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bedroom tax gets 1 in 10 off benefits

(7 Posts)
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MamaCaz Mon 21-Oct-13 16:11:52

Todays Daily Mail: "Bedroom tax: 1 in 10 come off benefits after losing subsidy ... the move encouraged thousands of people to find a job. As a result they no longer require any state support - delivering a huge saving for the taxpayer"

It goes on to quote Tory councillor Harry Phibbs, saying:"Before this change it wasn't rewarding for people to work, ... This is giving people a reward for working - they are able to stay in their own home rather than downsizing into a smaller home."

Why does that annoy me?
Because it totally ignores the fact that the vast majority of those were already working. Even the DWP had estimated that they would account for a 7% fall in numbers claiming housing benefit. They were only in receipt of a small amount of housing benefit, which has now been completely wiped away by the bedroom tax.

So tell me - how exactly are those people better off? Quite the opposite as far as I can see. So that's a reward for working, is it?

Still, shouldn't be surprised that the Tories (who I have been known to vote for in the past!) struggle with the meaning of "better off", having seen how they've struggled with the definition of words like "spare", "bedroom" and "affordable".

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simtib Mon 21-Oct-13 16:31:34

I think we have to take into account that this is from the Daily Mail, which does sometimes have problems with the truth, especially if it gets in the way of a good story.

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JessM Mon 21-Oct-13 16:34:19

quite. Lies, damn lies and Mail journalism.

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gettingonabit Mon 21-Oct-13 16:37:13

I can't help thinking that the bedroom tax is a ruse to distract from the real issue; that of huge amounts of taxpayers' money being used to subsidise low wages. I'm talking about child tax credits and the like.

It's a scandal. No-one wants to talk about it, yet supermarkets and the like are getting away with it on a massive scale. With Tories being hand in glove with big business there is no incentive to tackle it, leaving the Bedroom Tax to grab the headlines.

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MamaCaz Mon 21-Oct-13 16:45:57

But they were also quoting a Tory councillor, and he was the one who said about this rewarding people for working!

Credit given where credit due - the DM also made a very true statement within the article. As I no longer have the paper in front of me I can not be sure that I am quoting word for word, but this was the gist of it: "any suggestion that the policy is getting families back into work is a big boost for the Government".

How true! They (either DM or Gov) "suggest" it is happening, and the general public are only too happy to believe it. Yes, a huge boost for the Government, even if the "suggestion" is in reality poles apart from reality!

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Iam64 Mon 21-Oct-13 19:03:46

Who needs spin doctors when the Daily Wail is on your side? Gettinonabit is right about low wages. I wish the Wail would do an article pointing out the tax payers are subsidising multi nationals by allowing them to pay the minimum wage forcing so many people to be claiming tax credit, housing benefit etc. A living wage would be so much better, though still very hard work for people on low incomes.

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absent Mon 21-Oct-13 19:14:16

It is not simply the transnational companies that benefit indirectly from government subsidies in the form of such things as family tax credits, it is also the CEOs and others at the top of the totem pole. It is not unusual for them to receive 40% increases on an already substantial salary while pleading "hard times" and "difficult decisions" for the rest of the workforce.

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