AngryAsWell wrote:@Tizme
You asked for help with a Labour policy on young unemployed. I tried to help you by explaining that JSA was not just being taken away but would be replaced by a Youth Allowance, with conditions, and a brief explanation as to why that was better than JSA (being able to go back to collage without financial penalty)
You then turned the argument into adult unemployed, people who have worked for 7 years and 40k plus earnings not being enough to support a child for an extra couple of years whilst they get on their feet. You ended by saying
"I don't think you answered why a uni student should get into 30k+ debt while their peer/sibling was paid to continue studying. Nor did you answer at what age an individual becomes a citizen in their own right."
No I didn't, because I was answering the question you originally asked, not a subset of "what if's".
The 40K (or 44K not sure which) parents earnings is on a sliding scale, which has been based on the current University Maintenance Grant
"Full-time students are also eligible for grants to help with living costs, which you do not have to repay. If your household/parents’ income is less than £25,000, you will be eligible for a full Maintenance Grant of £3,354 a year. If your household/parents’ income is £25,000-£42,611, you will be eligible for a partial grant (i.e. a lesser amount). Maintenance Grants are not available to part-time students. - See more at:
http://www.offa.org.uk/students/frequen ... 38Z7W.dpuf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; "
The proposed Youth Allowance, which is basically to encourage kids to study rather than hang out on JSA, is the equivalent of the maintenance grant a student (who's parents earn less than 40k) can apply for - on a sliding scale - and is actually putting young unemployed on a par with uni students, in that they too can study to improve their futures.
University Fees are a different subject.
"I" (that's me personally) think for education/benefits purposes we should be at least be partially responsible for our children for as long as they need our help, and I don't see a cut off time when a birthday changes that. Whilst I appreciate the middle class on 40k plus per year might feel squeezed, somehow I can't seem to work up the same level of sympathy for them as I do for those forced to use food banks. As I said if they can't help out their own child for an extra couple of years then maybe they should think of selling the second car or miss a few catch a film and meal evening out's.
I am not a Labour spokes person, I was simply attempting to help you with a question you had, and would have been more than happy to leave this at the point I stated last night which was "I think we will have to agree to differ on this one".