Would you do this? (Ben Fogle's TV license donation)

[ScrewBalls99]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48607896

Would you do this?

Donate towards over 75's free TV licenses?

Please show me the post where i said that poorer ppl should pay.

The whole thing should be abolished. We are in a different century now This licence is decades and decades old.

So stop being a two faced hypocrite and using poor people as a stick to suit your agenda when you couldnt give a fuck the rest of the time. @Walkingdeadfangirl

A fair few I suspect. They are the demographic which votes which is why we've got the Tories in Downing Street and Brexit.

From Age UK:

Half of all over 75s are living with a disability, and many rely on their TV for companionship and entertainment.
For those who don't have the internet, TV lets them stay up to date with what's happening in the world.
Nearly a third of over 75s are living in poverty or just above the poverty line. Paying a hefty extra bill would simply be impossible when they're barely scraping by as it is.
Our research shows that more than 2 million over 75s will have to go without TV or cut back on heating and food if free TV licences were scrapped.

I personally doubt any did. It was online. Did you miss that?

Laughable to imagine 75's plus have had an easy life. Most born into war years with absent parent (single parent family situation forced upon them), or post war austerity. Perhaps a parent lost in war or damaged by it. Born pre NHS and no access to free health benefits, dental care or spectacles. School leaving age 14, many working from that age in very limited employment fields - and no equal pay with men.
This was a make do and mend, and save for the rainy day generation.
If some have made it through all that to live in more comfort and security when they are over 75, good on them.
Think a bit more respect is due.

You’re so right @Stone. My generation has had it relatively easy, I’m happy to acknowledge that but add another ten years and it’s a completely different ball game.

Why is it that the BBC sits so close to the state anyway? Answer,well it is an organ of the state,its Orwellian horn,the visual opiate,pumping out propaganda and bullshit to the masses. The US has Voice of America, UK has the BBC.

@HelenaDove
So stop being a two faced hypocrite and using poor people as a stick to suit your agenda when you couldn't give a fuck the rest of the time.

You seem to have a chip on your shoulder about something, I have no idea what. If you want to abolish the license fee then who do you think will pay for the BBC?

Do we actually need the BBC at all?

No I wouldn't because most pensioners are financially secure.

Apparently pensioner poverty is rising.

www.theguardian.com/society/2018/dec/09/pensioner-poverty-rises-bnefites-freeze

Either abolish it for all or make it payable for all. After all, it's a luxury item, no one needs a tv.

it's a luxury item, no one needs a tv

TV is the only company some people have and the only other voices and faces that enter their homes.

After all, it's a luxury item, no one needs a tv

Well heloooooooo Pelcombe workfare provider from the year 2000 Where did you park your Tardis?

@Bluerussian

Nearly a third of over 75s are living in poverty or just above the poverty line. Paying a hefty extra bill would simply be impossible when they're barely scraping by as it is.
Our research shows that more than 2 million over 75s will have to go without TV or cut back on heating and food if free TV licences were scrapped.

Our research shows that more than 2 million over 75s will have to go without TV or cut back on heating and food if free TV licences were scrapped

I question their research.

I pay £12 a month for my TV licence. I realise lots of people don't have endless spare money; but are these pensioners really going to freeze/starve for the sake of £3 a week?

@StoneofDestiny Well said. The adults of today have no idea what life was like a while back. I am not that near to being 75 but things were tough in my time.
I was an adult before people started getting central heating. We did not have a tv or fridge or washing machine when I was a child and that was not because of poverty, my dad was in a good steady job. It just was not normal to have those things. We had one electric socket in each room. My parents always had a house with a bathroom but there were many people who still did not have a bathroom past my childhood. We had a car and holidays every year. We stayed in hotels when on holiday. It was all very different. A lot of my age group are or have looked after parents or grandparents while todays 20 to 40 years olds openly say that they would not look after a parent. Being a carer is a financial disaster, not to mention the damage it does to your health. By the time people of my age get to 75 I just hope they have enough about them to be watching tv

I am Canadian, so please forgive my ignorance...

How much does a license cost? Does it cover only the BBC, or any channels not available through a premium service like Sky?

In Canada, anything available via antenna is free, if you want more - you pay... a lot. As a result, and because "streaming" is still in a legal grey zone here, many families have Android boxes.

Our family has Netflix - getting rid of the rest saved us $100 a month.

@Walkingdeadfangirl, If you want to abolish the license fee then who do you think will pay for the BBC?

In Canada, the CBC is funded directly by tax revenue. Perhaps this is the goal?

@SisyphusHadItEasy, the state broadcaster should be free for anyone on benefits and a choice for everyone else.

@Bezalelle I beg your pardon?!?!

My Mum is 75 this year and lives hand to mouth since my Dad died. She has worked full time AND had another part time job on top, all her life from being 15. She receives £1.56 too much company pension to receive pension credit and has to survive on state pension as RBS managed to screw her out of her company pension with them (long story). She survives on £400 per month and has to pay council tax out of that. Luckily she owns her house mortgage free but after an equity-release disaster in her previous house, she's had to downsize to a tiny, tiny bungalow and now survives on the cheapest food she can, just so she can pay her bills. She loves her tv dramas and soaps but is now planning on getting rid of her tv to save the money. Poor thing.

How dare you say they're all rolling in it.... Grow up

@mimimoo22 @Myotherusernameisshy @Walkingdeadfangirl @Cwtches123 @Pinkmouse6 @Sootyandsweep2019 @Bluerussian @happyhillock

Please see my previous post!!!!

No-one is saying that all pensioners are rolling in it, far from it.

But many, many are very comfortable, so in times when many younger people have seen significant cutbacks in Government help, it is not right that pensioners should continue to be prioritised at the expense of everyone else. Remember that the state pension has continued to be uprated by 2.5% year on year in times when public sector employees and working age benefit recipients have seen years of freezes or 1% increase at best. Employees have seen pay freezes and cuts in take home pay due to increases in pensions contributions.

Mummy It sounds like your DM is a victim of bad luck and poor choices, but I question the accuracy of the £400 pm that you say her income is. She's had equity release, so it sounds like she's already spent some of the money that would have given her a more comfortable retirement.

If she really did work as much as you say, then she would be entitled to the full state pension, which for her age is £130 per week, plus you say she receives company pension that makes her ineligible to pension credit, so that should mean she has an income of close to £600 pm, not £400?

Not riches obviously, but maybe not the picture of sitting in the dark eating cold beans that you paint? Her outgoings for a single pension in a 'tiny tiny bungalow' will be low so its not like the £12 a month for a TV licence is going to mean the choice between heating and eating? There will be many younger people with more people to feed and clothe on similar amounts of money.