Larger Family Life - A Large Family Blog: the Sullivan family

Tuesday, 13 September 2011

Hitting the headlines

We're receiving a higher number of visitors than normal after our piece in the national newspaper, "The Sun" this week.

I had braced myself for an influx of unkind comments. I hadn't prepared myself for the amount of support we have already received. Thank you to those who have taken the time to email or leave messages.

There are a few points I'd like to make:

1. We own our home and pay the mortgage ourselves. We do not claim any housing benefit.

2. Regarding tax: Mike pays through his wages as he is employed. I am registered as self-employed. The article mentioned that I stopped working after my sixth child was born. What it didn't mention is that I was working four jobs at the time. (Edit: Sorry! In my haste I incorrectly worded this part. I meant to write that I was working three jobs at the time and that we had four jobs between us. I don't want you to think I was working four jobs when I was only working three!). Two of them within the home. The job I stopped working in was the one outside of the home when I was made redundant. I have continued to work from home ever since. We have also paid tax each time we bought our homes through stamp duty etc. Therefore the question of us paying tax isn't anything to be debated. We always have, we still do and we (hopefully,) always will.

3. Benefits: Child tax credits used to be paid through the wages with an adjusted tax code. Child benefit is available to all. We do not claim Working Tax Credit. The bulk of our income is through our wages. As I mention in point 2 above, we both pay "into the pot". This "pot money" goes, amongst other things, towards state pensions, which we do not claim, and the school system which our children do not use. However, we do not begrudge our share of the "pot money" going toward these things. I do not understand why two adults who both pay into the pot cannot receive a universal benefit which they are already paying toward in the first place and are admonished for it and still considered a "burden"? Is this the same as not and never having contributed yet receiving "entitlement" benefits as a lifestyle choice? There is a conflict of a opinion here, it seems.

Anyway, if you are visiting as a result of this article (or from one elsewhere), I'd like to say hello and welcome, whether you are here as a one-off through curiosity or likely to be a regular visitor.