Benefits - essential safety net or invitation to abuse? 11:58 - Sep 19 with 9489 views | saint901 | There's a report in the Times today claiming that 3.9m people are on sickness benefits in the UK. That is one in five of the working population in some ares of the country. Various nuances are identified as possible reasons for the increase in claims. Covid of course gets a mention. Cost of living increases as well on the grounds that some who have not previously bothered to claim, now do so to offset some costs. It is suggested also that this is a situation which other countries are not experiencing. Again, one possible reason put forward is that the level of unemployment support int he UK is lower than comparable European countries meaning people turn to sickness benefits. (This is the Times as well so there is a suggestion that this is a problem caused by or made worse by Labour being in power rather than something that has been going on and getting worse under a decade and more of Tory mismanagement.) Is this a problem we need to solve and how? | | | |  |
Benefits - essential safety net or invitation to abuse? on 14:48 - Sep 23 with 938 views | kentsouthampton | N/T. [Post edited 23 Sep 2024 14:49]
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Benefits - essential safety net or invitation to abuse? on 14:50 - Sep 23 with 933 views | kentsouthampton | There are crypto holders with bigger reserves than we held in gold, another noddy stuck in the past. | | |  |
Benefits - essential safety net or invitation to abuse? on 16:42 - Sep 23 with 864 views | Newdawn2014 | good idea re the gold . | | |  |
Benefits - essential safety net or invitation to abuse? on 16:52 - Sep 23 with 859 views | saint901 | I see the thread has morphed a little into a discussion on virtual wealth vs precious metals. I am not, never will be, an expert on crypto but I understand the concept to be that the value of the currency is not correlated to any particular economy, industry or anything material that we might traditionally regard as valuable. IN other words it's based on a fictional world of supply and demand. IN essence a parallel financial world which presumably can be manipulated by crypto providers but otherwise has not connection with - for example - industrial output or the cost of services or retail prices. If my attempt at a description is anywhere near correct (and I accept it may not be) then I think I'm of an age to consider this risky. If however I'm wrong, why can the Gov't not create a crypto currency and pay benefits in said currency to whatever level they like? | | |  |
Benefits - essential safety net or invitation to abuse? on 17:00 - Sep 23 with 849 views | kentsouthampton | They'd like to but the right wing press and reform/tory voters would have an aneurysm. | | |  |
Benefits - essential safety net or invitation to abuse? on 17:51 - Sep 23 with 815 views | Bazza | Certainly not true at the time and so irrelevant.You are the one trying to laud Brown So you are wrong again I’m afraid. | | |  |
Benefits - essential safety net or invitation to abuse? on 17:52 - Sep 23 with 813 views | 1885_SFC | Serious question : how much, in centimetres, of your tongue do you think you could thrust up Kier Starmer's ringpiece? | |
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Benefits - essential safety net or invitation to abuse? on 17:54 - Sep 23 with 810 views | Ifonly | Bitcoin, for example, has value because it is widely accepted as a "means of exchange" (money) and "store of value" (digital gold), similar to what gold was in prior centuries. Some of this acceptance may have a dubious origin (it is untraceable so is widely used in criminal activity and the black economy) but the fact remains that it is widely accepted and so has value. It's value is also underpinned by other factors e.g. there is only a certain amount will ever be "mined" (produced) so it is "scarce" and the fact that it can't be manipulated or forged due to the "blockchain" technology. A Govt could create its own crypto as you outline, but the economics of what you describe would be very different to bitcoin. Creating an endless supply of currency (to pay benefits in) is very different to the limited supply of bitcoin, so it would lose any value it had. It would also struggle to gain the acceptance of bitcoin because part of the attraction of bitcoin is that no government can trace it. However, many countries are considering introducing "Central Bank Digital Currencies" which are crypto versions of their national currencies and about 10 already exist. The value is fixed to the same as their national currency and a digital £ would be worth the same as a £ coin. For the UK, a decision might happen in 2025: https://news.sky.com/story/britcoin-digital-pound-decision-to-be-made-by-2025-12 | | |  |
Benefits - essential safety net or invitation to abuse? on 22:49 - Sep 23 with 734 views | kentsouthampton | I'm not a Labour supporter noddy. | | |  |
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