Benefit cap?

I am writing to express my astonishment with the discovery of how much you can actually get on benefits, with the new benefit cap bringing this to light. Understanding the tax system tends to be quite complicated for the average individual so I apologise if I have misunderstood.

I agree and appreciate the need for a benefit cap and commend the government on implementing this concept, however was amazed to discover that people can receive up to £26,000 per annum on benefits and that prior to this cap they were entitled to even more.  After years of studies incurring debt and several jobs that did not require professional qualifications, I have finally been given the opportunity to take a step towards beginning my career with what I believe to be good starting salary. That however is my annual salary prior to paying for the several taxes I am required to pay, national insurance as well as paying back my student loan; therefore in reality my income will be significantly lower than the benefit cap and not that much more than the cap for individuals.  In consideration of the points stated I had still perceived that amount to be a good starting salary for someone with professional qualifications. Having been brought up on a council estate with a single mother on benefits and wanting a better life for myself, to now discover that if I had not studied, not incurred debt, not worked and simply lived on benefits, I could of received a similar if not higher amount than I will be on.

Considering that an individual on benefits does not need to pay tax or pays a significantly decreased amount on tax, someone on benefits can take home a better income than many with professional occupations.  I can imagine it is also quite disheartening to those who make the effort to work on minimum wage and low income jobs, to realise they would be better off financially if they had been on benefits. With this knowledge it is to no surprise that many people qualified and unqualified then choose to live on benefits.

I  had thought that perhaps there may be additional costs due to various illnesses for an individual on benefits that I may not be aware of, or considering larger family homes, which is why this figure has been decided upon, which I discovered was not the case.  I personally would be quite happy on £350- £500 a week for living at my own leisure. Does this not encourage people to receive long term benefits and discourage a need to seek employment?

If the maximum amount of benefits an individual can receive is of £26,000 per annum, I struggle to comprehend why anyone on a salary up to this figure is required to be taxed, technically paying for others to be on a higher income than themselves. Again if there is a misunderstanding based on my lack of comprehension I am happy for someone to correct me and help me understand.