Should the dole be cut by 10% for the newly unemployed? Should child benefit be cut by 10% for newborns? Should the old-age pension be reduced by 10% for those who are yet to begin claiming it?

There is a huge gap between what the state takes in and what it spends and this year's budget will have to make a significant dent in it. One of the strategies used in recent years has been to cut the pay of new entrants to the public service by 10%. Why not extend this to new social welfare claimants, to new-borm children and to the newly retired? Other allowances could be cut too - the back-to-school allowance should be cut by 10% for children who are just about to attend school. The free-travel for pensioners could be cut back to 90% free for new pensioners.

The advantages of such a tactic is that there are no "victims" - there is no-one who can turn around and say "my income has been cut".

But is such a strategy correct? Is it not against the concept of a nation to discriminate against the young in such a way? If wages, social welfare or other benefits have to be cut should they not be cut for all equally?

Very misleading thread title. I thought you had received some leak from Government at first!

There should be cuts across the board if there are going to be welfare cuts.

No No No. Means-test the lot.

Everyone can be entitled to child benefit, but if the household income is over a certain level, tax it at X amount or if it goes beyond another level, tax it at Y amount.

10% is too much

No.

You can't really say there would be none who could claim that their income had been cut - take, for example, a person already retired on a small occupational pension. That person will have already factored in the present OAP rates when deciding to retire.

i say no to cuts.

Originally Posted by Alara

Why suggest a cut for only new claimants?

Read the OP!

Originally Posted by Alara

Why suggest a cut for only new claimants?

So there won't be a mass revolution in the country.

By cutting new claimants by 10% you're shafting the proletariat by stealth and they won't protest that much thanks to our pravda style media.