Interest on Crisis Loans

[Fullyplumped]

The Violent Panda speaks the truth. While graduated in-work benefits, including tax credits, really do help people in poverty, they are also a state subsidy to let employers pay low wages and landlords and houe sellers maintain artificially high rents and prices. This was observed right back when Family Income Supplement was introduced by Harold Wilson's first government. There is a case for a subsidy of the kind Zachor mentions, but only for a few weeks until the first pay packet has been received, and the benefits system already provides for this up to a piont.

 

[scifisam]

I'm not signing on ATM and won't as I am a homeowner and find that I can make more doing a day or two fiddle per week than I would ever get off the dole, I have been told I am NOT eligible for Tax credits as I have no children ( if I did, they would HAVE to live with me to qualify).

BTW, after enquiries I found out that I would not be entitled to ANYTHING until I had been signing on for 6 weeks and NO help with my mortgage until 13 weeks had passed.

One or two days legit work in that time ( which sometimes happens in my line of work ) makes the whole process start over again.

What the fuck good is that?

Here:

Working Tax Credit is for people who are employed or self-employed (either on their own or in a partnership), who

* usually work 16 hours or more a week
* are paid for that work, and
* expect to work for at least 4 weeks

and who are

* aged 16 or over and responsible for at least one child, or
* aged 16 or over and disabled, or
* aged 25 or over and usually work at least 30 hours a week

Personally I think it's shit that childless people have to be over 25 to get any help unless they have a disability, but, all the same, it's not true to say that WTC is only for people with children.

I've no idea why you wouldn't be entitled to anything at all - JSA-wise - until ater 6 weeks. That really makes no sense at all. Did they mean it would take that long for the benefits to come through? (Not sure about the mortgage payments, though, as I've never had to deal with that).

 

[scifisam]

The practical answer is to have a graduated benefit system where for example you can earn up to 18k but still get some housing benefit. The amount of benefit you get would go down in proportion to your rise in earned income so for example earn 10k or less for 30hrs get 100% benefit dropping to 10% at the upper end.

Once again, if you're working you can get housing benefit, though I'm not sure what the upper income limit is.