“Into the purse not the wallet” - the absolute necessity of universal child benefits"*
'Family allowance days were treat days when I was child. Mum would pick us up from school for lunch and we’d have ‘half-lots’, a half-size portion of fish and chips at home before she’d walk us back to the school gates for afternoon lessons.
Much has changed since the early 70s. There are few stay-at-home mums these days and still fewer children go home for lunch. But one thing remains the same: the absolute necessity for universal child benefits.'
"I need my child benefits to buy my kids chips - I love my kids", said a scrounger this morning.
Ruth, I was kid in the seventies too. Although I don't remember getting treats from mum as much as I remember her having to cook up some beans on the fire on account of power cuts. Oh, and if money were at bit tight it was because Dad's on a 3 day week, yes, I remember that. What else? Petrol coupons, I can recall my Dad showing me these and explaining that he was going to have to be very careful with fuel for a bit - because we were running out. Sugar shortages, shops running out of bog roll, the IMF having to tell the government how to run a country, watching the news on TV (if the power was on) to see the unions popping in to No 10 for beer and sandwiches then seeing someone being sent out for fish and chips, while they all decided how they could royally fuck British Leyland or something. The winter of discontent, remember that? Bodies unburied and rubbish piled in the streets.
Who was in power Ruth?
Yes, Labour and when it was over we had a few years of some pretty tough times until we worked our way through the mess that that Labour left. Now we have to do it all again. personally I really could give two shakes of a monkeys dick whether some chav gets her child benefits frozen or taken away or whatever, I just want the opportunity NOT to have to keep paying for it. Any of it. If one good thing come of this mess that we are in, it may be that we all learn to support ourselves and cut our cloth according to what we can afford - not expect someone else (through a benefit system) to afford for us.
What are the chances eh?
* Oh, and the comments are a scream too!
Update: As pointed out in the comments here we had a Tory government up to 1974 which was the period of power cuts and 3 day weeks. It was unfair to blame the Labour government for the mess of the seventies, they just continued where the Tories left off. This time round I think that the blame can be more squarely laid at their door.
Though I can relate to your article in general (I was another kid in the 70s), the time scale is a little off. Power cuts - we all remember those, well I do anyway. It was 1973-74 and I had recently left school, an apprentice engineer on a 3 day week.
ReplyDeleteWho was in power?
Yes, the Conservatives. Or to be more precise, the Heath government. The power cuts were the result of the first miner's strike (power stations were all coal fired back then). Labour didn't get in until late 1974 when the miners bought down the Heath regime.
Fair point, I left school in 1978 and I guess my interest in politics was pretty minimal in the early 70's as I would only have been 8-12. I've added an update to the post to correct this
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