AIBU to not understand why some people seem to have an absolute hatred for rich people in this country.

[Barbierella]

I cannot understand why people find it acceptable to slate rich people as if they are all the same and responsible for all that is wrong in society.

Surely people can understand that many rich people do pay tax and generally are an asset to society? And without the many successful businesses in the private sector we would not have a public sector?

AIBU to think that people who like to lump all rich people into one tax avoiding bunch of tossers can be the very same people who get outraged at the lumping of all out of work people as benefit scroungers?

Neither are ok in IMO.

[AnyFucker]

Are you a "rich person" ? Just to clarify.

[Barbierella]

No, I am certainly not rich!

[SirChenjin]

Who are these 'people' who find it acceptable to slate (all?) rich people?

[vickibee]

perhaps it is because there is such a disparity between the richest / poorest and that it is getting bigger? It doesn't help when slebs go to great lengths to avoid paying thier fair share.

[manicinsomniac]

It's not okay but it's more understandable. It stems from a kind of envy I suppose.

Most people would like to be rich. Nobody wants to be out of work involuntarily.

[rinabean]

So lumping together people who have the opportunity to spread their wealth around but don't is just as bad as lumping together people who don't have any opportunities? You're completely unreasonable.

[DenzelWashington]

Surely people can understand that many rich people do pay tax and generally are an asset to society?

Being rich on it's own, does not make you an asset to society. I don't believe that being as asset to society is anything to do with how much money you have. Plenty of rich people are-Dame Vivienne Duffield (sp?) springs to mind, with all her philanthropy. And plenty, plenty of then aren't.

What I suspect people are really hating is privilege, especially inherited privilege, and how inequality is increasing at a rate of knots in this country. It is a worrying trend that is bad for all of us and ultimately will make society a lot less stable.

[DenzelWashington]

Apols for rogue apostrophe, I'm woozy from strong painkillers. Don't shoot me, pedant posters.

[rinabean]

Rich people are not an asset to society. They own our society's assets. That's the opposite.

[Barbierella]

rinabean

both are wrong. Why is that unreasonable?

[Barbierella]

"Being rich on it's own, does not make you an asset to society."

I wrote "many rich people are an asset to society" not all.

I stand by my point, many rich people do spread their wealth around through taxation. That is surely an asset to our society?

[Theodorous]

I think it's a MN thing. In real life I rarely hear people slagging off anyone who is a high rate payer. Bankers yes, normal people no. The demographic of this site is mainly left wing/6th form political ideals (in a champagne manner) so it is trendy to hate the rich.

[softlysoftly]

YANBU and it's so naive to say "they own our assets".

Because communism works so well

[Barbierella]

Rinabean

"Rich people are not an asset to society. They own our society's assets. That's the opposite."

You are proving my point. Are you saying ALL rich people are no asset to our society?

[softlysoftly]

What really irritates me is that people slate "rich" "greedy" business people who actually do add to society yet happily read heat, watch shitty reality tv, buy football kits etc to line the pockets of the truly useless schleb culture.

Completely illogical.

[Barbierella]

Theodorous

I hear it real life too unfortunately.

[partialderivative]

I heard a story a long time ago that if an American sees someone driving a Rolls Royce, he says "That will be me one day", but when a Brit sees the same he wants to scratch it with a coin.

I wonder if there is any truth in the thoughts behind that.

[Barbierella]

softly softly

Brilliant point. But according to some successful (rich) business people don't add to society

[Theodorous]

To be fair I am living in the richest country in the world at the moment but even in the UK even with socialist working party parents don't experience the venom I see on here

[Barbierella]

I overheard such venom in real life recently.

[SirChenjin]

I guess it depends on whether you only see those with money as an asset to society.

As for sharing the wealth - I'm not entirely convinced that our current tax system fosters such altruism. This country could be a hell of a lot richer if everyone operated under PAYE for example but then DH would be out of a job so perhaps not

[FraidyCat]

Who are these 'people' who find it acceptable to slate (all?) rich people?

You really don't see it? If you grew up in the UK maybe you are so used to class-war style rhetoric that you are oblivious to it. I see it all the time on here. I grew up abroad where race rather than class governed social divides, so I'm enough of a stranger in the UK to see it.

When I was growing up, if anything I found the wealthy people I encountered to be nicer than average. It was only when I came to the UK that I heard people say "rich" in a tone of voice they would say "cunt." (Actually I think the phrase "rich cunt" is quite often used here.)

[angelos02]

I think if you are rich and not paying your staff a living wage then I don't know how you live with yourself.

[ComposHat]

I have no problem with rich people per se.

I do have a problem with wealthy tax avoiders (yes I mean you Gary Barlow, Jimmy Carr et al) who seem to see paying tax as an optional extra and have no scruples about taking what tax pays for on the way up and then kicking the ladder away from under them.

[AmberLav]

I wonder what we define rich as... No matter what you have, there is always someone else who has more, or there's something you would have if you just had a bit more money...

I'm a tax accountant, and I remember when I started seeing that one of my clients paid more in tax in a month than I was earning gross in a whole year! That was a bit painful!

But the top 1% of earners pay a third of all income taxes paid, and probably pay most Capital gains tax and most inheritance tax... But I know of people with considerable family wealth who pay very little tax...

I would say that being wealthy brings its own troubles, are they necessarily happier... so I would never want anyone else's life, I'm quite happy with my own, even if there are lots of holidays that we can't afford!