Save The Children do it again!

Once more, Save The Children pop their heads above radar with another blatant demand for more tax money.

This time we hear that the rising cost of UK childcare is pricing poor families out of work.

“Childcare is so expensive it’s becoming a luxury that only families earning a very good wage can comfortably afford," says Sally Copley, Save the Children's Head of UK Policy. “Families on low incomes simply won’t earn enough to cover their childcare bill as well as living costs – effectively pricing the poorest families out of work.”

Only in the post socialist apocalypse that Britain has become, can we entertain the notion that rising costs puts people out of work rather than encouraging them to work harder.

Is childcare a luxury? I don't know if it could quite be classed as such, but what I do know is that anyone preparing to have children should weigh up all the costs beforehand, and only go ahead if the can comfortably afford it.

Childcare may not be a luxury but neither is it a right; something that should be paid for by other people.

The recent reduction in the amount of childcare costs covered by Working Tax Credits, from a maximum of 80% to 70%, leaves many families on low incomes with an extra £546 a year added to their childcare bill.

That's roughly the difference between the cost of a CRT television and a plasma screen. It's also less than the average amount spent by women per year on beauty products.

It costs an average of £177 per week for a full-time nursery position for a child under two in the UK. For families living in severe poverty, with an annual income below £12,000 (£230 a week), it can be impossible to find a job that brings in enough money to cover the childcare bill as well as their living costs.

There are many reasons why a person may not be able to find a job that pays enough to cover the cost of childcare. Employers tend to pay people what they are worth. Those with no skills, education, training or experience are not worth a great deal, fiscally speaking, in the jobs market. There are two ways around this.

1) Improve your standing in the job market by getting better training or education, or even start at the bottom on a low wage and work your way up.

2) Don't bother working, go on benefits and expect everyone else to pay for your lifestyle.

Option two is obviously the easiest and probably pays better.

Here's my advice to anyone planning a family. Weigh up the costs and make sure you are in a position to cover them before going ahead and getting pregnant. Raising a child is very expensive.

And we also have that improperly used phrase again, 'Severe Poverty'.

Severe poverty does not exist in Britain. This is what severe poverty looks like:

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