To think that people are actually getting more ridiculous in their expectations??

[Youmadorwhat]

I mean ffs, 9.99 for Netflix per month Is justified because it’s entertainment but never mind the fact that you are in deficit every month🙄

Childcare, anything medical (including hospital car parks), education, school dinners and housing should all be subsidized substantially or FREE (and 24/7) I mean should the government not just collect the babies from the maternity ward and hand them back at 18!

I even saw a thread a while back where someone stated that all extra curricular activities should be subsidized for children 🙄

I know people are struggling I get that but the government CANNOT afford to prop up everyone!! Especially when a lot of people are actually at a tax deficit anyway!! Rant over!!

yawn

I agree. Many don’t do the maths when it comes to raising children.

The rich are getting richer under austerity measures, while people are having to work 2 jobs and struggle to make ends meet?

Employers should pay decent wages before they line their own pockets, and not expect the taxpayer to fund their wages bill.
Rant over.

social inequality is growing, and this is not a good thing OP

I think people's expectations are not high enough (the nhs could be so much better, more efficient! Benefits are really quite low, housing is really quite expensive (need more council housing) and for way too many people life is just very expensive as wages are low)

Netflix at £10 is not exactly what is breaking the bank. In the olden days () even poor people watched TV (and paid for TV license roughly what we now pay for Netflix)

The UK is not exactly on the right path IMO

And I am not even a leftie!!!

Netflix at £10 is not exactly what is breaking the bank. In the olden days (wink) even poor people watched TV (and paid for TV license roughly what we now pay for Netflix)
But it is ON TOP of a licence and broadband and sky and phones with internet, it all adds up.

If the government hadn’t allowed everyone the right to buy all those years ago then there would be more social housing I agree but we can’t have it all!!

I agree. Very unpopular opinion, but I think that we ought to hugely dial back on what is covered under the NHS. It is the biggest drain on taxpayer resources, and IMO should be providing just essential and emergency medical care.

Netflix etc is a totally separate issue, but I think it's actually pretty expensive! I reckon that if you had to pay for the whole year in one go (so £120) a lot of people would think twice, whereas £10 a month seems reasonable. And I agree it shouldn't be seen as a justifiable expense if you can't afford it. I remember reading an article a few years back about a family where the dad had lost his job 6 months before and none of the rest of the family worked, but they still paid a fortune for a full sky package despite being on the dole because otherwise they had nothing to do all day!

You’ll be blaming all the avocado buying next.

Let’s say my “entertainment” bills come to 80£ a month - Netflix, basic sky, WiFi.
How many months do I have to save for a private rent deposit of 500/1000£, plus another for the month in advance.
How many months do I have to save for a 5% / 10,000£ deposit on an average costing house?
If my entertainment package is the only luxury I have for me and my family then I won’t be giving it up to save the £80 towards a never-going-to-happen dream of owning my own home in an overinflated, ruined housing market, which is kept that way to ensure the rich stay rich and the muggles are kept in their place.

Yes people do have expectations of being able to live to the same / similar standard as others and why shouldn’t they?
30 years ago you could work in a basic skilled job and afford to buy a 3 bed semi. Now that would be impossible in the majority of this country.
The general working population especially the poor, are not to blame for this.

TAAT?

30 years ago you could work in a basic skilled job and afford to buy a 3 bed semi

30 years ago DH and I bought a tiny one bedroom flat next to a builders merchant. In generations past newlyweds lived with their parents for the first few years. I think you have rose tinted glasses on. The housing market hasn't been "kept" a certain way, it's supply and demand. More and more people needing housing, housing supply not keeping up.

Employers should pay decent wages before they line their own pockets, and not expect the taxpayer to fund their wages bill

Totally agree. Always bleating that they can't afford the minimum wage. In that case your business model isn't right.

Well said Theinebr

but I think that we ought to hugely dial back on what is covered under the NHS
I completely disagree. I think the NHS should be supported and maintain and everything possible should be done to avoid privatised healthcare. And I don't even live in the UK! But proper social medical services should be accessible to all regardless of the persons income.

I don't think people in low skilled jobs could afford a three bed semi even 30 years ago ,s ,s terrace probably ,but both my parents were in employment ,they both worked for the "Gas Board " and were on good wages ,whilst they have ended up.in a four bed semi , they did that through working their way up the housing ladder and we live in the North West where housing has never been expensive as the London and the South East.

But it is ON TOP of a licence and broadband and sky and phones with internet, it all adds up

So poor people should have no means of entertainment whatsoever, no ability to communicate with others? You are aware that the expectation that benefit applications are now completed online? That job diaries etc. are completed on line? So poor people need access to the Internet. And please, for the love of god, do not tell me the library. Libraries are closing/closed. The nearest one may be several miles away.

And you don't need a TV licence to have netflix.

I never said to get rid of phones, I said it was on top of those bills, no one NEEDS sky and Netflix, I don’t have either and I am entertained 🤷‍♀️

If all extracurricular activities were subsidised for children, what impact do you think that would have on the youth crime rate and associated costs?

If childcare was free, what impact do you think that would have on the rate of women going back to work, their mental health and associated costs in benefits, medical care and others?

If all children had free nutritious school meals, what impact do you think that would have on their health, academic attainment and associated costs in healthcare and benefits?

I think you're seeing only a tiny part of this incredibly big picture.

May be they prefer Netflix to normal tv? Not everyone watches,tv or needs a licence there are different choices these days.

That's great for you. Other people get their entertainment from Netflix. £10 a month is hardly out there, is it? If I choose to get my entertainment via Netflix rather than a couple of bottles of wine/cigarettes/takeway/gym membership/hobby with some kind of subscription/magazine subscription...what has it got to do with you? I am technically 'poor'. I work a full time job, a part time one and a seasonal one. Do you really begrudge me £10 a month to relax with?

I agree

How many people are moaning that they can't afford to save, which is true, they can't. They have however chosen to rent a house with garden, have kids, go on holidays, buy take aways and so on.
So indeed they haven't got much spare cash.

They would if they were living in a shared house, had waited to have kids and so on, like so many of us did!

The sense of entitlement about children is astonishing. Yes, you do have to pay for their food, their uniforms, their holidays - what exactly did you expect? No, someone shouldn't do it for you!

You can't afford a big house, so you expect financial help from the government, because otherwise it's not fair. Huh?

You don't want to pay to book your seats on a plane because otherwise you can't afford the holiday? Seriously? I will request the 4 Season to give me a free Suite because otherwise I can't afford to holiday either!

People never had a better lifestyle, but because the rich are getting richer, they want more - without doing much for it.

To be fair in the 90s/00s a lot of people I knew paid for a subscription to Sky TV. Now I don’t know anyone who pays for Sky, everyone I know has a Freeview box and so I’d say a large proportion of people have just swapped paying for Sky to paying for Netflix. That doesn’t seem a huge change to me.

Yes, Netflix also includes internet fees but again I’d say it’s been the norm for households to have access to the internet for well over a decade. It’s expected that teenagers have access to the internet for homework and a lot of people need internet access at home as part of their job (or to search for a job if claiming certain benefits) so I’d hardly say that internet access is a luxury anymore than a landline was a luxury 20 years ago.

A household removing their Netflix subscription of £6-£10 is not going to make much difference except for those on the lowest incomes. And if you’re on a low income chances are you can’t afford to go out and do things at evenings or weekends so I’d say it’s reasonable to want to be able to stay in and have access to films and TV to watch.

@MadeleineMaxwell yeah but there is no money to provide all of that and everything else that needs to be provided for. Tax would increase and people would still be complaining. And how is it fair that a childless couple would pay tax for a system they are getting nothing out of??

we ought hugely to dial back on what is provided by the NHS

Or seriously look at the way other countries manage to staff, fund and provide a good health service for all their population. We tend to think that the only two options are the US option and the U.K. option, when in fact there are many ways of funding a state health service which make the system fairer and the provision not based on a post code lottery which is the way the NHS is going.

And how is it fair that a childless couple would pay tax for a system they are getting nothing out of??

Presumably they use the NHS? And expect a police car/fire engine/ambulance to turn up if they dial 999? Presumably they use roads? Have their rubbish collected?

You don't have to pay for it though.
We don't have Netflix, or Sky, Virgin or any other packages.
If there is something I can't see anywhere else, which is rare, I'll log into ds1 account if he's not using it, alot of his mated do too.

I think expectations have changed with the monthly managed generation. It's only x a month we can afford that, so they have it. Not really realising that all these monthly unnecessary expenses are what leaves them with nothing annually.

my generation saved, or didn't have. You were a failure if you had to have credit and you tried to keep it quiet