The Student Room Group

means-tested maintenance loan is unfair imo

giving richer people less public support is generally acceptable for most people (and i agree), right? we see it in tax contributions most commonly. but what about the children of rich people? at university age, we're almost all adults and most of us don't get pocket money, less a big monthly grant from our parents, rich or poor, even if we need it

especially since, at 18, we're expected to pay our own rent, bills and expenses just like any other adult (for the most part). to draw a possibly problematic comparison: if you don't go to uni, live at home but get a job, the government doesn't charge you a lower tax rate according to your parents income (ie the government doesn't give you more financial leeway just because your parents income is lower) and yet the same isn't true for the maintenance loan

even if some people do get money from our parents, it's certainly not guaranteed - the government doesn't mandate that children of rich people have their maintenance loans topped up by their parents so if they can't pay for the living expenses themselves, the option is generally to get a part time job. not a terrible solution but surely a little unfair because if you have poorer parents this isn't a problem even though you, the child, have no bearing on your parents' wealth and yet you're at the mercy of it (and their generosity) when it comes to funding

this is an anecdote but i get the maximum maintenance loan and i've got more money than i can spend. meanwhile 'rich' students who don't have their parents support have to squeeze in work hours around their days. are they really the people who should be feeling the brunt of income inequality?
Original post by HoldThisL
giving richer people less public support is generally acceptable for most people (and i agree), right? we see it in tax contributions most commonly. but what about the children of rich people? at university age, we're almost all adults and most of us don't get pocket money, less a big monthly grant from our parents, rich or poor, even if we need it

especially since, at 18, we're expected to pay our own rent, bills and expenses just like any other adult (for the most part). to draw a possibly problematic comparison: if you don't go to uni, live at home but get a job, the government doesn't charge you a lower tax rate according to your parents income (ie the government doesn't give you more financial leeway just because your parents income is lower) and yet the same isn't true for the maintenance loan

even if some people do get money from our parents, it's certainly not guaranteed - the government doesn't mandate that children of rich people have their maintenance loans topped up by their parents so if they can't pay for the living expenses themselves, the option is generally to get a part time job. not a terrible solution but surely a little unfair because if you have poorer parents this isn't a problem even though you, the child, have no bearing on your parents' wealth and yet you're at the mercy of it (and their generosity) when it comes to funding

this is an anecdote but i get the maximum maintenance loan and i've got more money than i can spend. meanwhile 'rich' students who don't have their parents support have to squeeze in work hours around their days. are they really the people who should be feeling the brunt of income inequality?

The responsibility is their parents.
Original post by 999tigger
The responsibility is their parents.


An ignorant statement.

Not every parent is willing or able to afford to financially support their kids through university. What if they had multiple children in uni at the same time?
Reply 3
Original post by Euphoria101
Not every parent is willing or able to afford to financially support their kids through university. What if they had multiple children in uni at the same time?

this is also quite relevant. the upper bracket is only 60k which is well off but not necessarily rich enough to spare 5k for a child, especially if you've got another child (at home or uni) and a mortgage
Original post by Euphoria101
An ignorant statement.

Not every parent is willing or able to afford to financially support their kids through university. What if they had multiple children in uni at the same time?

Thats the whole point of the means testing. Multis are factored in, but its their choice to have multiple children.
Anyway at 2am will settle for that.
Original post by HoldThisL
this is also quite relevant. the upper bracket is only 60k which is well off but not necessarily rich enough to spare 5k for a child, especially if you've got another child (at home or uni) and a mortgage


Exactly, these parents aren’t exactly *rich*!

*not saying 60k isn’t a lot cause it is a perfectly good salary, but it depends on location, how many kids there are in the household, added expenses like mortgages, etc.
Original post by 999tigger
Thats the whole point of the means testing. Multis are factored in, but its their choice to have multiple children.
Anyway at 2am will settle for that.


That’s the most ridiculous thing ever - ‘it’s their choice to have multiple children’
(edited 3 years ago)

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