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.

"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."

Same here!

SingaSong12 I am with you on the food. I now grow my own over summer so I don't waste so much food. Also sick of freezing food, rather buy fresh when I want to eat meat but its just too expensive to eat like that

Also sick of freezing food, rather buy fresh when I want to eat meat but its just too expensive to eat like that

Yup, it's either eat chicken for a week or have to freeze it and then thaw it out every time you want it ... I'd rather just be able to buy a couple of pieces when I want to without it costing an arm and a leg!

I totally disagree with the married tax allowance and I think there is a good argument for a per capita based element to local taxation (but one which is progressive). But other than that I think you have to be really careful about what you're suggesting here - most of the benefits of living as a couple are about sharing things. It's "cheaper" because you are voluntarily using fewer resources. Things like sharing a bedroom, living room and kitchen rather than have one to yourself. Splitting bills rather than having arrangements where things are separated. These things use fewer resources. You can do most of it as a single person by having a flat share or living with family. That many people just do not want to do that doesn't mean living alone uses fewer resources and they are somehow being unfairly penalized.

People who live together also receive fewer benefits than single people. It's not a one sided push by the government to favour couples, other than the married allowance, government financial incentives generally provide more, per capita, to someone when they are on their own. The government take advantage of the fact that couples live more cost effectively.

The one big area I think the government really should put effort into is housing costs. Current costs are not appropriate and governments for the last 30+ years have been guilty of ignoring the growing crisis. This isn't simply for single people, but the impact on them is probably higher.

Haven't read the full thread but laughing bitterly at the thickshit observation that flat sharing is just the same as sharing with a partner.

Tonight I've taken a beta blocker and pressed a chest of drawrs against my door because the new house mate in my shared house got very drunk last night, scared me and gave me flashbacks to a sexual assault. Not my new house mate's fault of course. Hopefully he's ok and not like that.

But I feel very vulnerable because I have NO FUCKING CLUE who any of the people are, really, in my shared house. The landlord chooses who moves in. The turnover is high - every time we get a new male tenant I get a flare up in my anxiety. However, because this landlord is not so picky he allows me to live here, scum that I am, aka in receipt of housing benefit.

The housing officer at the local council admitted my housing was not appropriate for my needs, when he looked at my mental health history. Still nothing anyone can do about it. I'm at a loss, so I just muddle along as best I can, like all the others in my position.

Sloth What a shit situation.

And i can just imagine the victim blaming if something happened to a female tenant

There would be lots of "Well you chose to live there" from certain sections of society.

I like the system here in the US. You have three tax filing options, single, married or head of household (single parent). Head of household is the most generous and married filing joint is equal to single filing. It only changes when you have qualified dependents.

It's a very clever system that is fair and the section you fall into is quite simple to figure out.

Ive just had a look at the price of house shares in my town.

A single room is £350 a month. Admittedly that includes bills.

Having a nose at houses to rent - two beds - the average is around £600. You can get ones that are less but in the less salubrious areas of town.

So renting a single room costs the same as half a whole house when you are part of a couple. I've included bills in that.

Single people have a whole lot more flexibility, they can move for work, work varied hours, house share etc. If they want to live alone, then they need to ensure they can support that choice financially.

I don't think the state should pay for anyone's choices, I'd rather we just had a safety net to catch those in truly bad times and the rest could be spent on healthcare, education etc.

Not necessarily, Rainbows

That really is being unfair, it's saying, oh, well, you can't possibly move, Mrs Jones, because your right to shag the arse off Mr Jones must be upheld no matter what, but Miss Smith hasn't got anyone she cares about so she can move!

And I don't think the state should pay for anyone's choices but I do think it's reasonable to take into account that single people proportionally pay lot more for bills (regardless of where they live) than those in couples. As such, that should be taken into account with taxes.

At the risk of sounding like a cheesy song, children are our future which presumably is why successive governments give tax breaks to parents.

We certainly have some varied opinions on here don't we!
I can understand that a single woman may feel vulnerable in a grotty multiple tenency property and I feel for the pp, that must be a scary way to live. That is not really the same thing as renting a room in a private home or doing a flat share which would be the case for most. If you don't want or can't afford the expense that goes with the luxury of your own private flat you need to cut your cloth.
I've been in 3 different house share situations as a single woman and been happy and financially better off in all of them.
I am now the sole earner in our house as my husband is unable to work. If I couldn't cover the bills I would be open to the option of renting out a room to a single person and sharing our home. It doesn't have to be a last resort!
We all have such high expectations in our society of what we should have. A pp said let a couple house share and I don't see why that is such an outrageous idea. If we were all a little less precious about our living space we wouldn't have the housing shortage problem.
As for hotels needing to reduce prices for single rooms! They are selling the use of the room not a per head service so you are getting a discount on the room rate for being a single occupant. It doesn't cost them any less to have one person in a single room than 2 people in a double so you are actually getting cut a break by paying less for a single occupancy not being penalised because it's not half of the usual rate!
It amazes me that so few people can look at things from anything other than their own entitled position.

I don't think your own home is an unreasonably high expectation!

"They are selling the use of the room not a per head service so you are getting a discount on the room rate for being a single occupant. It doesn't cost them any less to have one person in a single room than 2 people in a double so you are actually getting cut a break by paying less for a single occupancy not being penalised because it's not half of the usual rate!"

Single rooms are smaller even if not half the price. The time required to clean the room will be a bit less. The breakfast, if included, would be less food. I don't expect a single room to be half the price of a double, but I'd expect it to be cheaper.

I don't think your own home is an unreasonably high expectation

Now that is an interesting question. Should someone in a country - who does a low / medium paying job but never lives with someone - be able at some point to afford to buy their own home?

I don't think that a person on the median UK salary - and who lives alone - could afford to even buy a flat in many parts of the UK.

"Single rooms are smaller even if not half the price. The time required to clean the room will be a bit less. The breakfast, if included, would be less food. I don't expect a single room to be half the price of a double, but I'd expect it to be cheaper."

A single room still has to have the bed changed, the bathroom cleaned, bins emptied, teas replenished etc so the time saving is minimal.

People who live together also receive fewer benefits than single people. It's not a one sided push by the government to favour couples, other than the married allowance, government financial incentives generally provide more, per capita, to someone when they are on their own. The government take advantage of the fact that couples live more cost effectively.

BoomBooms - tell me what are the greater benefits that single people receive over couples? What are the govt financial incentives that are provided to someone on their own?

I think what we're trying to say in this thread that a lot of the govt's focus is on families w/children and that single people are fairly neglected on the policy front.

Also for those saying 'I don't want the govt to be involved/we should be self sufficient' I agree and am not suggesting handouts. But we live in a state which is heavily involved in all elements of our life and which taxes us heavily as well. A review of the tax system to think more about the unique challenges of single people would be ideal.

Single people are the most precarious financially. Me and DP have went through some challenges financially, but having two people who could work, makes a big difference financially.

Governments ought to encourage people to live in families with two adults.

Oh ffs the 'single people can just move wherever' - in what world? Moving costs? Family? Job? Being single doesn't mean you have no commitments, endless ability to move, desire to never be settled or live near people you know.

If someone is in a family and is receiving Government support, then a family member is at more of an advantage when applying for jobs compared to a single person applying for the same job because the Govt is subsidising their income. So they can work for less than the single person because the Govt is providing extra income for them (to offset the cost of family).

It's a very very very complicated problem.

BoboChic Why should they?

Here in the US on most cruises you can get a room as a single person for a 25% discount on the double occupancy. If you want the double occupancy price you can be paired with someone they connect you with before the cruise. You then pay the same as each person in a couple would.