We need to talk about benefits

George Osborne is quite right in saying that we need to have a debate on whether the state should be paying for those who clearly do not want to work. In seeking to ensure that children do not have to go to bed cold and hungry in modern Britain, we have created a situation where, instead, they are being used as income sources by the likes of Mike Philpott. Which is more damaging, Calton wonders? Children should be valued for themselves, not for the money they bring into the home, and some are still going to bed cold and hungry in 2013. Scrapping the subsidy for renewables which we are all paying through our fuel bills would be a good start to solving that particular problem, as would reducing fuel duty, which affects the price of nearly everything we buy in our supermarkets. Shifting the focus away from topping up the earnings of the low paid via tax credits to supporting businesses to pay a higher hourly rate would also help. The increase in the tax-free allowance to £10k is already helping to take many low-paid workers out of the tax system and Calton is very much in favour of it - one of the few things he agrees with the Westminster Libdems on. Work needs to pay and welfare should only be for those who really need it, not the work-shy.