To think all keyworkers should have their tax stopped for the next two years

[marysuzairn]

All of those that worked throughout covid need to be rewarded. Why not just stop all tax for every nurse, care worker, teacher (and assistant), gas engineer, pharmacist etc. They kept the country going and weren't just at home on 80% pay (and actually better off with less outgoing). Isn't it time to now reward them appropriately?

I didnt do the Thursday clap either. What a load of crap.

@Badbadbunny No of course I wouldn't. But bankers are perfectly capable of WFH and minding kids the same as the rest of us, they didn't need school places

I agree that the somewhat hysterical hero worshipping of key workers should stop now (I think it has already actually!) and that anyone with a banner on their fb page should probably think about taking it off

It’s not really difficult to understand surely, that some key workers have had a shit time and some have been cruising. Same as some furloughed people have been laughing into their gin in the garden while others are broken and facing financial ruin. Blanket terms like ‘key workers’ which include millions of people all with vastly different circumstances, are really unhelpful because these concepts aren’t absolute, there are variations and nuances in every situation. Let’s just stop generalising and support everyone who is having a rough time, regardless of their job status. Sadly this is yet another example of our increasingly divided society.

Emm how would we pay for that even if it was a good idea. We need to raise huge amounts of money to pay for the Covid crisis

@THisbackwithavengeance I don't wish to derail the thread but the pay rises clearly aren't because of covid. Public sector pay over the last decade has been below inflation and is still lower in real terms than it was a decade ago. I don't agree with people whinging about it not being enough as others are losing their jobs, but turning on eachother and saying people don't deserve fair pay is not right either.

I was hoping the moody unhelpful receptionist who last smiled in 1997 at my nhs dentist wasnt included in the clapping for nhs heroes.

People working in itu had a horrendous time, if there’s a 2nd wave, many don’t feel equipped to deal with it. The toll on mental health will be huge, I’ve witnessed experienced itu consultants in tears.

Honestly, they are amazing and I’m thankful
not to be working there !

Ridiculous idea.
Not all key workers worked the whole time. It's a myth.
Lots of people wanted to carry on working but were sent home.
Lots of business and self employed wanted to open but couldn't.
Some people were laid off immediately, some had to sign on for UC for the first time or lived off their savings, some people will lose their jobs and some businesses will fold.
We need to stop the idolisation of people doing their jobs.
Everyone counts.

My DH is in the police and will happily say he has had it the easiest. He's kept his routine, had time out of the home and no threat to his job. He wouldn't have changed places with anyone, regardless of the sunny days

My father is in the police also, he is a sergeant rather than on beat so has been able to work from home, Monday to Friday, 7-3. He would be the first to admit he has had it far easier than a lot of people throughout this, he has had a steady job and full wage coming in, hasn't had to risk going out and is not sitting in fear of being made redundant. I'm sure he'd also be the first to say he does not deserve a tax break!

I'm sorry but giving a tax break to the only people who actually have a stable income right now is absolutely ludicrous.

@Chillyourbeans

Sometimes I wonder whether someone with such a woeful understanding of how the economy works should be allowed to vote. OP, with the greatest of respect, there is no magic money tree. The NHS and education are not funded by benevolent fairies. We are in economic shite up to our oxters and in the most basic of terms, we need more people paying in and fewer taking out. I'm assuming this is a wind up but if not then you really need to educate yourself.

Careful there, I suggested this once and got called allsorts. Apparently you can't suggest only people competent enough to understand things be allowed to vote. I think i suggested it in reference to people incapable of understanding simple key facts mentioned in a posters opening post.

I agree with you though

Businesses like Barclays and RBS are telling thousands of their office workers, that they do not need to return to working in the office - they can continue to work from home. If say all these businesses decide only to buy/rent much smaller offices to facilitate their staff coming into the office 1 - 2 days a week; then the commercial property market in large city centres, and all the ancillary industries like sandwich shops, coffee bars, office cleaners, etc could collapse.

The government could lose a fortune in business rates; not to mention the costs of 3/4/5 million unemployed from the hospitality industry, cleaners, etc; and subsidising the railways, left with 1 or 2 5ths of their commuters; plus the threat to the banking system. The loss of business rates alone will have to be made up through income tax, council tax, etc!

To talk about letting millions of taxpayers off their income tax for two years is pie in the sky, while we could be entering a Depression, never mind recession - especially the 3 million or so self employed, who fell through the cracks.

should have been - expecting the self employed, who got no support during the lockdown to pay towards it!

The NHS are life savers. Always have been and isn't something new just because of COVID. People who perform a 'life or death' role should be paid accordingly. That is all that should be done. Lots of people worked during lockdown, key worker or not, each experiencing their own challenges and difficulties and contributed to society as a whole.

What a stupid idea.

In today’s edition of “things that will never happen” ...

TheHoneyBadger

I have not rtft but am guessing you've been repeatedly ripped a new one.

Why do people use such a disgusting phrase?

Nothing like a bit of anal rape× to keep a thread alive... Or were you thinking more about the bagging method that's so popular with the young gangstas?

×not being flippant, I'm just hoping it makes TheHoneyBadger realise what she's talking so casually about

Stupid post.

Ah, and all the none keyworkers (I’m not a keyworker but been wfh throughout covid) can pick up the tax shortfall then, which is going to be huge anyway. Yeah, that’s fair 🙄

Even if I thought this was a good idea (which I don’t) now’s not really the time is it? I’m a bit bemused at people behaving like this is over and we should be issuing pats on the back for jobs well done.

This isn’t over by a long shot; we have the economic repercussions to make themselves clear and a long road ahead in figuring out how society can function with this virus in circulation whilst hopefully avoiding a repeat of the spring wave. Any resources we have should be focused on keeping people safe and functional whilst being as prepared as we can be for potential pitfalls.

Morale is important but throwing money at people isn’t going to keep that up beyond the very short term.

Don’t think it will work! Good intention but very bad outcomes will follow

@DarkMintChocolate

Businesses like Barclays and RBS are telling thousands of their office workers, that they do not need to return to working in the office - they can continue to work from home. If say all these businesses decide only to buy/rent much smaller offices to facilitate their staff coming into the office 1 - 2 days a week; then the commercial property market in large city centres, and all the ancillary industries like sandwich shops, coffee bars, office cleaners, etc could collapse.

The government could lose a fortune in business rates; not to mention the costs of 3/4/5 million unemployed from the hospitality industry, cleaners, etc; and subsidising the railways, left with 1 or 2 5ths of their commuters; plus the threat to the banking system. The loss of business rates alone will have to be made up through income tax, council tax, etc!

To talk about letting millions of taxpayers off their income tax for two years is pie in the sky, while we could be entering a Depression, never mind recession - especially the 3 million or so self employed, who fell through the cracks.

It's odd. I've been thinking for several years now based on my experiences of travelling to many different countries that the UK was in need of a big shock.

The way of living and the economy and the people's collective attitude seemed skewed, and privileged, even where there's deprivation somehow. Because the expected standard of living is pretty high, and is predicated on a service economy and consumer credit.

This is going to be a huge and painful correction to the fact that the way we live in this country is overwrought, contradictory and unsustainable.

Wealth inequality, environmental concerns, education and population density are all at odds with one another. Combined with a political landscape that is divided, undereducated on the key matters.

And we get the fun double-whammy of Brexit.

I'm not worried at all about the second wave of Covid (unpleasant though it would undoubtedly be). The economic shock is going to hit far harder, though we may come out the other side a lot more sensibly constituted as a nation.

@THisbackwithavengeance

DH and I are keyworkers. I appreciate that ICU nurses and doctors might have had it tough but most keyworkers of my acquaintance working in the NHS, in teaching and civil service have had an easy time of it with workloads slashed and WFH.

All this hero stuff is bollocks tbh.

And don't get me started on the pay rises for dentists who didn't work through lockdown and teachers who were mainly at home throughout, not teaching.

Wow just wow. Another teacher bashing post. They've had it very difficult trying to get out work and been working far harder than usual!

No that sounds crazy. We’re the only people with secure employment. Income tax revenue is going to take a hit as it is....and funding for schools and hospitals as a result.

I’m an ICU dr though and have never ever heard anyone IRL who is actually doing an entirely essential job refer to themselves as a ‘keyworker’ or ‘frontline’.

I see the teenagers who made my coffee at the Maccas drive through on my way to yet another night shift throughout the whole thing as ‘keyworkers’ TBH. They don’t seem to be getting much in the way of applause.

I'm a key worker (delivery driver) I'm fine paying tax, we will suffer enough in the next few years from all this without losing even more money.

What I would have liked is to be let Into the supermarkets earlier like my sister who is a secretary for the nhs. I was working a damn sight harder than her but only the NHS were given special privileges. The whole 'hero shit' is wearing a bit thin too.

I'm a key worker and I don't agree one bit