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?

PS: And just to clarify, I don't receive tax credits or etc (just child benefit).

Goady thread OP

Ok I get what you're saying but if you're going to average out wages globally you also need to average out living costs.If I earned over 20k in one of the poorest countries I'd be filthy rich but that is not the case here at all. Your opening statement or accusation does not really make a lot of sense without proper context.

OP I think you need to take into account cost of living, in particular housing.

Whilst I disagree with your stats, I fall into your category.
I choose to be self employed rather than form a limited company and pay capital gains and corporation tax so I am fully paying my tax without any loop holes.
My business paid around £100K in collected VAT that my sales generated last year. I employed 17 people and my employers NI contributions were over £20K last year.
I also have made some pretty big capital investments in my business over the last three years all have been made with UK business and most have been with small independents. Yes I get to put this against tax, but I have taken lots of my profits reinvested to future proof my business and helped stimulate the economy.
Last tax year my gross earnings that I was taxed on was not as massive as you imagine, but HMRC was up over £120K and I spent over £40K stimulating our economy.

I think your £20k estimate is WAY off, given that the average household income in the UK is about £24k. However, I'm just going to echo what Lonecatwithkitten has said.

I own a decent sized farm / estate with a number of associated rural businesses. I directly employ over 100 full time staff and a certain times of year have that number swollen to well over 300 with casual labour - both locals and people from further afield. This is before you begin to tot up all the other jobs in the local area which are made viable in part by the extra economic activity my organisation generates in the area.

As well as paying horrific amounts of tax, I support the local economy by providing jobs, using other local companies to do work for me. For instance, the local pub which we use to do the catering on our shoot. In the winter we take 2 or 3 parties of 10 - 15 people every single week from mid October through to the end of January! The landlord is very open in saying that if it wasn't for this trade he would have to lay off a couple of bar staff for the winter and re-employ them in the spring.

My contribution to the local economy amounts to tens of thousands of pounds a year, if not hundreds. My contribution to the governments coffers each year is certainly in the hundreds of thousands of pounds so I get very irate when people ask me what I am doing for those less fortunate.
I tell you what I'm doing, I am working my arse off providing jobs and helping provide economic stability in the local area. I pay more tax each year than many people pay in a lifetime so don't lecture me about 'doing something for those less fortunate.'

Steps off soapbox....

Comparing a global average is utterly meaningless. The 'average' person, worldwide probably has a crap income and an extremely hard life, but unless you want the person earning £20k in the UK to replicate that level of poverty, I'm entirely sure what you expect them to do directly about worldwide inequality

You simply cannot compared high cost of living / high income countries, with developing countries with little infrastructure and everything in between. It's meaningless to try to do so.

Structural inequalities won't be solved by guilt tripping people who are on a fairly mediocre wage (and depending on location and circumstance could even be struggling) in a rich country.

As others have said, you can't even compare £20k countrywide. In my home town, you could do okay on £20k, maybe buy a nice flat or a 3 bed ex council house with a wee garden if you weren't too fussed about the street, certainly run a car. Wouldn't fancy it in London.

Everyone, her username isn't "ethical," it's "ethnical."

A wind-up and a fairly unimaginative one

There's no use getting all indignant and snooty when you don't even have a basic understanding of what you are asking.

Ok, we're relatively rich in the UK but a family on 20K is likely to need extra support to exist according to UK expected norms.

According to stats I have read the UK spend 0.7% of gross national income on overseas aid and UK is first in G8 to achieve a promise that was made to make this sort of level of contribution. We should be proud of that (and we all contribute to this through tax). I know there are flaws in the overseas aid system but overall I think it is good. Hopefully it can be improved but we have to rely on our government to work out how to do that. Not sure why OP does not count overseas aid as contrition.

On top of that people make contributions to charity etc. And we have loads of issues in the UK that need sorting out and financial support.

I accept the OPs stats and think she has given us plenty of food for thought - certainly caused something of a stir.

• meant contribution not contrition

I do bugger all besides pay plenty of tax which the government spunks on underserving causes. As far as I'm concerned I look after my family and those close to me, every other fucker out there can starve for all I care.

20k in my pocket would make me feel rich. 20k salary before taxes, NI, mortgage, bills, food, etc. would make me feel pretty poor to be honest as there would be nothing left!

Some context here
www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30949796

I earn approx 25k.

After tax, NI, pension I clear approx £1500 a month.

Which won't go far for most people after taking out bills, food, petrol, etc.

What is the point of this thread.

We:

• pay our fair share of taxes, including contribution towards national health care and education despite not using public healthcare or state education
• employ people and pay well above the minimum wage for basic services
• spend our money
• contribute after tax money to charities
• contribute time on a weekly basis to 2 charities.

Is that enough for you?

I pay my way.

I paid for my own education to allow me to earn the wage I do and studied in my own time after work
I enjoy what little I have left after paying bills etc. with my family

And I will NOT feel guilty about that.

we;
work full time {+++}
volunteer 2x per week local foodbank
volunteer and donate 1x month local church
volunteer and donate 1x per quarter ecumenical fundraisers (for Bible Society)
donate monthly to foodbank, actionaid, cats protection, dogs trust, mammals trust, RSPB, cancer research, shelter.
2 x per year donate and volunteer time for fundraisers- action for children
2x per year donations to world mission.
sponsored challenge walk/run etc every couple of years.

plus various sponsorings of friends/family doing walks/runs etc throughout the year, put in to whatever street collections we come across.

The phrase 'dipping from the same well' seems to be very apt for us and our circle.

Also note that 'the widow's mite' is very apt for many people we know, who give from what little they have (time and/or money).

OP - what do you do?

I am a nurse and if I worked full time I would earn about £34k. What I would pay in taxes would pay to help poorer people, shouldn't have to pay anymore, that's a living wage not a fortune!

As far as I'm concerned I look after my family and those close to me, every other fucker out there can starve for all I care

Nice.

I give my entire income to charity and live in a cardboard box. My kids are sent out to work instead of going to school and dh is an escort.

Why should someone's wealth be redistributed just because some do gooders say so when that wealth has been earned, usually, but not always by their own, by blood sweat and tears

Most people I know who earn 100,000 plus, and I'm talking probably 500,000 plus in real cold money, do so because they literally live and breathe work, have invested well and pay more back in than you or I ever will

If someone decided to syphon off my money because I was deemed to be rich then I would be bloody furious, we don't live in utopia for gods sake

hidden
Ah, but do your DCs and your DH donate their entire income too, hm?

It's not good enough hidden, he should be doing it for free