The Off Topic Topic

[mongers]

Saw this item on the BBC news front page, clicked on it thinking  "interesting, something about the conquistadors"

The story of Spain's 'terrifying confidence' – and how it conquered the world

turned out to be a story about Spanish football this century. 

[The Larch]

I'm now curious about our terrifying confidence. 

[mongers]

I'm now curious about our terrifying confidence. 

Article is here:
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/52707715

[The Larch]

In other relevant BBC news...

Asparagus recipe appears in Belgian law database

Asparagus may be popular in Belgium, but local lawyers were surprised to find a recipe for the vegetable hidden among laws and royal decrees last week.

The text appeared to have been accidentally copied and pasted into legislation on the price of drugs and medical supplies.

"Bon Appétit!" read the final line of the recipe, before returning to more serious issues.

The text has now been deleted from the database.

The error was discovered following an update made to the French-version text of the Belgian official journal, or Moniteur Belge, where laws, decrees and other official notes are published.

Alongside medical pricing laws was a six-step recipe for the vegetable dish.

[Grey Fox]

#Leopardshatemyface

[celedhring]

My unemployment payments were €600/momth when I got them during the spring covid lockdown. I believe that's the minimum.

[Sheilbh]

Are unemployment payments really that low in the UK?

I'm not sure on the circumstances of that guy. £133 a week sounds about right.

Housing (and council tax) is paid separately - it is subject to the benefits cap and a housing cost cap (which is a killer in certain parts of London and if you've got kids) but it's paid directly to your landlord. You don't get the money. it is a separate payment - a little bit like the old housing benefit which was also handled separately. It sounds like this guy might have not applied for the local housing allowance which is often handled by the local council - or, possibly, their landlord's getting paid twice and not telling them

This is a rough summary:
https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/what-youll-get

But the system is complicated and the Department of Work and Pensions is not the most user-friendly bit of government. When I've done pro bono law clinics a lot of time is actually spent just helping people navigate the system/fill in the right form and send it to the right place.

[The Larch]

My unemployment payments were €600/momth when I got them during the spring covid lockdown. I believe that's the minimum.

But what we have is unemployment insurance, you get money if you've been employed first and paid ahead out of your paycheck, you don't get unemployment benefits just because.

[Sheilbh]

Yeah and the UK has the opposite - which I think is rare in Europe. So payments aren't linked to your previous income. It's a basic security/safety net rather than a corporatist or social insurance model.

[celedhring]

My unemployment payments were €600/momth when I got them during the spring covid lockdown. I believe that's the minimum.

But what we have is unemployment insurance, you get money if you've been employed first and paid ahead out of your paycheck, you don't get unemployment benefits just because.

True. There's the new minimum rent, which is kinda that though? Although it's means-tested so not universal.

[Jacob]

Yeah and the UK has the opposite - which I think is rare in Europe. So payments aren't linked to your previous income. It's a basic security/safety net rather than a corporatist or social insurance model.

Most places in the Western world has both, as I understand it. That is, unemployment insurance linked to what you've paid in/ your previous income and then a basic safety net one once that runs out.

[Sheilbh]

Most places in the Western world has both, as I understand it. That is, unemployment insurance linked to what you've paid in/ your previous income and then a basic safety net one once that runs out.

Yeah - the UK is just the latter.

I can't think of any bit of our welfare state that is linked to what you've paid in. I don't know about the rest of the west but I had a job that involved some research into social security systems and the lack of any link in the UK was unusual in Europe.

I think it's possibly because of the post-war Labour government - my understanding is that the inter-war and pre-WW1 era Liberal-influenced welfare state was developing on broadly social insurance lines (with a strong localist/municipal bent - with local councils providing services national government didn't, like universal healthcare). But with Labour in 1945 there was a shift to a strongly universalist model that was far more centralised - and is, I think, probably a lasting legacy of the war. Over the last 70 years (with many Tory governments) that universal welfare has become lower and lower and more centralised (Tories and Labour are equally to blame for that bit). With New Labour we moved to a more means-tested/targeted system that was delivering very good results but was also incredibly vulnerable once they lost power while the universal bits of the welfare are generally more difficult to cut.

The only partial exception is state pension which is tied to the fact that you made payments in a tax year (I think you need 30 years for the full state pension) but it isn't tied to the amount.

[Josquius]

My baby won't stop saying Earl Grey.
I'm not sure if he is referring to the tea or the prime minister.
And why.

[Valmy]

My baby won't stop saying Earl Grey.
I'm not sure if he is referring to the tea or the prime minister.
And why.

Either way he is the most English baby I have ever heard of.

[Razgovory]

I fell down the stairs today.  My ankles are real pain and I can barely walk.