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five Gumbies, five bedrooms, right?
Apr. 3rd, 2013 09:30 amMore commentary on the Tories' proposed "balance the budget on the backs of the poor" legislation. In case anyone has missed the "bedroom tax" madness, what it boils down to is this:
the one small detail being that
So, in a modern version of Morton's Fork, those single people who are already so poor that they need help paying for a place to live must either move to a smaller space (which fewer than half of them will be able to do) or see their assistance cut.
Because, as we all know, it's the benefits received by the needy that government always overspends on, not tax breaks to corporations, salaries to senior leaders, sweetheart no-bid deals with contractors, or big-ticket defense items.
As a sidelight, confirmation of what I've always suspected: that far fewer Brits rent than do Americans. One of the sites mentioned in the article says that, in the UK, "over nine million people now [rent] their home from a private landlord". That means that roughly 15% of UK residents live in rented accommodation. According to the National Multi Housing Council, 32% of Americans live in rented housing. Not only are more Britons going to be looking for smaller places to live because of this ridiculous law, but there is a much smaller market in the UK to begin with for rental housing.
people in social housing with one spare bedroom will have their housing benefit cut by 14%, while those with two or more unoccupied rooms will see it slashed by 25%.
the one small detail being that
while [surveys suggest that] there are currently 180,000 households that are "underoccupying two-bedroom homes", there are far fewer smaller properties in the social housing sector available to move into. Last year only 85,000 one-bedroom homes became available.
So, in a modern version of Morton's Fork, those single people who are already so poor that they need help paying for a place to live must either move to a smaller space (which fewer than half of them will be able to do) or see their assistance cut.
Because, as we all know, it's the benefits received by the needy that government always overspends on, not tax breaks to corporations, salaries to senior leaders, sweetheart no-bid deals with contractors, or big-ticket defense items.
As a sidelight, confirmation of what I've always suspected: that far fewer Brits rent than do Americans. One of the sites mentioned in the article says that, in the UK, "over nine million people now [rent] their home from a private landlord". That means that roughly 15% of UK residents live in rented accommodation. According to the National Multi Housing Council, 32% of Americans live in rented housing. Not only are more Britons going to be looking for smaller places to live because of this ridiculous law, but there is a much smaller market in the UK to begin with for rental housing.
