AIBU to think Austerity has backfired

[contentedsoul]

Pretty much as the title says..

The constant news of the high street suffering made me ponder why no one ever makes the connection between that and the truly epic growth of ebay and their ilk.

Like most, we were forced to tighten our belts when prices began creeping up and up. We took the drastic step of selling all unwanted, unused and unloved stuff we had accumulated over the years. Not only did it clear all the debt (combined £15K) it made us realise just how much we had wasted by buying new.
Today, besides clothes and food virtually everything we buy is sourced off ebay or gumtree. The savings have been monumental but at the same time the realisation that all these sales give zero boost to the economy. No vat, no tax, no shop overheads, no wages to pay.
I can only imagine just how much ebay has cost this country in lost revenue.
We now wont change back, we would sooner buy used and cheap and keep the savings in OUR bank account.
Our car was wrote off last year, the payout covered the cost of 2 used cars sourced off ebay, (newest is 15yrs old) for less than 1/5th the insurers paid out. the combined mileage on both these old old cars is less than half that of the car we had written off. The servicing cost is less, tyres less, insurance less....bloody hell its crazy just how much savings we have made. plus we are now completely invisible to others.

My eyes have been truly opened.

I don't think the chancellor ever dreamt what damage the years of austerity would create.
How on earth will they now change the likes of us to go back to the high street and pay through the nose.

Yanbu ...austerity is damaging to the economy.
This accomoanied with tough competition on the internet is a perfect storm for the higb street.

However, on the plus side, as you pointed out...perhaps we will buy less and recycle which is better for the planet.

Trouble is our government is most intetested in economy over environment..they have failed in both ways here.

@Malificent - you have summed it up perfectly.

Do ebay pay tax in the UK?

And the thing is that now everything's cut to the bone - police, education, health, social housing, social services - the only way to improve things is by raising taxes and that's something that nobody wants to do. If people are really broke they're not going to vote for higher tax even if they can really see the benefits of it.

WOW

metro.co.uk/2014/09/28/guess-how-much-tax-ebay-paid-on-1-3-billion-profits-clue-its-620k-4884588/

I think as sad as I am to see highstreet shops close and as cross as I am about austerity overall, the move to using second hand / repairing is a really important step.

@Hollowtalk
You have a point. but until the government levels the pension between the private and public sector workers, I'll shed no tears...sorry.
No one lines my pocket, so I'm reluctant to line theirs.

Totally agree. The high street is dead. I admittedly live in a poor area of England but I don't know anyone who goes shopping as a hobby anymore. People are much more likely to only buy what they need. Once you get out of the habit of recreational shopping it's hard to justify splashing out.

So essentially no, they don't :( thanks op

How can the govt be responsible for the pensions of private sector workers, though?

And this isn't to do with public sector workers - it's everyone who suffers from austerity.

Pensions between public and private sector now are levelled for most new workers. In fact some private schemes are better.

I think this would have happened - the ebay stuff etc - without the austerity measures though. The boom in consumerism wasn't going to last forever surely?

In some ways consumerism is currently worse than ever though, fuelled by Instagram etc. Weddings. Christmas. On a thread the other day someone was describing a kids birthday party with a fake cake (made of cardboard and plastic). Presumably for the photos.

I can’t remember the last time I went in to town. I get underwear from supermarkets and I buy my clothes from eBay.

5 years ago out tv broke and we couldn’t afford to go to curry’s as get a new one. We bought one locally from eBay for £36 and it’s still working perfectly fine.

My children buy their clothes online - there is always a discount code or free shipping.

I don't think shops and shopping are an important part of life, or even of the economy. A mostly shop-free world is fine with me.

I doubt anything has been lost from the economy, spending will simple have shifted elsewhere.

A quick google confirms that government revenue from taxation has not stopped rising during the past decade.

Also, shops disappearing is due to internet, not austerity.

Ebay has probably done more for the environment than all the Green Parties of the world, in their entire history. (Just a wild guess, not based on research!)

Austerity was political.