Rachel Reeves

[Pompeyjack]

Perfectly chilled thanks. And no I don’t mind you asking.

, your funny mind . How old are you and do you have a private pension?

 

[exiledclaseboy]

, your funny mind . How old are you and do you have a private pension?

Yeah I’m hilarious. Im in my 50s and have a pension with my job. If your point is that I can afford to be blasé about the state pension because I won’t “need it” you’re barking up the wrong tree.

 

[Pompeyjack]

Yeah I’m hilarious. Im in my 50s and have a pension with my job. If your point is that I can afford to be blasé about the state pension because I won’t “need it” you’re barking up the wrong tree.

Not making any assumptions at all Exile . Thank you for sharing that information . Everybody's situation is different. I feel that I deserve any help that I can get from my pension when I retire. I see (and know) plenty of younger people than me claiming benefits (when they know they can work) which are far more than what pensioner's receive.

 

[exiledclaseboy]

Not making any assumptions at all Exile . Thank you for sharing that information . Everybody's situation is different. I feel that I deserve any help that I can get from my pension when I retire. I see (and know) plenty of younger people than me claiming benefits (when they know they can work) which are far more than what pensioner's receive.

I completely agree that everyone should receive a decent state pension that increases annually. Never suggested otherwise.

 

[MajorR]

Not making any assumptions at all Exile . Thank you for sharing that information . Everybody's situation is different. I feel that I deserve any help that I can get from my pension when I retire. I see (and know) plenty of younger people than me claiming benefits (when they know they can work) which are far more than what pensioner's receive.

There are some really good points being made and some brilliant suggestions about potential options to improve things, but I think that in addition to raising more revenue we need to look at cutting expenditure too.

The benefits bill has exploded over the last few years, different components of benefit have seen the number of people who are claiming increasing massively and that is something which needs to be looked at because it’s unsustainable. I’m all for supporting those what are unable to work, but supporting those who can’t be asked to work or who are playing the system is a different matter.

Are the disability thresholds set at the correct levels, are the applications scrutinised sufficiently and the system need to be reviewed? Over and above that, the 16 hour rule needs to be reviewed and we need to incentivise people to work. It can’t be right that people are better off on benefits than those who are holding down full time jobs.

The entire system needs a root and branch review.

 

[Pompeyjack]

I completely agree that everyone should receive a decent state pension that increases annually. Never suggested otherwise.

Brilliant

 

[Ringwood]

Fair play, I didn't know that . I also have a little soft spot for Celtic. Loved watching Johnny Hartson banging them in up there

I doubt very much 95% of posters on here have any interest in Scottish football never mind most supporting Celtic

 

[rockinj]

Haven’t seen any mention of NI above UEL being touched.

Never understand wh6 they don’t do that.

I think also btw they may tweak around VAT. Perhaps change some of the zero rate / 5% rate stuff rather than touch the 20%. Maybe also reduce the VAT threshold.

I would be tempted (absolutely no chance btw of this happening) of introducing a 1% VAT surcharge on online shopping with the exception of food. To start to address the Amazon issue.

I would be a bloody excellent chancellor

But that would just put costs onto businesses selling online. Amazon is fundamentally a market place.

The likelihood of something like that is higher impacts on smaller businesses with tighter margins.

 

[Pompeyjack]

There are some really good points being made and some brilliant suggestions about potential options to improve things, but I think that in addition to raising more revenue we need to look at cutting expenditure too.

The benefits bill has exploded over the last few years, different components of benefit have seen the number of people who are claiming increasing massively and that is something which needs to be looked at because it’s unsustainable. I’m all for supporting those what are unable to work, but supporting those who can’t be asked to work or who are playing the system is a different matter.

Are the disability thresholds set at the correct levels, are the applications scrutinised sufficiently and the system need to be reviewed? Over and above that, the 16 hour rule needs to be reviewed and we need to incentivise people to work. It can’t be right that people are better off on benefits than those who are holding down full time jobs.

The entire system needs a root and branch review.

I totally agree Major (I feel like Mervyn Hayes for saying that) The system is broken . Maybe the triple lock could only apply to pensioner's with no private pension (that would rule me out) and the rest get a rate of inflation increase? I'm not sure how much that would decrease the welfare bill.

 

[Pompeyjack]

I doubt very much 95% of posters on here have any interest in Scottish football never mind most supporting Celtic

Hi Ring are you following Falkirk and Dundee games this season, as "our boy's) are up there? And if you don't give a shit about who wins the Glasgow Derby then you must be in the 5% that Swanjax was talking about. Please don't burst his bubble .

 

[PenlanJack]

Couldn't give a monkeys about Scottish football, glorified pub league.. that's my two pence worth anyway

 

[Pompeyjack]

Thank you Wayne , I will try The Guardian too. I do like to read "both wings" so that I can get both interpretations of a story.

Hi Wayne , I've gone onto the Guardian website around 6 times over the last 2 days. I can honestly say that It hasn't helped. I find the links very amateurish (think Sunday sport) and also not very left wing. The political stories that I have read there are much the same as I would find on BBC and Daily Mail outlets. I will have a look again tomorrow

 

[rockinj]

Why does the ‘I’ never get a look in.

 

[Pompeyjack]

Why does the ‘I’ never get a look in.

Does I represent the news outlet? I'm looking for left leaning outlets. Does that fit the bill and more importantly, is it free?

 

[Londonlisa2001]

But that would just put costs onto businesses selling online. Amazon is fundamentally a market place.

The likelihood of something like that is higher impacts on smaller businesses with tighter margins.

Well it would and it wouldn’t.

Firstly Amazon in the Uk is about 50% Amazon itself and 50% Amazon marketplace (so smaller or larger companies selling using Amazon as a partner).

Secondly, every business selling online, however small or large, is enjoying significant cost saving over their bricks and mortar competitors. Obviously business rates, but also other costs of running the business - staffing levels are lower, energy bills are lower etc etc etc.

That’s why they can undercut the high street. So a small % tax uplift goes a tiny way to redressing the balance.

Also, importantly, VAT isn’t paid for by the business. It’s paid by the consumer and collected by the business on behalf of HMRC. So the business itself has no extra cost. Where the ‘cost’ does come in, is that if a business wants to keep prices the same (to avoid losing customers), they’d have to shave a little off their margin. So obviously, adding an extra £1 to an ex VAT cost to consumer of £100 means they’d have to reduce their margin by that £1 to compensate. (The full cost to consumer would remain at £120).
Very small companies would have no change as they wouldn’t be VAT registered anyway.

Same btw would apply to the other large online retailers / marketplaces - Next, Argos, M&S, John Lewis etc.