Child benefit should be capped

[Ouija]

there is a point,better off families do not need child benefit.and the worse off do need it badly.

 

I can see the point in that for double income familes. But mine was one where my mother would have suffered badly without CB, as although my father earned plenty he gave her nothing! So until returning to work all she survived on was CB - which is why (afaik) the system began in the first place, with CB being paid directly to the mothers (who would be much more likely to be SAHMs then).

Child benefit is one of the few universal benefits (not subject to means testing) and I think it should be left alone regardless of the number of children in a family. However, I think that the means tested benefts do need an overhaul. For instance, working people are being taxed on anything they earn over £6k a year, but the government give it back in tax credits! Surely thats the really daft system.

 

I've always thought that a strange system and that raising the tax bracket and/or increasing min wage would be better.

[HeadingNorth]

Child Benefit should either be means tested

 

 

It was, once. The amount of money saved by not paying it to rich people was LESS than the amount of money spent on imposing the means-test. It was cheaper just to give it to everyone regardless. I don't know if that would still be true today.

 

 

The problem with barring child benefit for fourth, fifth ... children is that you're depriving the CHILD, who has done nothing immoral whatsoever. A system which penalises the PARENT who wilfully to chooses to have too many children, maybe. (Although, cue heated and vociferous arguments about how many children is too many, and what right anyone has to tell anyone else how many children they can have!) But you can't blame a child for being born, no matter how many siblings it may have.

[Magilla]

i think child benefit should be capped at 3 children, this country dosent have the infastructure to support more than 3 children, anymore and it should be the responsibility of the parents to support them not the goverment theres no need for football teams of kids,

 

Rather generous, I would say you should only get CB for the first child.

[Mathom]

What might happen if you start denying families the already pathetic amount of money they get for their children (who are blameless in this, remember)? People won't magically stop having babies, as people still have sex, still have accidents. So, the children would then either starve or be forced into crime or child labour to help get enough for the family to eat and pay bills. Which is exactly what happened in the UK before benefits were introduced.

 

Dunno, maybe we could put them all in homes to be fiddled with and beaten and used as slave labour as happened in Ireland, which was a country which denied single mums any benefits...

[Olewicz]

Rather generous, I would say you should only get CB for the first child.

 

So what happens if the mother gets pregnant again? Force her to have an abortion?

 

What happens if she has a second child? Refuse it benefit that it surely needs, and force it to live in poverty, because its parents were irresponsible?

[rich999]

i think child benefit should be capped at 3 children, this country dosent have the infastructure to support more than 3 children, anymore and it should be the responsibility of the parents to support them not the goverment theres no need for football teams of kids,

 

1 basic human right gone... welcome to china..

 

have more than 1 child in china and you have a few options.. kill it, sell it, abortion, pay a fine or if you cant pay a fine we take your house

 

nice world!!

[hels1977]

So what happens if the mother gets pregnant again? Force her to have an abortion?

 

What happens if she has a second child? Refuse it benefit that it surely needs, and force it to live in poverty, because its parents were irresponsible?

 

You're assuming that all CB directly benefits the child. If it did - I'd completely agree with you, however, I don't think it does in all cases.

[R.A.N.D]

i think child benefit should be capped at 3 children, this country dosent have the infastructure to support more than 3 children, anymore and it should be the responsibility of the parents to support them not the goverment theres no need for football teams of kids,

 

god you only just worked that out:D

[iansheff]

What about people like the woman in Ireland who just had 6? lol

[jeremyjh1]

The ethos behind child benefit is that as a collective the country should contribute to the well being and upkeep of all children to prevent child poverty which, in itself, is not only a drain on society, but has detrimental effects for future generations.

 

They (the children of today) are the leaders of tomorrow. They are the people who will pay for your pension in years to come (not to mention other benefits).

 

Money was/is always paid to the mother (on the assumption that the man [father] was untrustworthy and selfish - a terrible generalisation!).

 

As with all systems, those without morals, unscrupulous individuals abuse it, having children as a means to get more money for themselves - child benefit is one source of income related to children, there are more.

 

But, it is a supplement, not an income. Someone abusing the system could not 'live' on child benefit alone.

 

For me, I really don't understand it's relevance today, in relatively affluent times, but I am very happy to have it.

 

Should it be capped? Should we impose the same restrictions on having children as they do in China? And how many children would you effectively be telling a couple they are permitted to have before the state no longer recognises their offspring (but will happily take income tax and other tax's off them further on down the line)?