Benefits for the Young

The petition is entitled Make Benefits Fairer to Young Single People and the explanatory notes say

"Stop unfairly favouring those with children in the benefits system. They choose to have children, and should not do so if they can't afford them. Stop increasing payments of benefits for 3rd and subsequent children. The world is overpopulated. Large families are a luxury, not a right. A woman with 5 children can get the equivalent of a £35,000 salary, when some single young people who work have to survive on £11,000 and repay student debts. Make rates of all benefits the same for those aged 18-24 as for over-25s; why is someone under 25 not entitled to the same standard of living? When calculating benefit entitlement, assume anyone over 18 does not wish to live with their parents - many young people can't afford to move out, and the state does not help them but happily saves on benefits at the expense of ordinary, hardworking parents. Introduce low-interest loans to assist young people on low incomes to pay for a deposit on accommodation."

For whom do you think child benefits are? Who is intended to benefit from these benefits? The key is in the name - the children.

I quite agree with the bit about those between 18 and 24 getting less benefit than over-25s, by the way - that's quite insane. And the "low-interest loans" to assist young people finding accommodation I'm ambivalent about.

But I really, really, really don't like the petitioner's assumption that innocent children should be penalised because their parents chose to have them ...