to ask all of the 1% here (anyone earning over £20'000) what you are doing to help the 99%?

[ethnicalMarion]

If your earn over 20k in the UK you are part of the 1%. Aibu to think that this 1% should be helping the 99% of the world more?

I agree tinkerball, it's just lazy smuggery.

Higher rate tax payer so luckier than most but still fighting a loosing battle working hard to pay off debt following two years out of work

I'm a bit like GokTwo but I'll give some examples. I give a not insignificant amount monthly via my payroll to my local church. I support the foodbank. I donate clothes to a scheme similar to foodbank. Yesterday I did a food shop for a single mum with 2 under 3s who is waiting for benefits to kick in and for the foodbank to open tomorrow. Oh, I also sponsor a child in Africa.

Could I do more? Probably. Am I selfish in wanting to provide for my own kids? Almost certainly. But I do my best.

.

Yes and our taxes get donated en masse to these type of causes but it will never be enough, and hypothetical percentages are just a nonsense starter for a debate

I agree to disagree with you because no, I need to support my own children and cannot pay for your utopia as well

Kim your posts are interesting and thought provoking.

However, you are missing the fundamental fact that a very large amount of people in the UK are feeing financially squeezed and have been the last few years.

They don't have an appetite for wanting to improve the economy and infrastructure of other countries.

They are scrimping and saving to keep their own families afloat. I have a friend who told me last week she wakes up at 5am, frozen with terror over her family finances. She's not living in poverty but she is living hand to mouth when all the cost of living is taken into account. She's in this glorified 1% too!

And as for 'it does seem a very unbalanced life at the moment' - it has ever been thus. You might well ask, well shouldn't we do more, do we accept that? Yes and no. Like others, I pay high rate of tax, I give to charities (I actually give quite a lot) and I employ local people etc. I don't really see what else I could or should do.

The problem with your post (as I see it) is that it doesn't take into account essential expenditure. Just because someone earns over £20,000 doesn't mean that they have any spare cash.

My DH has worked 12 hour days, seven days a week for the last 5.5 years. He can now employ four people who can live a lifestyle of that one per cent.
As Yellow dinosaur said,
Why do you think you are entitled to his hard earned wages?

And what are you contributing to improve society?

$20kpa (might) make you part of the 1% globally, but then in some countries you can feed a family on around $10 per week.

I wouldn't be quite as forceful as yellow in my view but provided the "wealthy" pay all the tax they should then they are contributing rather a lot to the rest, at home and abroad and most of them have worked pretty hard to be in the position to pay all that tax.

The tax avoiders are pretty low IMO, but then so are people who aren't prepared to work to improve their own position and that of other people. Some people really can't and it's absolutely right that they are properly supported by the rest, but there are so many opportunities to improve your lot available to most people in the western world, through education and application, that it's the ones who aren't earning a decent wage and complain about, it whilst doing nothing about it when they're perfectly able, who annoy me.

So, Op what are you doing?

I employ a cleaner and pay my milkman

There is a problem which is similar to what happened before the great depression in the 20s. The rich have far too much money, and they're not spending it and moving it around the economy. Because they have so much they don't need to spend a large proportion of it and they're just accumulating it. And that's making everybody else poorer because so much money is out of circulation. Something needs to be done to get money back out and circulating in the economy. Unfortunately the last time his happened it was only solved by a war. :(

Look at fucking Bono who lectures governments what they should spend their money on but is a tax avoider himself and has excused this by saying he knows better than governments where money should be best spent to by refusing to pay tax he decides where to spend the money himself and sends it to the right place.

I don't think awful hypocritical avoiders like him are best targeted by posts criticizing people who earn £20k a year and are probably struggling to make ends meet just as much as some smug yogurt weaving, lentil bothering, pseudo ethical twazzock does.

What am I doing to help you? Here you go...

I pay 40% tax on quite a substantial portion of it. that pays for public services etc which you can take advantage of.

I also pay higher rate NI. Given that I have medical insurance, I am a net contributor to the NHS (I even pay for private contraception prescriptions which would be free on the NHS), which benefits you.

I pay substantial council tax on my larger house. I am a net contributor on this too. I don't really use many local services as I work so many hours that I am rarely home.

I pay substantial contributions into my pension so that I will not have to rely on the state for anything in my old age. Same goes for the fact that I overpay my mortgage.

Maybe I should do more? Bit of an issue that. To get where I am career-wise, I had to incur significant debt, which I am still paying off in great swathes every month. Furthermore, I work so many hours that I rarely have time to cook, so I spend more money on food for pre-prepared stuff (convenience). Finally, in order to earn said wages, I have to work in London - so I incur substantial travel costs (we're talking over £200 per month just on the train, and I have to run a car so we can visit family etc on weekends).

My disposable income is probably less than yours, all told, so may I suggest you get down from your soap box and consider helping yourself rather than expecting people like me to do it?

I am not working due to ill health, but DH is a higher rate taxpayer. His job is quite altruistic, so each time he goes to work it is a contribution.

We both believe that we ought to pay more tax, and would be happy to do so to fund government services like education and the NHS. We will be voting green as we think they will raise taxes for people like us.

We live very modestly, but we are aware of how lucky we are. We have a very average house, a very old car, and we grow as much of our own food as we can. We give a fair bit to charity.

I have been very, very poor in my life (more so than anyone on benefits actually, since I was homeless), and I know how terrible and draining it is and how dreadfully it affects people. I do not believe those who tell people to 'help themselves' really understand what it is like.

I hope to be in a position to do some volunteering soon, as a way back into work after surgery.

OP, why the responses limited to two lines and totally failing to engage with people who point out that the figures have to be looked at in context taking into account the cost of living in the countries concerned?

As for me: I earn a salary which is around a third of what it could be if I hadn't chosen to go into a sector of my profession which caters for the most vulnerable. I give up at least a day a week to voluntary work. I give directly to charities. Other than that, I do what everyone else does in terms of paying taxes, and I in no way begrudge large chunks of my taxes going to pay for the NHS and benefits.

We in the west do pretty much have luxury compared to the rest of the world. Its depressing. Although here people don't seem happy. Always wanting more, bigger, newer.

What dingdongdonna said.

iworkhard, what a load of shit. There are plenty of people in this country who struggle to put food on the table, keep a roof over there heads and keep warm in the cold. I'm sure they'll all be pleased to hear they're just greedy.

Iworkhard, impressed that you know better than charities like Save the Children and Oxfam and the Child Poverty Action Group. Do tell us where you get your research to show there's no poverty in the UK?

As for what I do, I donate to Shelter, Greenpeace, Guide Dogs for the Blind and Save the Children. Buy from charity shops. Try to buy ethically. Probably should do more.

OP the GDP per capita needs to be adjusted for PPP (purchasing power parity)

Our household contributes roughly 35k in tax per annum.

We also pay national insurance.

We don't claim anything. i have three jobs and my husband has two. We have two kids in a state primary that receives very little funding because not enough children have free school meals. So they ask us for money for things like coaches, books etc, which I believe ought to be covered by my taxes. Only my taxes are being sent disproportionately to other schools.

What else would the OP like us to pay?