Parents Against Cutbacks

doilie

Hi everyone,

I'm delighted to say that the mammies of this country are completely fed up with Govt attacking our children:
Cuts in education. Attacking child benefit and not to mention the other cuts that impact on family life.

A group of mammies against cutbacks has just been formed through a website called eumom.com/ie and one of the girls has put the group up on facebook.

We'd be delighted if you could lend your support by joining the group and spreading the word. There is talk about getting in touch with ICTU to join forces - but we need to grow our numbers before being taken seriously.
Parents and teachers should stand shoulder to shoulder on any action.
Please sign up!!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=55200302786

astrofool

Avoid pairing yourselves with the unions at all costs, it will make the group seem extremely left wing, when the chances are the people you represent will be generally right wing.

I'd also look at proposing other ways to save money rather than "tax someone else". Teaching needs a large overhaul, the awful teachers whose students consistently do badly and have tenure need to be made sackable again, and it has to be more attractive to graduates, and be more open to taking these people on. I think it was mentioned that the cuts in education could be reversed if the teacher's didn't take a pay rise?

foxylady5160

Tax me fine, charge me 1% levy fine. But take my childrens allowance and thats another kettle of fish. I'm a working mother just back from maternity leave. I'm lost all faith in the fat cats and were do you draw the line. I mean I have to come up with dosh to pay the ridculous overpriced creche. Why can't we not just get a tax credit to use against the fees its done in UK. I mean its like going back to the mid 1900's when we had to give up our jobs once we got married.I mean wonderful mothers even working a few loosy hours and being penalised. To say the least we are the back bone to this country and we all depend on the allowances. We all have our tales to tell and our changing roles from mother to breadwinner, its getting to the point of heartbreaking. The childrens' allowance means more than money, its deserving benefit for wonderful mothers role playing from bookkeeper, to peacemakers, to carer etc.

To us ladies- I wish you all a Happy Mother's Day tomorrow. I'm holding the fort for you, working on Mother's Day.

SarahMc

foxylady5160 wrote: »

I mean I have to come up with dosh to pay the ridculous overpriced creche

The creche is a small business struggling to survive like other small businesses.

foxylady5160 wrote: »

Why can't we not just get a tax credit to use against the fees its done in UK.

Because that would be grossly unfair to parents who work within the home.

foxylady5160 wrote: »

we all depend on the allowances....The childrens' allowance means more than money, its deserving benefit for wonderful mothers role playing from bookkeeper, to peacemakers, to carer etc.

Not ALL people depend on the allowance, as a universal payment it is paid to people who do NOT depend on it, and often goes directly into a savings account.

Also Children's Allowance is/was an anti-poverty measure, meant to keep children out of poverty, not a reward to mothers.

foxy06

Sarah I know very few people who can afford to put their childrens allowance into a savings account and like most parents I use it to by clothes and shoes and pay for school fees/outings and when I'm stuck for money for food or get horrendous gas or electricity bills like I have been doing lately.

I also don't see how a tax credit system is 'grossly unfair' to mothers working in the home as you obviously wouldn't have childcare expenses then??!! A tax credit is not a payment its used against tax that you would have been paying through PAYE.

I for one think this group is a great idea because so far I have been getting screwed by this government when all I have been doing is working hard and getting less and less money every week.

dolliemix

Yeah the group is a great idea but you'll be going nowhere with your -'WE are the backbone of society" view which will be perceived as - we are more important than anyone else!

killwill

Hi FoxyLady, I would just like to point out that the children's allowance is not for mothers. It is for the children.

GusGus

doilie wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I'm delighted to say that the mammies of this country are completely fed up with Govt attacking our children:
Cuts in education. Attacking child benefit and not to mention the other cuts that impact on family life.

A group of mammies against cutbacks has just been formed through a website called eumom.com/ie and one of the girls has put the group up on facebook.

We'd be delighted if you could lend your support by joining the group and spreading the word. There is talk about getting in touch with ICTU to join forces - but we need to grow our numbers before being taken seriously.
Parents and teachers should stand shoulder to shoulder on any action.
Please sign up!!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=55200302786

Ok i know that you will not be happy about this but is it not time that people became somewhat realistic about the actual situation we are in. Yes all cutbacks are bad but where do you expect the money to actually come from to pay for all the services you want. People want allowances and services but no one is actualy prepared to pay for them . Its simply not good enough to blame the bankers and say tax the rich as popular as that may be. \it simply will not bring in the money to pay for children's allowance and all the education supports that you want.

And i wont get into the issue of why we should have to pay children's allowance to the rich or free education for rich.

So in essence instead of protesting about keeping services why not set up a forum on ways that you could pay for all these services that we currently have. Its easy to protest but harder to to actually stand up and make tough decisions........

foxy06

I understand that cutbacks are needed but I lost my day job because of this recession. I have been lucky enough to get more hours in my waitressing night job but now seem to be paying ridiculous amounts of tax. My husband is public sector and so he has been hit also and I have a child under five who has lost sna's in his school and I have also lost his under 6 childcare supplement as it is now under 5's and that payment is getting cut every few months anyway. My son has a heart murmur that wont be checked for over a year (even though there is a family history of heart defects). These are services that I am supposed to be loosing money to protect??

These are payments that I always thought of as an extra few bob but at the moment they are payments that I am using to make ends meet. Things are getting really tight in our house and I don't know any family with young children that is not feeling the pinch at the moment.

I really feel that the average working class family is what is getting hit with all these cuts and not the people who have caused this problem in the first place!

I also think people commenting on the childrens allowance should state whether they actually have children or not and if they do can they afford to do without it? It would make it clearer to see why they have certain opinions.



Edit: Sorry for the rant I'm just so sick of this country at the moment....

ntlbell

foxy06 wrote: »

I also think people commenting on the childrens allowance should state whether they actually have children or not and if they do can they afford to do without it? It would make it clearer to see why they have certain opinions.



Edit: Sorry for the rant I'm just so sick of this country at the moment....

I have a real problem with this attitude. "do you even have kids" you don't need to have kids to have an opinion, please try and avoid bringing this into your argument.

I DO have kids and I agree with previous posters.

people need to get a grip and lose this sense of entitlement that's become common place.

It's not a pat on the back because shock horror you look after your own kids it was an anti-poverty measure.

I find it very hard to see how a familiy with two incomes could be on the poverty line?

Do you own a home? cars? go on holidays?

answers i'd like to see rather than "do you even have kids?"

what we need is reform of the CA with stringent means testing.

familiys who are on the poverty line and vant put food on the table or clothes on the childs back these are the people that need help.

foxy06

If you read what I wrote properly you will see that I asked for people to say whether they are parents or not and do they feel they can afford to be without it or not. I did not say they don't have an opinion but sure I can giv out all sorts about a restaurant or a shop but if Ive never been in the shop or restaurant then I don't REALLY know what its like do I?

I have an 03 Nissan Almera that I have had for 3 years. I am spending 400 euro on a 2 night break in england this year as a holiday I pay rent on my house and I only have a small income as like I said I am only a waitress now PART TIME (I lost my day job) and my husband has had his wages reduced so all in all I am down about a grand a month so If you think that I am wrong in feeling that I have been hard done by then you really haven't a clue.

I don't think I am entitled to anything I don't earn but now that they are taking away a lot of what my family earns why should I not be pissed off that there is talk about taking childrens allowance away or reducing it and reducing the amount of teachers in schools?? It's families that are getting hit ALL the time!

dolliemix

foxy06 wrote: »

If you read what I wrote properly you will see that I asked for people to say whether they are parents or not and do they feel they can afford to be without it or not. I did not say they don't have an opinion but sure I can giv out all sorts about a restaurant or a shop but if Ive never been in the shop or restaurant then I don't REALLY know what its like do I?


No but actually taxpayers are taxpayers regardless of whether they have children or not. It is their money (even the childless ones!:eek: ) that is contributing towards children's allowance. So like ntlbell says it shouldn't make a difference to an arguemnet.

I'm not saying whether I'm a parent or not in protest!

ntlbell

foxy06 wrote: »

If you read what I wrote properly you will see that I asked for people to say whether they are parents or not and do they feel they can afford to be without it or not. I did not say they don't have an opinion but sure I can giv out all sorts about a restaurant or a shop but if Ive never been in the shop or restaurant then I don't REALLY know what its like do I?

I have an 03 Nissan Almera that I have had for 3 years. I am spending 400 euro on a 2 night break in england this year as a holiday I pay rent on my house and I only have a small income as like I said I am only a waitress now PART TIME (I lost my day job) and my husband has had his wages reduced so all in all I am down about a grand a month so If you think that I am wrong in feeling that I have been hard done by then you really haven't a clue.

I don't think I am entitled to anything I don't earn but now that they are taking away a lot of what my family earns why should I not be pissed off that there is talk about taking childrens allowance away or reducing it and reducing the amount of teachers in schools?? It's families that are getting hit ALL the time!

I don't think your being hard done by at all, it's bad times for everyone and we ALL have to pay a bit more to try and get back on track.

if you're not happy with that your more than welcome to go to any other EU country and see if they will give you a bit more?

in my opinion there is far too many tax breaks and hand outs in this country and a lot of them don't need it.

anyone who can spend 400e to go away for two days does not need hand outs from the government IMO.

we all pay into a pot and people who DON'T have kids are paying into a pot so you can have your monthly allowance is that fair? it's what we sign up to by being a citizen of this country

we have one of the lowest rates of tax in the world.
now we can't afford it so things have to change

there's nothing more to it and all the whining and groups setup in the country wont change the problems we're in

foxy06

ah yeah sure it's a wonderful idea that they give us all these handouts when we dont really need it and then when we are all ****ed they say "well sorry we are just taking that back off you now" and so the 400 euro holiday i was splurging on should probably be cancelled.....

anyone who can spend 400e to go away for two days does not need hand outs from the government IMO.

This statement just takes the biscuit. I am not entitled to childrens allowance because I spend 400 euro a year on recreation........yet the people who caused this can have 4 grand holidays and mercs and fancy houses....get a grip...you obviously have not been affected by this at all.

ntlbell

foxy06 wrote: »

ah yeah sure it's a wonderful idea that they give us all these handouts when we dont really need it and then when we are all ****ed they say "well sorry we are just taking that back off you now" and so the 400 euro holiday i was splurging on should probably be cancelled.....



This statement just takes the biscuit. I am not entitled to childrens allowance because I spend 400 euro a year on recreation........yet the people who caused this can have 4 grand holidays and mercs and fancy houses....get a grip...you obviously have not been affected by this at all.

No they reduced taxes etc because we had high employment and WE as a country could afford to give OURSELVES a bit of a break your parents might remeber paying 50p in every pound they earned not so long ago because we had high unemployment and WE couldn't afford it.

if CA means as much to you as your showing then yes I would seriously consider cancelling any holidays.

you're not _not_ entilted to it because you're going on a 400e holiday, my opinion would be you're not entitled to it because you have two incomes coming into the home and can AFFORD to go on a holiday

who should get CA is people who have to figure out if they can afford to buy their kids shoes so they can go to school or putting food in the childs mouth these are the people who should be looked after FIRST.

then we look at everyone else

you can afford the rent on your house
you own a car
you can go on holidays

this is someone who is no where near the poverty line

foxy06

I bought the car 3 years ago

I paid for the holiday.....yes all 400 euro of it.....before things got really bad

I am struggling to pay my rent

I have a grand less this month than I had 2 months ago and will have even less next month

I LOST MY JOB!!! I work min wage as a waitress now PART TIME.

I have bills to pay and loans to repay that I took out BEFORE I lost my job.

Are you getting a clearer picture now??????

ntlbell

foxy06 wrote: »

I bought the car 3 years ago

I paid for the holiday.....yes all 400 euro of it.....before things got really bad

I am struggling to pay my rent

I have a grand less this month than I had 2 months ago and will have even less next month

I LOST MY JOB!!! I work min wage as a waitress now PART TIME.

I have bills to pay and loans to repay that I took out BEFORE I lost my job.

Are you getting a clearer picture now??????

It's crystal clear.

and your doing a lot better than a vast majority of people in the country.

foxy06

And you make me laugh...like I said, get a grip and come back to this when you have been affected by the recession.

ntlbell

foxy06 wrote: »

And you make me laugh...like I said, get a grip and come back to this when you have been affected by the recession.

what makes you think I haven't?

As I said if two jobs in a home one being a public service job that's pretty much very secure, and you have a job, you're in a very good position.

a better position than the 340k that have no job.

better than the 1500 people that are getting let go every day.

It looks like some need a serious reality check.

foxy06

I know people on the dole that have more disposable income than me ( I know there are people worse off than me also) and I doubt you have been affected because you are obviously finding it very easy to be clueless. I have been let go like I said several times. Yeah there are people worse off than me but you don't know my circumstances and I am finding it very tough at the moment as you would if your income was reduced so drastically. Please feel free to tell me your sob story though......if you have one

ntlbell

foxy06 wrote: »

I know people on the dole that have more disposable income than me ( I know there are people worse off than me also) and I doubt you have been affected because you are obviously finding it very easy to be clueless. I have been let go like I said several times. Yeah there are people worse off than me but you don't know my circumstances and I am finding it very tough at the moment as you would if your income was reduced so drastically. Please feel free to tell me your sob story though......if you have one

You were let go, but you NOW have work.
your partner has a very SECURE job.

Maybe they have more disposable income because you were living beyond your means with your loans? I don't know, most people i know on the dole have no disposable income have kids to look after have mortgages to pay etc? I don't see what it has to do with the situation tho?

I have no sob story.

I was very careful over the last 10 years, I have a 10yr old car bought with cash, no loans no credit card bills because I have always lived within my means.

Myself and my partner have taken hits to our income, we won't be having a holiday this year (smallest violin in the world)

but i understand we have to share the load along with everyone else.
You seem to have this inkling that I begrudge you your CA, I don't, I just feel it needs to be looked into and distributed more evenly to those who need it more than others.

I don't think that's too much to ask is it?

dolliemix

foxy06 wrote: »

ah yeah sure it's a wonderful idea that they give us all these handouts when we dont really need it and then when we are all ****ed they say "well sorry we are just taking that back off you now" and so the 400 euro holiday i was splurging on should probably be cancelled.....



This statement just takes the biscuit. I am not entitled to childrens allowance because I spend 400 euro a year on recreation........yet the people who caused this can have 4 grand holidays and mercs and fancy houses....get a grip...you obviously have not been affected by this at all.

Foxy - everybody has been affected by the recession! You need to look at whole picture not just your case. I do agree with NTlbell that a two night trip away for 400 euro is a luxury that most people can't afford. Can you not see this?

foxy06

Maybe you should read the rest of the thread...I paid for that before circumstances changed. I am only worried about myself right now. I am worried about my familys future and my husbands job may be secure but his wages are not. If we were both on the dole getting rent allowance and other supplements we would be better off....You don't know my situation and neither does anyone on this thread. All I know is that families are the ones getting hit in this recession not the people that can afford cutbacks.

ntlbell

foxy06 wrote: »

Maybe you should read the rest of the thread...I paid for that before circumstances changed. I am only worried about myself right now. I am worried about my familys future and my husbands job may be secure but his wages are not. If we were both on the dole getting rent allowance and other supplements we would be better off....You don't know my situation and neither does anyone on this thread. All I know is that families are the ones getting hit in this recession not the people that can afford cutbacks.

your always welcome to go on the dole.

I think you'll find thats going to be hit this april too, and you might find your not too well off on it.

e.g. your husband won't be getting the big pension from the dole.

etc etc

the reality is often different.

foxy06

A pension is no good to us now though is it? Won't have that luxury for about 25 years.

ntlbell

foxy06 wrote: »

A pension is no good to us now though is it? Won't have that luxury for about 25 years.

and you'd never get it on the dole?

so your better off?

foxy06

Yeah can't wait.....25 years....only around the corner:rolleyes:

ntlbell

foxy06 wrote: »

Yeah can't wait.....25 years....only around the corner:rolleyes:

Irrelevant, you won't get it if your on the dole.

and we're going around in circles.

foxy06

Your right. There is no real argument here. I get pissed off as much as the next person when people look for handouts they don't really need (my brother for instance never worked a day in his life is now 24 and claiming the dole and buying flat screen tv's and sound systems). I never REALLY needed the CA before but since last nov things have gotten tougher on a monthly basis and I have had to keep looking at my household budget. The CA has gone from a luxury to an essential. Every month when the wages kept going down more and more of the CA was being allocated to gas and ESB bills and other household essentials. In times like these how can they expect to kick start the economy when people are being pushed further and further into hardship.

ntlbell

foxy06 wrote: »

Your right. There is no real argument here. I get pissed off as much as the next person when people look for handouts they don't really need (my brother for instance never worked a day in his life is now 24 and claiming the dole and buying flat screen tv's and sound systems). I never REALLY needed the CA before but since last nov things have gotten tougher on a monthly basis and I have had to keep looking at my household budget. The CA has gone from a luxury to an essential. Every month when the wages kept going down more and more of the CA was being allocated to gas and ESB bills and other household essentials. In times like these how can they expect to kick start the economy when people are being pushed further and further into hardship.

You seem to have a hard time with understanding that we can't afford all these hand outs so something has to give, taxes will go up as we have very low taxes right now.

social welfare will have to come down as the fund we had to pay it out is now running out (there's only a few months payments left at current levels) unemployment is growing at an unprecedented level, so before we go kick starting anything we need plug the hole before it gets so big we won't be able to get out of it

this means cut backs, everyone's peeved about it but we have to face up to the facts that the country is in serious serious trouble and we will all have to face up to some hardship.

nesf

foxy06 wrote: »

A pension is no good to us now though is it? Won't have that luxury for about 25 years.

Attitudes like this are exactly why pension provision in this country by people for themselves is so woefully inadequate.