Parenthood - The New Rock & Roll
My parents brought me up well and without a huge fuss. They didn't have special parking spaces at the supermarket, they didn't have tax credits when my mum was only working part time and they certainly didn't have any super-cool celebrity parents to model themselves on.
So what makes the current batch of parents so special?
Why do they think that those that don't have young children 'can't possibly understand' their situation?
What are they doing that my parents weren't and why are they deemed so important?
Has this idea of flexible working hours been thought out fully?
It will mean that even if you're in the armed forces or emergency services you can put the job you chose and get paid to do on hold whilst you pick up your children from school or change their nappy. Of course some of them already have.
I don't think this goes far enough. Convicted criminals with children should be given flexible sentances, of course some of them already have too.*
Surely any employment scheme that is only for employees with children discriminates against those without them?
You choose to have children (my wife and I will probably start a family in a few years time) why should everyone else have to suffer to help you cope with your choice?
*Lisa Harvey was jailed for stealing over 100,000 items of mail earlier this year but was released from prison early to give birth to her baby (That she would have conceived after the trial date was set). I'd normally insert a link but I can't find one. It was on Spotlight - the BBC local news programme for the South-West but it isn't on the BBC website.
posted by Phill @ 4:51 pm
3 comments
3 Comments:
they didn't have tax credits when my mum was only working part time
True, but they did have the Married Couple's tax allowance and MIRAS (that's mortgage interest relief to you) - both of which were hugely beneficial, but both were first drastically reduced and then abolished by the Major government.
Fair enough.
I don't know, I was just a kid.
To be honest, I thought I was stretching it with the tax credits scheme (Which isn't just for parents anyway) but I wanted another example.
I just don't like the way that so many neo-parents expect everyone else to bend over backwards for them. They aren't doing anything that their parents didn't do for them.
And no I don't think all new parents are like it. In fact I get the distinct impression that those who aren't are more pissed off with the lazy whingers than I am. Am I right?
I'm not entirely sure I agree, if the tax system didn't start at such a ridiculously low income threshold, a lot of these people wouldn't be paying any tax to get credited back with, if you know what I mean...
UKIP have just yesterday released some VERY radical tax proposals - personal allowance of £9000, flat rate of 33%. They haven't got a cat in hell's chance of getting in, but it might just start the debate...
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