AIBU to think the govt should do more to help/support single people?

[windygallows]

Increasingly I've become more aware of how how single people really struggle in a society geared towards couples. Not only is it pretty hard to get by financially or even to afford a house as a house as a single person, but aside from a small council tax rebate there is absolutely no tax relief or support given by the government. One person paying all bills in a system which 'assumes' and sets couple-dom as the standard.

Surely the govt could intervene by, for instance, setting a different/reduced tax code for those who are single than those in domestic partnerships/couples. Being single is usually out of people's control, often down to fate, and shouldn't be penalized.

I've been single for the majority of my life and vividly recall how much better off I was in the 10 years I was with ex-DP; it was a marked difference. I've seen accomplished, but solo, friends struggle. I certainly don't want to hope and pray that my DCs meet someone just to ensure they have a good quality of life and, as a society, it sends a pretty rubbish message that being independent means that you're likely to have a reduced standard of income.

Agree Soya, it was a good thread.

haveacupoftea Yes I get tax credits to top up my salary but my point was that if I was single and not a single parent (and I only have DD 50% of the time as we have shared custody so half of the time I'm effectively living alone when it comes to people actually physically residing in the house), then I wouldn't get those tax credits, and yet my basic household bills would still be the same.

Agree Helena about women 'resorting' to marriage because it offers a better or premium quality of life.

Pretty depressing but I saw it all the time when I was younger (small working class town) and still conscious it's on women's radar now.

We want women to reach for the stars but what if they discover it's easier not to when they realise that. marriage gives a better quality of life.

Ursula, many of my friends (mid twenties) flatshare in couples. So half the rent. Half the broadband etc. Would you tell the families or couples struggling to just house share? I mean, if that's what I should do why is having been in the right place at the right time for a relationship mean that as an adult you don't have to live in a (usually) shorty, insecure houseshare?

Point is the care jobs/retail jobs/cleaning jobs still need doing so they should be paid at a decent rate.

But backforgood my argument is hat if the govt can confidently identify single mothers then surely single non mothers as well?

It can't. But governments generally feel they have a moral obligation to ensure that children are not living in poverty so fraudulent claims is a risk they deem reasonable. I cannot see many people agreeing that saving single people from the irritation of flat-sharing is so important that the risk of fraud is similarly reasonable in that case.

If you don't like living alone and having to pay all those pesky bills, flat/house share.

That's what all those cosy couples are doing, in essence.

There is a huge difference between "house sharing" because of financial necessity and "living together" out of pure choice.

Exactly BOY. Let's make this fair and everyone no matter what their marital status can experience the joy of houseshares.

DH and I moved into a flatshare the summer we got married, which was because we'd bought a house but contracts hadn't been exchanged and the landlord of the house we were renting was selling so we had to move out in June and we didn't actually move into our house until September.

The people we lived with were WEIRD. Weird I can deal with but there was a man who used to walk in on me 'by mistake' when I was in the shower. That summer I spent a lot of time by the river or in the shopping centre as DH was at work. It wasn't very pleasant. Horrible to feel so exposed and uncomfortable at 'home.'

I sold my house as I couldn't afford to pay the mortgage after my ex moved out. I then struggled to find somewhere to rent, as working in the NHS, my salary did not match 30x the monthly rent that most letting agents require. None of them would take any benefits into consideration. I have nobody I can ask to be a guarantor.
Luckily I managed to find one, just one, letting agent in my city, who would take my WTC and child benefit into the calculation.
The stress this caused me while trying to extricate myself from a relationship that had gone horribly wrong, sell a house, find somewhere near to local schools, not too far from work etc etc, was horrendous.

Yes something should be done about both the financial strain on single people and also make it easier for people on low incomes who can patently afford to pay rent, (when it's less than their mortgage was), to find somewhere to live.

Owl, it's not about irritation of flat sharing, it's that recognising people's circumstances and therefore contributions to the state are not equal.

Perhaps Owl but it's not the govt saving singles from the 'irritation of flat shares' it's an issue with living standards generally. The govt also gives WTC and concessions like free childcare at certain ages.

When do you think our current or most recent govt have ever thought about single people Singles are a nonentity who are there to provide tax income and assumed to need nothing. They need to be o

On the govts radar more!

I think there are loads of people the government should be protecting more, from high rents and pathetically low paid jobs with no security.

I have been single and was very well off as I had no dependents. I have been married with both of us working, and that was very comfortable. I have been in a couple with two young children and nursery fees to pay, and that was the time we were really hard up. I've never been a single parent, which I should imagine is hardest of all.

I think, to be honest, that life in the UK is just shit at the moment for many different people.

Also the idea of houseshares relies on there being a market for them, not everywhere has an abundance of people just waiting to move into a house share.

Well being married and fortunate enough to have found a person who can share your life with even as a couple is now a privilege. Why should single people feel almost forced to find or in cases accept a relationship just because it ends up being more beneficial financially. Or if your in a relationship and it falls apart end up staying together cos its better off than being single. I had a relative sya it to me once, that I should get married as I will be better off, seriously why would I marry just anyone and compromise on that just because i'll be financially better off and therefore better than being single :S no thanks

I guess then those single parents who'se children have grown up and moved out should also just move into a house share, right?

"Surely it's a life choice."

Surely you know that lots of people aren't single by choice????

Much about being married is an absolute nightmare. It's not necessarily better than sharing a house with someone you're not in a romantic relationship with.

I am single and house share. I am far happier than I was married, and don't see how I'm worse off financially.

Yes, I think single people should get better help. It may stop the few that think having children may get them something such as house. I used to think yeah it will be great with all the tax paying in I will one day get at least something back when I had a child. Annoyingly they stopped child benefit for me then as I earned a certain amount and paid too much tax.

"I don't think many people past the age of 25 or so would want to house share, anyway."

It's extremely difficult once you've lived on your own for a few years. Also, a couple can share a room whereas two housemates would generally have their own rooms so more expensive.

In a retail job i had years ago the blokes in the warehouse got paid for overtime. The women in the shops didnt.

We had to do these things called mega events where after 5.30pm us women that worked in the shop were unpaid if these events overran but the blokes in the warehouse got double time ALL DAY and after 5.30pm for these events which always took place on a Saturday.

Looking back i can see this was sex discrimination.

But things like this make it even harder for working class women especially if they are on their own.

The only thing I look forward to in the budget annoucement is how much the tax allowance bracket is increasing other than that the rest is always about married people and families and the help they are getting.

"I think there's a market for University style accommodation - shared kitchens, en suite bathrooms, communal lounges and bigger bedrooms / own little lounge area."

Only if they were self-contained bedsits. Own bathroom, lounge and shower, but a communal area available for socialising. I don't see how it's fair that a working adult should have to live like a student forever. After living alone for years, there's no way I can adapt to not being able to use the bathroom or the kitchen when I want or not being welcome in my own living room when someone has a guest or being scared of a strange man coming into my bedroom when the housemate brings a one-night-stand home.

I don't know about government support.
As a single person and knowing there are more single households im amazed that supermarkets in general sell produce especially meat only on large packs. I sometimes use the butchers section but they don't do chicken. I simply don't need 10 chicken portions at once. I don't have a fresh market near me, which would be better. I do portion and freeze sometimes, but it feels like a gap in the market. Maybe they think none of us are interested in cooking.