Laura Suter: The complications of child benefit

If you pair a sleep-deprived parent with a Government handout that's linked to your future pension payouts, and then whack on a block for high earners, you get the nightmarish current system. The process at the moment means that you get child benefit, paid at £20.70 a week for your first child and £13.70 a year for your second child, meaning a parent with two children will get £1,788.80 a year. However, if either half of the couple earn more than £50,000 they will start to lose this. For every £1,000 they earn over £50,000 they will lose 10% of their child benefit - so £178.88 - until...