Do we have open boarders to the rest of the world. YES OR NO?

OK I get it, the rise in house prices has nothing to do with the lack of housebuilding, legislation, ease of borrowing / low interest rates. It's all the immigrants fault. The NHS struggling has nothing to do with people living longer, the obesity crisis, cuts or mismanagement. It's all the immigrants fault. Less Police has nothing to with 20,000 less police due to cuts. It's all the immigrants fault

I often wondered why politicians say that low paid foreign workers actually benefit the country so recently I used a benefits calculator to get an idea of cost. Of course these are assumptions and you can argue whether my assumptions are correct but I still think you will arrive at a similar conclusion that it costs the taxpayer a lot of money.

I used a benefits calculator from Citizens Advice these were my assumptions:

I am a young married man with a wife who doesn't work because she looks after our 2 children 1 of which is under 5.

I earn the minimum wage and work a 35 hour week so my salary is 14-15k.

I privately rent a 3 bedroom house in London which costs me £500 per week.

After my personal tax allowance I pay £300 pa income tax plus a few hundred for National Insurance

I pay £1500 pa council tax bottom line I contribute £2-3k pa to the Treasury.

According to the calculator I am entitled to Universal Credit benefits of:

£20k pa

In other words I cost the taxpayer net 18k pa and that doesn't include the 4k I maybe entitled to for child care although she is currently looking after them.

The cost does not include education, healthcare and other public services which presumably I and my family would use.

Now you may argue the salary is too low or the rent too high, feel free to do your own calculations, but I think it is clear it costs the taxpayer a lot of money.

Now if it is for a care worker in the NHS that may well be worth it but if Starbucks wants staff ?

I often wondered why politicians say that low paid foreign workers actually benefit the country so recently I used a benefits calculator to get an idea of cost. Of course these are assumptions and you can argue whether my assumptions are correct but I still think you will arrive at a similar conclusion that it costs the taxpayer a lot of money.

I used a benefits calculator from Citizens Advice these were my assumptions:

I am a young married man with a wife who doesn't work because she looks after our 2 children 1 of which is under 5.

I earn the minimum wage and work a 35 hour week so my salary is 14-15k.

I privately rent a 3 bedroom house in London which costs me £500 per week.

After my personal tax allowance I pay £300 pa income tax plus a few hundred for National Insurance

I pay £1500 pa council tax bottom line I contribute £2-3k pa to the Treasury.

According to the calculator I am entitled to Universal Credit benefits of:

£20k pa

In other words I cost the taxpayer net 18k pa and that doesn't include the 4k I maybe entitled to for child care although she is currently looking after them.

The cost does not include education, healthcare and other public services which presumably I and my family would use.

Now you may argue the salary is too low or the rent too high, feel free to do your own calculations, but I think it is clear it costs the taxpayer a lot of money.

Now if it is for a care worker in the NHS that may well be worth it but if Starbucks wants staff ?

How does replacing the foreign worker with a British worker resolve that problem?

The British worker is already here and we have a responsibility to them first.

We should be pushing companies to pay workers better salaries and so decrease the burden on the taxpayer. One way of doing that is to reduce the influx of cheap foreign labour thereby forcing employers to raise wages. Now if companies really cannot find British workers then fine import the labour but the companies should pay them a decent wage and not rely on the taxpayer.

As for vital public service roles rather than pay low wages and subside them with benefits how about we just pay better wages.