“We have six children,…”
“I think I was responsible.”
Then you think wrong. Having six children, whether you can afford to do so or not, is irresponsible. Over population is the biggest threat to mankind and will make “Global Warming” (or whatever it is currently called) seem like a walk in the park.
“We never took a penny from anybody.”
Didn’t get any Child Benefit, then? Current weekly rates for Child Benefit for a person with six children is £89.20 or £4,638 pa (tax free, natch). This is equivalent to all the tax and NI paid by someone earning £25,000 a year. I won’t go into Child Tax Credits or Working Tax Credits.
There is no doubt that there are people who, through no fault of their own, hit trouble and need help. That is what the benefit system should be for. But there is also no doubt that living on benefits (plus a bit of “cash in hand” casual work to “get a bit of money for Christmas”) is a lifestyle choice of large numbers of people. Working regularly for a living is simply not on their agenda. Yet they roam round towns with their mobile phones clutched in their hands, they frequent coffee shops, bookies and pubs, they lead the life they believe they are entitled to lead. Unlike those in work, when deciding whether or not to have more children, financial considerations are not a concern for them as their income is adjusted accordingly and very often larger accommodation is provided as necessary. There are large numbers of such people, not just the few you would have us believe.
It is unfortunate that the activities of these people make the pot of money available for those in genuine need smaller. But it is clearly unsustainable to continue to dole out ever increasing sums of money to people who will not make any contribution. The “austerity” being complained of is a manifestation of that unsustainability and to continue to blame events of ten or eleven years ago is disingenuous.