, 25 mins brisk walk to Aldi, to get to the city markets must be a bus ride .

I fully agree that education is vital but that should be real education as in how to cook, budget, manage your money and not moralistic middle class education as too frequently happens now and certainly happened in other era's .

It is sad that in Birmingham there is a church run soup kitchen for the homeless 7 days a week and I will guarantee that a large proportion of the people using it are not homeless. I am not saying they are not in need but it is a sad indictment of todays society.

As for housing benefit and caps, do not get me started, as some will know a few years ago I would have lost my home because the council took 6 months to asses my claim for HB and all because I didn't fit into a little box so they could/would not use their brains to read and interpret the regulations. I didn't lose my home because I was fortunate enough to have a parent who was able to lend me the money.

Inheritance Tax is complex but 1 million, give me a break. At present , for a married couple it is effectively Ł650,000 because when one partner dies their I.T. quota is transferred to the surviving spouse giving that person a limit of Ł650,000. I am anti personal wealth from a political standpoint (so eventually , come the glorious day no one will have vast wealth or even need it) but until then I do not have strong feelings against people with wealth just because they are rich , it's more often because they are , well pompous twerps.

here endeth the lesson for today:tinysmile_grin_t:

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Summer Budget 2015

I am also against the nanny state but my point about drinking guidelines and drinking tax was because of the huge rise in tobacco duty proposed. With alcohol it is not just about getting drunk and town centre violence (or domestic violence) but about the long term health consequences of excessive drinking . I am not sure where Mr Squanderlot got the idea that the government guidelines were nonsense , as far as I am aware they are based on long term medical research.Long term, even moderate drinking causes lots of seen and unseen health problems hence if you are going to tax tobacco because of the health issue it is absurd not to also tax alcohol.

I never said alcohol doesn't cause health problems, only that I believe in personal freedom to make our own decisions. I have no problem with taxing alcohol, however, once you start extrapolating the idea and applying it to other things like sugar... where do you draw the line? Do you tax burgers as well? How about crisps? It starts getting silly! And it's all too easy to use their concern about our health as a way to raise yet more revenue as is to use 'green' arguments.

Indeed, where I live I have a Coop that is close but all the veg is expensive and a lot prepacked, there is a Tesco and Lidl a brisk 20 mins walk away , a round trip on the bus is Ł4 . The walk will prevent many pensioners or less fit/well people getting there. The town centre is a 30 min walk and has a small (not cheap) market Mon and Sat , again Ł4 on the bus.
In Birmingham where my Partner lives it's 5 mins walk to a Nisa, 25 mins brisk walk to Aldi, to get to the city markets must be a bus ride .

There's only one of them Sainsburys local here, a tiny one yet they still stock greeting cards and DVDs as well as a whole aisle dedicated to crisps, obviously all high margin stuff for them :wof: and the fresh stuff I$ aŁŁ rather expen$ive. The town where you can buy cheap stuff is 10 miles away so not exactly a brisk walk away even if you are fit and healthy!

I fully agree that education is vital but that should be real education as in how to cook, budget, manage your money and not moralistic middle class education as too frequently happens now and certainly happened in other era's.

I was referring to education as in educating people (including adults) about the potential health problems associated with a poor diet, excessive drinking, etc. not academic education.

It is sad that in Birmingham there is a church run soup kitchen for the homeless 7 days a week and I will guarantee that a large proportion of the people using it are not homeless. I am not saying they are not in need but it is a sad indictment of todays society.

Really? I've never actually seen soup kitchens, food banks, etc. in this country, not in the flesh, only on TV. Seen them in America and Canada though. I guess they don't ask you what doorway you live in, you can just dress down and turn up... Once upon a time in another millennium I went to some kind of 'feeding centre' for the poor in Toronto, just out of interest, someone who had been homeless in the past took me there, food wasn't bad at all but I couldn't eat there now, you had to look young!

As for housing benefit and caps, do not get me started, as some will know a few years ago I would have lost my home because the council took 6 months to asses my claim for HB and all because I didn't fit into a little box so they could/would not use their brains to read and interpret the regulations. I didn't lose my home because I was fortunate enough to have a parent who was able to lend me the money.

HB claims used to take ages to assess before the LHAs were introduced, because each case had to be assessed by a rent officer. That was precisely the reason for LHAs and bedroom allowances.

Inheritance Tax is complex but 1 million, give me a break. At present , for a married couple it is effectively Ł650,000 because when one partner dies their I.T. quota is transferred to the surviving spouse giving that person a limit of Ł650,000. I am anti personal wealth from a political standpoint (so eventually , come the glorious day no one will have vast wealth or even need it) but until then I do not have strong feelings against people with wealth just because they are rich , it's more often because they are , well pompous twerps.

here endeth the lesson for today:tinysmile_grin_t:

It's all to do with property prices, a house is likely to be the single most valuable asset anyone would inherit. As usual, one size doesn't fit all. In the wilds of Wales, Ł1m would probably buy you a whole estate with several buildings and hundreds of acres of land, however, in London there are one bed flats going for over that price! If your parents' home is worth more than the threshold, you'd have to sell it to pay the tax! That's not quite the same as inheriting securities and works of art which was the privilege of the upper classes back in the days the tax was first implemented.

[seduraed]

Re: Summer Budget 2015

Well it looks like I'm going to lose out . The reduction of the disregard means that i am if my calculations are correct going to lose Ł1000 a year . Th rise in minimum wage wont affect me as i earn more than that on an hourly rate . Of course if I increase my hours to try and make up then I fall foul of the maximum hours rule for carers and lose Ł3600 and then more. Typical tories secret tax rises, and the poor taking a hit .

[MIKE770]

Re: Summer Budget 2015

and whilst they get away with it then it will go on and on - never learn the populus i.e. sit backs

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Summer Budget 2015

I wonder how many of those who voted for them are going to be affected by the budget one way or other. I bet some are already regretting their decision.

[Mr $quandaŁot]

Re: Summer Budget 2015

Flaming Parrot knows that I'm thinking about packing my bags and taking a ferry to the Continent and driving all the way to Finland.

Selling my car could be an easier solution though I doubt it has any value

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Summer Budget 2015

Flaming Parrot knows that I'm thinking about packing my bags and taking a ferry to the Continent and driving all the way to Finland.

Selling my car could be an easier solution though I doubt it has any value

I'd like to hear a different tune! :lalala::lalala::lalala:

[jon1965]

Re: Summer Budget 2015

Flaming Parrot knows that I'm thinking about packing my bags and taking a ferry to the Continent and driving all the way to Finland.

Selling my car could be an easier solution though I doubt it has any value

Well it will save the cost of deporting you if the idiots vote to leave the E.U. Doesn't Finland have a high cost of living?I know it's all relative but 29 euro an hour for a cleaner-how will you cope