Vouchers not Cash

I dont like the idea of vouchers… if someone is receiving benefits it should be because they are entitled and they need them to survive…

To stigmatise people receiving them by issuing vouchers isn’t on as far as I’m concerned. They would only be able to use them in certain shops …and the admin costs would be astronomical. It could also be argued that issuing vouchers would make us all poorer because of lack of freedom where people can spend the vouchers and on what.

I know they use a voucher system in the USA all it has achieved is a thriving black market in vouchers and to further stigmatise people in need.

Issuing vouchers would just be tinkering… if people are claiming benefits that they are not entitled to… deal with that… dont make decent people who cannot find work right now suffer the stigma and possible humiliation for them and their families of shopping with vouchers.

They tried this when Asylum Seekers were all the rage. It was scrapped for all the reasons Panda mentioned. The vouchers weren’t for the cheapest supermarkets – shades of paying back political favours – vouchers couldn’t be used with discounts and cash couldn’t be given in change.

So queues were held up while items were exchanged down to the last penny, vouchers were used to buy mobile phones and phone vouchers as they could more readily be used as currency, and of course bigger issues such as integration into the British Way of Life were seriously hampered, because by the time someone had received leave to remain they had become entrenched in an alternative, semi-legal at best culture.

So in addition to the points already made, once benefit claimants have become entrenched into an alternative lifestyle, it becomes less likely that they are going to undo all that effort if suitable employement/income/lifestyle becomes available. Vouchers are a self-defeating tactic.

Cameron…………nasty bloke……..seems to be wanting everyone that are entitled to welfare help to feel like the lowest of the low………..there seems to be a feeling out there that there are two classes……those that work and those that don’t………we all know there are some that milk the system………but the big majority of claimants are law abiding citizens who have paid their taxes and NI stamp and may be needing benefit help due to losing their job as a result of the way the politicians run the country…….this is supposed to be a democratic country in which case lets the claimants choose………..money or vouchers.

@momentaryloss wrote:

Don’t believe in vouchers as they restrict what you can buy, and lead to black markets so that parents can buy essentials other than food for their families.

I do however believe in work for everyone.

If you claim a benefit and are physically fit, you should have to do some kind of work. Not as a punishment but for all sorts of positive reasons like socialisation, learning etc. It would force the state to provide some childcare so that parents of young children could do a few hours a week, but ho hum why not?

We should all be happy to contribute to the society we live in (and pay tax when we are earning as well)!

:)

For the avoidance of doubt, I believe in both the right to work and the responsibility to do so.

I do not believe in threats and bullying behaviour towards honest claimants. Everyone should get work or training, not just those on long term benefit with the threat of having their payments removed.

That means the government has a responsibility to us as citizens, and not just a stick to beat people who they deem unworthy.

@irish_lucy wrote:

Its all down to honesty, some are on benifits cause they need to them, the others are on them either as they are too lazy to work or are working and screwing the system at same time.

It would depend on what benifits your talking about but for child stuff ie nappies and baby food giving them the actual stuff insted of vouchers or money would be a good idea as you know the child is looked after somewhat and no money for the parents to go out drinking, well it worked in america and also seen a drop in teenage pregnancies.

Of course teenage mothers are a small proportion of benefit users per se. How much did vouchers contribute to the drop in teen pregnancies? Education and raised aspirations are reckoned to be the biggest factor in reduced teen pregnancies, but depending on who you ask, improved contraceptive education and use of contraception, social support and education, employment prospects or fear of punishment/reprimand are all cited as significant factors. The US is so huge, so varied from rich to poor and with so many vested interests claiming credit that you can find almost any example from it. It still has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the developed world.