Social Security

[Scot Dutchy]

Here there is a basic benefit that everyone has a right to. It is not great but along with a raft of other benefits life is reasonable. Unemployment benefit is 75% of your last salary for the first two years of unemployment. There used to be other schemes you could get into after that which kept your benefit at 70% for about 5 years ( I had personal experience in the 80's). They have all been scrapped and now after two years unemployment you fall back to basic benefit with a travel allowance for work applications. This requires regular visits to the "Arbeidsbureau" (Labour Office) and proof of applications.

We have local property tax (called rates in the UK) which pays for local government. They also receive money from central government.

The big bugger here is inheritance tax. For non-family it is 80%! For family members it is 40% on everything. It is all officially valued.

[Rum]

‘Rates’ are long gone here. They were replaced by much simpler banding system called council tax. They fund the same sorts of things though - rubbish collection, road repairs etc.

[Scot Dutchy]

‘Rates’ are long gone here. They were replaced by much simpler banding system called council tax. They fund the same sorts of things though - rubbish collection, road repairs etc.

My mum was always going on about the Corporation rates but she was old fashioned that way.

[laklak]

Send all the old people there.

Oh wait...

God's Waiting Room, full of newlyweds and nearly deads.

[cronus]

Call it what it is. Bread and circuses. Woe betide the day either run dry for the social scum and people who'll never amount to much outside political success.