Do you begrudge high earners?

I don't think I know anyone who earns above about £80k, I was thinking of my "just into the higher rate tax band" friends as higher earners and thinking I don't begrudge them!

I do think that those on 6-figure salaries probably work harder than / have more expertise than me, but they aren't the hardest working in society. Wealth distribution is hugely unfair. I begrudge (not sure that is quite the right word there?) people on salaries morebthan 3x the national average whinging on about not having any "disposable" income after private school fees, massive mortgages in desirable areas and shopping at Hello Fresh / Waitrose though.

Well yes, that's the point of taxation, isnt it?

Not many people on that kind of salary are working to better the world or humanity they just chose a profitable industry. One that often does the opposite. Not just about how hard you work.

YABU for insinuating anyone earning under £300k does not put in the "time and effort".

The high earner will have more than covered their costs.

I remember reading something about the Victorian philanthropists which was that they gave away a huge amount of their wealth to the poor- I don’t think today’s high earners do the same but if their house was on fire they’d expect a fireman paid from the public purse

I'm a relatively high earner by many people's standards but not at the level you're talking about.

I do work very hard and I have skills that lots of people don't have, but I am not so arrogant as to believe that there aren't many people earning less than me who aren't equally skilled and equally hardworking. The idea that hard work directly correlates with pay is a complete fallacy.

As for people who earn more than me, I certainly don't resent them, but I do think they (and I) should be asked to contribute more in taxes for the sake of society as a whole.

I know a lot of very high earners and have no envy at all as many are so stressed they are heart attacks waiting to happen.

One appears to work 15 hour days. He never has the time to enjoy the fruits of his labour (although his wife is doing a good job helping him on that front!).

No, I have no envy for those people.

Although I do have issues with a few wfh workers I know who earn £60-£80k pa and freely admit to doing sod all during their day (taking baths, walking the dog, baking etc) whilst I’m working my arse off in the caring profession for much less.

‘Do you actually understand what they do and why they earn so much?’

Ridiculous question.
There’s a hell of a lot of high earners out there- depends what they do?

How could anyone possibly begrudge everyone who is a high earner without knowing what they did/how they got there just because they have a high salary.

Not if they treat any staff that contribute to their success fairly. I’ve yet to meet anyone in this category that is happy & content. It’s a sad life and not one I’d want for me or my DC.

Like someone else mentioned it's income disparity that's the issue. Amd not so much with high earners but business owners. Even if you earn £300k on PAYE you'll be taxed an insane amount but if you own the business you drive the profit margins, which leads to greed, and HMRC give you a ridiculous number of ways to take it with as least tax as possible. IMO everyone on PAYE is screwed. They should limit profit margins, bonuses and dividends amd encourage higher wages at the lower end of the work force.

That’s capitalism for you

I know lots of high earners, was one myself once, and yes they work hard but the pay is disproportionate to this.

Someone on £300k does not work 10x as hard as someone on £30k. And they definitely don’t work 5x as hard as someone on £60k (as at this level people generally have quite a bit of stress/responsibility).

Their high pay is much more about their particular knowledge/expertise, and the fact that certain markets will pay highly for that expertise, than just hard work.

Only the ones who assume that lower earners are half wits who can't possibly understand the (apparant) complexities of their Big Job, and are themselves too stupid to realise there's often little correlation in how hard you work and how much you're paid.

No, I don’t, as long as they pay tax.

I do however, begrudge the terrible wages for the lowest paid in society. They too work hard and this is not reflected in their wages. Call me crazy, but I think those who work full time, should have the dignity of affording a home and enough to eat.

Sadly, those that earn the most are often the ones responsible for employing the lowest paid, or the ones with the ability to make societal change.

I earn £100k. Not sure how much my boss earns- I would guess £1m including all the incentives? I wouldn’t want his job though- a lot of stress, working all hours, huge weight of responsibility on him. I work hard and have a lot of professional postgrad qualifications, but I generally work 8.30-6.30, can flex quite a bit for school plays etc, and when I’m on annual leave I’m not contactable. I wouldn’t want to swap places with my manager.

He is also responsible for keeping about 1,000 in employment.

High earners have a skill set that is valued often because you can link your input to the financial outcome eg I brought in a deal worth x so I should be paid y.

I have worked in the City for decades and I earn well. People pay me for my expertise in solving problems and making decisions. I am not convinced that my work is physically and mentally harder than doing 12 hour shifts in A&E or being a parent to a severely disabled child.

I think high earners should recognise that other people work hard and not punch down.

OP are you a high earner or is it your DH?

Not at all. I do hate the sentiment that the harder you work the higher you earn as that is, quite frankly, bollocks!

I don’t begrudge anyone for earning any amount really. I don’t think pay is a measure of skill, hard work, stress etc as there are so many jobs at different pay scales that have varying degrees of pressure and hard work. I don’t see that the two are correlated.

It's not that I begrudge someone a high wage as I'm not willing to give up seeing my children for more money (I am happy with my wage and my career trajectory). I just don't think anyone needs 300k as a wage. If we paid big bosses less then we would be able to pay the workforce more.

What's a 'high earner' these days? £150k as per the tax bracket? I earn £70k in comparison.

No I don't begrudge them at all. They've almost always worked hard to get there, whether by studying for years - possibly at their own expense, or taking risks, or putting themselves out of their comfort zone, or by being excellent networkers, or by sacrificing their personal lives to some extent.

However the 'long hours' aspect of many high earning roles is neither here nor there for me. My dad is an HGV driver and works 14 hour shifts.

LOL, honestly as a high earner, all the LOLs in the world!

They have a good education, and are mostly fortunate with regards to family/finding study easy.
They are in professions that are to a greater or lesser extent closed.
Their insurer is on the hook if they fuck up.
and if they really really fuck up- then the taxpayers will be made to cough up.

Don’t you think people who earn more than Air Traffic controllers (as an example, and I certainly do) should count their blessings, and not act the victim like you bizarrely are trying to do.

Not as individuals, but the income disparities in this country make me angry. There should be a limit on the difference between the salary of the highest and the lowest earner in a company - e.g. highest can't earn more than 10x lowest FTE.

It depends what they do.

I do. Depends what you mean by high earner. I am in top 10% of earners and I see people a tier above me in financial/ corporate jobs and they are largely personally ambitious, self-agrindising and yup I don't think any of them deserve it.