Fuck it - the government will look me

Why do you have a problem with notability cars? You know people who have them fund them themselves, right?

I am becoming increasingly frustrated with the way our country is run. I love my country, but what on earth can I do to fix it? the Rachel reeves pension and stamp duty rumours have tipped me over the edge.

Evidently, you are not alone in the way you feel, OP.

Reeves didn’t do a pre budget press conference because things are rosy for Labour.

" I believe 90% of our lives is the summation of our own choices"

I probably thought similar when I was young. Wisdom gained with life experience has shown me I was wrong.

Also, I hate to say it, but those who can afford to put £10k pa into their pension are already quite privileged. I say this as someone who used to put £3k pm in mine (it wasn't sal sac, so the NI change, if it happens, would not have impacted me at all). That's how come I can now work one day a week (and still put £2k pa into my pension, with employer's contribution).

It's just a non issue for the vast majority of people. And a tax on the wealthy. Which seems on-brand for Labour.

A million young people simply choosing to live on benefits.

@WildLimePoet can you link to the above.

Yes, you're worried because the world economy is in a very difficult position, with wars, tariffs, lunatics in power in other countries.

Also, because the press and other media is so anti the current government that it's whipping up a frenzy which you seem to have fallen for.

Honestly, maybe stop worrying and read something useful, preferably that's not on the internet.

Did you miss the Truss budget?

Would the pension change ( if it happens) even affect you?

Do you use Salary Sacrifice for your pension?

For clarity - someone sacrificing £10k into a pension would end up paying £640 NI - that’s all.

They would save £4000 in income tax by lowering their taxable earnings, as most who Sal sac are higher rate tax payers.

Net gain of £3360.

@Phonicshaskilledmeoff why were you not worried about economy before the election?!

Well, stop basing your opinions on things you "heard", and look into it yourself.

You don't pay stamp duty when you sell. Everyone knows this, so now you sound like you're just trolling.

What "annual charge"? Is this another made up thing that you "heard"?

If you're trying to make serious points, at least get the facts right and try not to "mispeak", whatever that means.

They might avoid some of tbe best ones unless you educate them a bit better about taxes.

We are not a poor country just a very unequal one.

Correct

What you have "heard" are the usual pre-Budget rumours that fly around every time the Chancellor (of any party) is about to deliver a Budget.

Ignore them. Wait for the Budget and then decide.

and then pay for the public services which most in this country now get for free, since over 50% are net takers.

When people harp on about the above do they realise the biggest % of net takers are pensioners and with an ageing population that means increased net takers?

Did you know that the country where people pay the highest taxes in the world has also been voted the happiest country to live in for the last 8 years?
They also have the best public services that people are willing to pay for.
They also have the softest, considered prisons in the world, and are consistently one of the lowest ranking crime countries.

Why we don't look at it far more as a model is because we have a terribly biased press who have pushed an agenda the benefits the most well off. So we have consistently had people voting.The parties that will actually cause them the most harm.

Countless of these tedious and predictable disabled benefits bashing threads pop up with depressing regularity on MN every week. However, despite many posters on those threads pointing out that PIP is a non-means tested benefit, which one can receive while also working full time, people like the OP still seem unable to fathom this simple fact.
The OP seems to be suggesting that PIP awards are a barrier to employment. This is a ridiculous and ignorant suggestion. I work full time and have been severely disabled all my life, born without eyes and with multiple joint deformities. In order to work and live I need a great deal of specialist equipment, adaptive technology and paid carers. My PIP helps with this, though it does not cover all of the extra costs related to my disability. My employer covers much of the costs of equipment and support at work, in conjunction with government access to work schemes, but in order to actually get to and stay in work, not to mention to look after myself and my family, I require a whole accessible infrastructure outside of work.
If the government removed my PIP tomorrow it would probably make it impossible for me to work so I would end up costing the sainted tax-payers, of whom, despite being a lazy disabled benefits scrounger, I am also one, a lot more money.
Removing PIP would certainly have the opposite effect to the one you claim to be hoping for. No amount of 'insentivisation', in the form of PIP, is holding me back from being 'self-sufficient', just as no amount of pulling myself up by my bootstraps has caused my eyeballs to sprout so far, though maybe I haven't tried hard enough!
While I remain blind there is no amount of encouragement that will make it possible for me to do my job without specialist equipment since I am incapable of using computers, phones or tablets without specialist software, unable to read physical documents unless translated into braille or electronic formats and a number of other tasks essential to most modern workplaces that would also be appropriate for a blind person.
Maybe you should think about cases like mine before declaring that PIP is the enemy of employment.

You are talking as though everyone is broadly starting from an even playing field aside from a few exceptions. I think that is incredibly naive. Peoples life chances are hugely affected by the situation they were born into, family wealth and education. There's now a huge divide in the country between people with inherited wealth that then enables them to buy secure housing snt those without and that's before you get onto all the other situations and health issues that can affect the kind of choices you are able to make. We are not a poor country just a very unequal one.

Spot on PigletJohn. That has been my observation and opinion for a long time.

".... since over 50% are net takers."

What is your evidence for this statement? @WildLimePoet