Unemployment and Benefits

[SDQ]

I think I once read that some long term unemployed people were moved to the disability section as a way of 'massaging' the unemployment figures. Considering how large parts of Wales are very rural & employment opportunities are scarce in certain areas this could be one possible reason.

[Fester]

I am aware that there are a large number of long-term unemployed people that are moved into a 'dormant' category, which means they still get unemployment benefit, but no longer need to even attend to sign on.... but those getting disability allowance are different.
They need to be certified medically as being unfit to work due to a disability.
This can range from blindness, to drug addiction...

But I just wondered why the figure was so much worse in Wales compared to the UK total.

[Ian]

It's an interesting one, and I suspect one contributing factor could be the coal mining claims.But there are a huge number of disability allowances of one sort or another:

Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
Attendance Allowance
Access to Work
Disability Premiums (Income Support)
Incapacity Benefit
Work Choice
Independent Living Fund
Blind Person's Allowance
Coal health compensation claims
Disabled Facilities Grants
Disabled Students' Allowances (DSAs)
Help if you have a disabled child
Personal Independence Payment
Reduced Earnings Allowance
Severe Disablement Allowance
Vaccine Damage Payment

Part of the problem has to be that the edifice of benefits has mutated with every new government, so few folk actually know all the benefits that can be claimed.  What's needed, of course, is the radical step of dismantling the entire structure completely, and staring again from scratch - not easy to do when you're trying hard to ensure no one in genuine need misses out.

I think the other issue has to be the type of disability and its effects. There are, for example, numerous stages of sight impairment, and it often surprises people to learn that most legally blind people can actually see, albeit to a limited extent. Physical disabilities (legs, backs, etc.) are even harder to assess, since our extremely well-paid GPs can rarely assess such conditions with any degree of accuracy and can, often, become a 'soft touch' for those seeking to register.

[Yorkie]

One thing that has always surprised me is the number of walking sticks that get left in shops, cafes, theatres etc. etc. that are supposedly required, or even a necessity, by their "disabled" owners!!!
 

[cygnusx-1]

I think the large number of Pensioners who retire to this area does not help... I bet the percentage on Penrhyn Beach Estate is way above 9.2%.

[Yorkie]

I'm absolutely surrounded by them!   

The reason for the high percentage of pensioners is because all that is being built are retirement flats and sheltered housing!   One only has to look around to see what has been (and is still being) built within Llandudno and surrounding area.  M & S have just started another large block on Gloddaeth Avenue, and there is more to come, no doubt!

There are also a large number of Nursing and Retirement Homes attracting the older generation.

[Kowalski]

If we put aside left and right wing for a moment, it's a fact that the National Debt is increasing by £446m EVERY DAY to fund Public Spending. How would you deal with it?

I'd be careful who you quote, that debt clock thing is brought to you by the Taxpayers' Alliance and the Taxpayers' Alliance "was founded in 2004 by "a group of "libertarian" Conservatives".

The "national debt problem" is hardly above left and right, it's the latest right wing justification for attacking the state.

[DaveR]

If we put aside left and right wing for a moment, it's a fact that the National Debt is increasing by £446m EVERY DAY to fund Public Spending. How would you deal with it?

I'd be careful who you quote, that debt clock thing is brought to you by the Taxpayers' Alliance and the Taxpayers' Alliance "was founded in 2004 by "a group of "libertarian" Conservatives".

The "national debt problem" is hardly above left and right, it's the latest right wing justification for attacking the state.

Yes, the National Debt is obviously a myth, although that right wing bastion, the Guardian, says the National Debt figure has increased by £59,000,000,000 so far this year.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/sep/21/uk-government-borrowing-record-august-high?newsfeed=true

[Fester]

Pensioners moving to Penryhn Bay (or anywhere else for that matter) is not the answer.

The vast majority of pensioners have always paid their way, and still do!
In fact every seaside town in England also attracts a large amount of retiring people... Eastbourne, Scarborough, Bournemouth, the list is endless... its not a Welsh phenomena.

No, we are looking here at people of working age... but cannot (or will not?) work due to a disability of some kind.

[Ian]

Yes, the National Debt is obviously a myth, although that right wing bastion, the Guardian, says the National Debt figure has increased by £59,000,000,000 so far this year.

Well, it's not a myth, exactly, although few people fully comprehend what it actually is. However, the Guardian also goes on to reveal what's causing the figure to remain stubbornly high:

With the UK mired in recession, benefit payments rose while key sources of income – such as corporation tax – fell. The public finances data show corporation tax since April was 10% lower than the same period last year. Overall tax receipts for the tax year to date inched up 0.4%, just a fraction of the 3.9% rise the Office for Budget Responsibility is forecasting for the year. The figures leave the Treasury's calculations in tatters and could force Osborne into an embarrassing climbdown at his autumn statement in December.

The emboldened bit is faintly ironic, of course;  were the big multi-nationals (and darlings of the right) like Starbucks paying their fair share, then we might not be in the mess we're supposedly in.  However, that we're trapped in a vicious circle of no lending - no expansion - no jobs - increasing benefits - lower tax income - no lending.... you get the idea - is beyond question, and the country is going nowhere. The cycle needs to be broken, and merely tinkering with benefits to appease the right wingers is never going to do the job. Since the ND is rising so much, it might be time for the government (as it almost certainly was when this mess started) to start a big programme of investment and job creation. Mainly, the sector that needs kick starting is the manual worker sector, which largely translates into increased capital building projects.  They could make a good start by demolishing then rebuilding Llandudno railway station, then reinstating beach defences on North Shore, followed by a complete make-over of Happy Valley and Haulfre Gardens. Okay - these are small beer compared to what's needed nationally, but repeated across the UK similar projects could provide lot of jobs, perhaps give a lot of long term unemployed a new sense of direction, improve the look and feel of our towns and cities and - the best bit for the government - reduce the benefit bill and increase tax incomes.

I think it's a shame Osborne stubbornly refuses to consider it as a strategy.

[Ian]

This makes interesting reading...

[Kowalski]

I wonder if tax avoidance and tax evasion has anything to do with the shortfall. Hmmmmm?

[Ian]

One reason the NHS hospital services are running out of cash is because most consultants choose to be paid as companies...

[Fester]

In the case of Starbucks (and other companies accused of tax avoidance)... surely, if a more lenient tax regime exists legally, to ensure that more cash stays in the business, then they would be derelict in their duty to shareholders not to pursue it.

If they paid more tax, then would their products not become more expensive, and wouldn't they be less likely to employ people?

As individuals and businesses, we are being taxed out of existence in this country, and it needs to stop.

[Ian]

In the case of Starbucks (and other companies accused of tax avoidance)... surely, if a more lenient tax regime exists legally, to ensure that more cash stays in the business, then they would be derelict in their duty to shareholders not to pursue it.

Well, you have to remember that they pay over VAT (collected on some sales) and Employers NIC, plus they add to the Treasury purse through employing a lot of people but, depending on which paper you read (hence never trusting the papers to really report correctly) they have paid either no Corporation Tax or a few hundred million in the past few years, much less per £ turnover than McDonalds. Additionally, due to a technical trick whereby the the US company takes 6% of every sale for using the name, that bit of profit gets transported back to the US.

If the figures are right HMRC should be taking a closer look at them but in a Global Financial Market some technicalities like this surely must happen.  However, the comparison with McDonalds does suggest that there is a degree of dubious morality involved and they should be paying more.

If they paid more tax, then would their products not become more expensive, and wouldn't they be less likely to employ people?

Possibly. But Capitalism as a system is supposed to allow for that. Many companies like McDonalds do pay their fair share of Corporation tax, yet manage to maintain low prices and full employment.

As individuals and businesses, we are being taxed out of existence in this country, and it needs to stop.

That's actually not correct.  Our taxes are broadly in line with the rest of Europe (the coalition raised VAT to bring us in line) and it's important to remember that we enjoy a 'free at point of entry' health services, for which most of the rest of the world pays through the nose.  However, one issue about high income tax is that research has shown for every penny by which income tax is increased, the black market increases by about the same amount, so net tax receipts don't change that much.   

As with the consultants in hospitals and many GPs and Dentists, who arrange their tax affairs so that they're paid as a limited company it's also important to remember that they do it because they can. If the government wants to stop that then they have to change the rules. It will always be a game of cat and mouse, with the mice learning every trick in the book to escape the cat.