willman   10 #49 Posted November 17, 2007 the irony may be lost - but society seems to want to know what those in power do with their cash and where it comes from. why should a MP have to be transparent about salaries etc and no one else has to be? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
StarSparkle   10 #50 Posted November 17, 2007 No you don't, nor should you. What benefit I might be on or not on is none of your business - and if you want to persist with childishly selfish attitude that it's your money, it's not your money - it's everybodies money.   For once I completely and utterly agree with Halibut  Money you pay in taxes is NOT YOUR MONEY  StarSparkle Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
liberty boy   10 #51 Posted November 17, 2007 Sorry i haven't read the foregoing discussion. But what I would say is that capacity benefit recipents include those people with mental problems. I understand the public concern about benefits going to people who may be undeserving but we can't really open to public information the personal circumstances of someone's pyschiatric disorder. Often times the receipt of benefits hinges on the support of the psychiatrist who must make his discision based on his assessment of the patient. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Mo   10 #52 Posted November 17, 2007 Why should anyone (and everyone) have access to an individual's social security benefits via publicly accessible information via a library and/or internet? This is tantamount to advocating a Snooper's Charter.  If anyone has reasonable grounds for suspecting that someone is making a fraudulent benefit claim, they need only inform the relevant agency for an investigation to be made.  I think that this thread is an interesting one to debate and haven't quite made my mind up yet on it.  Do I take it then Red that as a public representative, you don't agree with us all knowing how much you claim? That information and that of our MP's is freely available so whats the difference there then? Your income, your business??? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Heyesey   11 #53 Posted November 17, 2007 For once I completely and utterly agree with Halibut Money you pay in taxes is NOT YOUR MONEY   More importantly, even if it is still "YOUR MONEY," there are ample reasons for not allowing you to know who is receiving it, regardless. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Sparkplug   10 #54 Posted November 17, 2007 Because it is public money, should all the information regarding the reason why a Social Security Benefit as been awarded to a claimant be publically available. Either through the pubic library or over the Internet to prevent fraudulent claims being awarded when claimed? And would a reward system, such as a gift of three or six months value of the benefit claimed fraudulently to those who report fraud claims be a better method of dealing with this, than the ' Cat and Mouse ' system of Social Security investigators, which is presently applied to deal with this matter at the moment. The problem is so vast that the under funded investigators aren’t even scratching at the surface. The welfare state is the government's biggest single expense out of our gross domestic product - it bleeds us all dry, and the taxpayer's money should be better guarded than letting wastrels steal it. Yes, benefits payments should be available for public scrutiny. It's the taxpayer's money, so the taxpayer should have the right to know who's taking it.  If a neighbour is suspected of cheating, people can check up and confirm that he or she is a claimant despite coming home every night and being dropped off from a decorator's van.  I'd go a stage further - all claimants should have to carry signs on their front doors saying that they don't work, so that those of us who pay for their existence can see which people contribute nothing to our society. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Rich   12 #55 Posted November 17, 2007 The problem is so vast that the under funded investigators aren’t even scratching at the surface. The welfare state is the government's biggest single expense out of our gross domestic product - it bleeds us all dry, and the taxpayer's money should be better guarded than letting wastrels steal it. Yes, benefits payments should be available for public scrutiny. It's the taxpayer's money, so the taxpayer should have the right to know who's taking it.  If a neighbour is suspected of cheating, people can check up and confirm that he or she is a claimant despite coming home every night and being dropped off from a decorator's van.  I'd go a stage further - all claimants should have to carry signs on their front doors saying that they don't work, so that those of us who pay for their existence can see which people contribute nothing to our society.  You = fail. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
delectable   10 #56 Posted November 17, 2007 For once I completely and utterly agree with Halibut Money you pay in taxes is NOT YOUR MONEY  StarSparkle  Gobsmackingly amazed to agree with you Starsparkle, Halibut is on this subject spot on it seems! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Sparkplug   10 #57 Posted November 17, 2007 No you don't, nor should you. What benefit I might be on or not on is none of your business - and if you want to persist with childishly selfish attitude that it's your money, it's not your money - it's everybodies money.What rubbish. The nation is paid for by the taxpayer. We pay for it, and the government is duty bound to serve the voters (who should only be the taxpayers in my view) by making best use of our taxes. The taxpayer should be entitled to know how taxes are used – on the whole, such information is available from central and local government.  I find it interesting that a benefit claimant (I assume???) sees other people’s hard-earned taxes as everybody’s money. He might see it differently if he were a giver rather than a taker. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Halibut   12 #58 Posted November 17, 2007 What rubbish. The nation is paid for by the taxpayer. We pay for it, and the government is duty bound to serve the voters (who should only be the taxpayers in my view) by making best use of our taxes. The taxpayer should be entitled to know how taxes are used – on the whole, such information is available from central and local government.  There's a world of difference between knowing how it's used and knowing who uses it - that £X million is spent on benefit payments is an interesting and useful thing to know; knowing how much money Mrs X over the road is getting and why is none of your business. I find it interesting that a benefit claimant (I assume???) sees other people’s hard-earned taxes as everybody’s money. He might see it differently if he were a giver rather than a taker.  I've paid approximately £120,000 pounds in income tax over the last twenty years, so I think it would be fair to say I've done my bit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
StarSparkle   10 #59 Posted November 17, 2007 The problem is so vast that the under funded investigators aren’t even scratching at the surface. The welfare state is the government's biggest single expense out of our gross domestic product - it bleeds us all dry, and the taxpayer's money should be better guarded than letting wastrels steal it. Yes, benefits payments should be available for public scrutiny. It's the taxpayer's money, so the taxpayer should have the right to know who's taking it.  If a neighbour is suspected of cheating, people can check up and confirm that he or she is a claimant despite coming home every night and being dropped off from a decorator's van.  I'd go a stage further - all claimants should have to carry signs on their front doors saying that they don't work, so that those of us who pay for their existence can see which people contribute nothing to our society.  You really are quite barking, aren't you?  StarSparkle Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
StarSparkle   10 #60 Posted November 17, 2007 Gobsmackingly amazed to agree with you Starsparkle, Halibut is on this subject spot on it seems!  It's not that unusual for people to agree with me!  StarSparkle Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...