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!!

Paying tax is one of the most grown-up things you can do. People who pay a lot of tax should be appreciated and thanked. Tax avoidance should be as much of a taboo as drink-driving, because it's just as harmful to society.

Tax is theft. I really wish I could opt out of society

OP you’re hysterical 🤣🤣 you seem to be picking bizarre and random examples and mixing them all up into some weird society where people who can’t afford Netflix get in debt for it and childless couples subsidise everyone. What a crock of shit🤣

Broomstick for Prime Minister! Surely it’s all just common sense. As for those not wanting to ‘pay for other people’s children’, how short-sighted can you get? They’re going to grow up and provide our future workforce - how’s that going to work if only the rich have kids? (I’m now off to cancel my Netflix subscription and save up for a 10% house deposit for a Buy-to-Let property - I’ve discovered it’s only going to take me 83 years if house prices don’t go up any further! Woohoo!)

Who pays 9.99 for Netflix instead of just using a friend's account?

and on top of everything Broomstick said, the rise of poverty and lack of access to healthcare will also lead to the rise of poverty-related diseases: some of which are extremely contagious

my FIL came from a fairly affluent family, but contracted tuberculosis as a teenager which left him disabled for life

a colleague of dh's contracted TB fairly recently; these illnesses are on the rise

we really, really, really do not want a society where a substantial proportion of the population are tempted for financial reasons not go to the doctor with suspicious symptoms

if your ability to access healthcare goes tits up, it might not just be your problem or the problem of your innocent child: it might also be the problem of anybody else who comes into contact with them

It's going to take ten years to save £1200 - not a reasonable, nor sustainable saving plan.

I don't think anyone seriously mean a single Netflix subscription is going to make a huge impact, but as a way of life and a symptom of overspending, it's a fair comment.

But life happens, what if your DH left you or you lost your job and suddenly couldn't afford your kids? Would you send them back?

The point I’m making is that I want less government, not more. It’s not anyone else’s problem if my life goes tits up. They’re my children and my responsibility.

So you want to live in a country that could see someone's life fall to pieces and leave their children to suffer that situation, or simply what - take the kids away?

My opinion is people need to learn to live within their means

Not everyone can afford to drive, can afford £50+ contracts for the latest phone, heating on all the time, frequent meals out, gym, new clothes, nights out

People live like they can afford it, and either rack up debt or have nothing left at the end of the month. It's being realistic and managing your money and not being ashamed of your earnings.

My grandma used to say 1/3 bills 1/3 spending 1/3 saving.

Tax is not fucking theft. It’s a moral responsibility to give back to society to the degree to which you are able.

It’s part of being a decent human being!

Of course, one could express concern as to where the tax money is going, but that’s a different point.

“I stopped buying the story that there is not enough money to sort out housing and the NHS when Theresa May just casually gave the DUP £1 BILLION(!) for their support.”

My parents have opinions like this and I find them deeply odd. Do you have any idea as to the size of the treasury in a country the size and wealth of the U.K.? Do you realise the ridiculousness of a statement like “not enough money to sort out housing” (who made this statement?

I have never heard of it: I work in the industry. Nothing is as simple as money or no money; basic economics lesson there) and putting a hugely complex situation into a little daft sound bite is to whip up the hard of thinking into a frenzy to buy votes.

How do you think this country is run if you think having £8bn knocking about means no financial strain on the country? Do you have any idea or concept of how much money is collected or spent by the treasury? Do you think they’re scratching around behind the ministerial sofa to find some change to pay the electric bill at reading hospital? You think £8bn is a lot?!

EGate

I don’t think many people actually live like that though.

I don't mind paying tax, and I pay a lot of it. My life is materially improved by having good services available, by having clean streets, by having emergency services and police, and schools and free at point of use healthcare.

If everyone around me is kept healthy as possible, and paid a fair wage and has a decent work/life balance, my life is better to.

How is the town around me going to be if there's no safety net? If when something goes wrong for someone, we just throw them out on the street to beg?

I'd prefer to pay for a few scroungers, so that those who need it can stay on their feet, than let society go to pot because I begrudge paying for some poor kid's breakfast because his parents prefer job seekers to working.

Not everyone can afford to drive, can afford £50+ contracts for the latest phone, heating on all the time, frequent meals out, gym, new clothes, nights out

With the exception of the first, I think you will find most poor people do not actually indulge much in these.

But a good many jobs require being able to drive. In fact, it is becoming more common these days for workers to be sleeping in their car because they cannot afford accommodation.
The majority of jobs also require at least a cheap phone and many require internet access.

Netflix is £7.99 🤷

People don't have normal TV and/or phonelines anymore.

I watch Netflix and on Demand. I don't need a licence.

The price for Netflix and the Internet is the same as a phoneline and TV licence 25yrs ago 🙄

Give it a fucking rest.

Do you want people to eat gruel and whatever they can forage from bins instead of doing a weekly shop too, OP?

Egate, I had a wonderful life in the mid 90s. I earned around £25k as a staff nurse and bought a two bed flat for £42k.
The same flats are now selling well beyond the reach of staff nurses.

Its not just about living within your means it's about having the essentials within realistic reach.

or maybe make people lose that mindset that they are entitled to housing they can't afford and that someone should cover the difference between their income and what they want, as opposed to need?

And what about the people who cannot afford the housing they need for the amount of people that live there? Surely we need more social housing to provide for all the families living in scummy bedsits and temporary hostels for way way longer than they should be.

@User10fuckingmillion

Why am I obligated to be part of society?

DuckWillow, we bought a 3 bedroom house with a garden in the South East for 49k in 1993. Dh was an archaeologist working for the local excavation unit. People on that level in that job are not buying houses now, that's for sure.

Whiteredrose doesn't surprise me state of all these scrooges these days. Bloody selfish and would be first in line if they ever needed or qualified for any help.

“I stopped buying the story that there is not enough money to sort out housing and the NHS when Theresa May just casually gave the DUP £1 BILLION(!) for their support.”

^

This

All we ever hear about is austerity and cutbacks but the minute they are in the sh*t they can pull this sort of cash out for the DUP. Let's not also forget the millions wasted on non existent ferries and other government projects. It's always the ordinary people who have to suffer and on top of it all we are made to feel guilty for spending £2.50 a week on something like Netflix. Jesus wept give us a break.

Tax is not fucking theft. It’s a moral responsibility to give back to society to the degree to which you are able.

Open-access society I say.

Why am I obligated to be part of society?

Society is the bit that provides you with running water, cleans away your shit (unless of course you have your own septic tank), runs vaccination programmes and healthcare which keeps you safe from contagious and dangerous diseases, trains the doctors who would look after you in an emergency, keeps the roads intact on which you travel and on which your food is brought, brings a policeman to your door if someone attempts to murder you, brings a fire engine if your house catches fire, sends an ambulance if you collapse in the street,
and attempts (with diminishing success) to keep the planet safe for you.

corythatwas

But we as a family don’t want, need, or use any of that.

Cory in many areas driving is a must or no job for you. In fact I live in an area with half decent PT and life still sucks without a car.

Its not just about living within your means it's about having the essentials within realistic reach.

This.