To wonder how people will financially survive?

[Cupcakeicecream]

To think that many people are struggling already. Food price rises, gas and electric costs. The general cost of living due to inflation from either brexit since the pandemic and Ukraine war. But come on some people were struggling before any of those factors. Financially people will be pushed to breaking christmas will be off the cards general life will stagnate no meals out leisure activities cinema socialising new clothes treat foods. The threat of blackouts and wondering how we will pay bills to keep warm or keep a house running. Never mind buying food the price of it plus the large gaps on shelves. Winter will be miserable. It's becoming impossible to live in this country.

I was on the understanding that universal credit was paid to people who are on low income or out of work - is that not correct? Therefore even if I lived in the UK I wouldn't be getting it as I HAVE A FULL TIME JOB.

You probably need to wok on your understanding if you can contradict yourself in two sentences. It's entirely possible to be in a full time low paid job and (therefore) be claiming Universal Credit.

Shame people don't direct 1% of their vitriol at the companies getting a taxpayer bung towards their low wages, instead of the poor schmucks who have no say in the matter.

The average wealthy person today can have a great life without lifting a finger

As their parents and grandparents all the way back to William the conqueror often did

But this isn't about wealth, how to acquire that as not everyone wants that

It's about dignity and basics - healthy food, warm , and often the dignity that comes from having a job that others respect

There’s been no point in history where a single person could have by any definition of decent life doing the bare minimum.

A lot of the best paid people in our society do very little. The best paid job I ever had was far from onerous.

That poster was saying that in their country they are able to have a decent life while doing the bare minimum at their job and not claiming benefits, not chasing progression. And somehow that made one poster angry. If an employer pays enough that someone can coast along in an "easy" minimjm-effort job, why would that bother you?

There’s been no point in history where a single person could have by any definition of decent life doing the bare minimum.

Care workers are paid very lowly but I wouldn't call what they do "the bare minimum". People in offices on higher wages may have an easier work day yet somehow get paid more. Who is more tired and stressed at the end of the day? Who has really done more arduous work for their money?

It's entirely possible to work two jobs, yes, but what quality of life is that? How do you even enjoy the fruits of your labour if you have zero spare time?

Johnson is being currently being mocked for responding to a question about the energy crisis by saying people can save £10 a year if they buy a newer, more efficient kettle.

But isn't the no-frills membership package to the Tory party £10/year ?

The thread was aimed at those on low pay or the min wage. Yet another strawman to distract from the simple fact. If a person wishes to have more income then they need to upskill or work more hrs.
And salaried roles do have clauses within their contracts to authorize overtime payments for extra hrs. These usually have to be approved by a higher-up.

@Kashmirsilver Everywhere I have worked has said no overtime, only TOIL.
I could of course take another job. Finish my full-time job and then do another job in the evening and weekends. But maybe as a mum I actually want to spend some time with my children.

I have never in all my 30+ years managed to get overtime payment for my role

Not everyone can upskill or work more hours and why should anyone have to work more than say 40hrs a week to meet basic needs ?

This is fundamental stuff - what are basic human rights - the right to food and heating and health and what about rights to free choice to live a good happy life ? The right to choose how we spend our lives ?

Which we can't if we are now expected to work 80hr weeks to pay for basics

If you love your work, crack on but your way of living isn't achievable for everyone as there are too many poor yet essential jobs and too few high paid cushy numbers

No one has mentioned working 80 hrs per week.
However £9.50x40=£380
£9.50x80=£760
Nor is it usual for salaried staff to work doubles the hrs.

This is fundamental stuff - what are basic human rights - the right to food and heating and health and what about rights to free choice to live a good happy life ?

Try and pitch a tent on Lord Handshandys 10,000 acre estate and live off their land and see how quickly you get banged up for. The ladder of laws ends - not starts - with our liberties.

Oh so what do you think is reasonable to expect people to work ?

If someone is managing on 20k on a 40hr week and now needs to find an extra 5k for inflation they would be on a 50 hr week

Whereas a few years ago 48 hrs was seen as the maximum people should routinely work

48 hours became the maximum after robust research showed that working more hours than this caused long-term damage to your health.
We are not designed as humans to work incredibly long hours. Hunters gatherers worked about 12-15 hours a week. That is what humans were designed to do.

We have some of us have evolved since then...

Boom. You finally got it. That's one way to make the numbers stack up (another of course being to seek a higher hourly rate).

As of course, if the individual isn't willing to do it for themselves, the implication is an expectation (and accompanying sense of entitlement) that someone else will provide the extra for them

We are not designed as humans to work incredibly long hours.

Ah, but what if you don't view everyone as human ? Then surely it doesn't matter how long they work ? It's not like slavery hasn't a long and glorious past.

RunningSME

people coming into the local hub for help are nurses & HCW unable to afford food and get food bank vouchers.

Food vouchers are limited, there are time scales on the amount you can receive.

Rent and council tax will take up £1000 of wages in my area before any other bills are taken into consideration.

If utilities are now £250 a month a ban 2 salary will not see any more than £400 to pay for every other bill including transport, food, clothing, water

The utilities are projected to rise again in January 23 to around £310 per month and with grocery's rising in price - sustaining a credit in the bank will become increasingly hard

The government will intervene.

@TakeTheOffPisteRoute Will you be happy with your new fuel bills?

Surely if people can still afford their bills they are annoyed how much they are costing.

I know I am. We're going to try harder to use less (we've already cut down) because I refuse to pay 4 x what we pay now.

No, far from it. It's a huge increase to have to stomach. Doing what we can to minimise energy usage and cut-down elsewhere - I think it's a problem that's not going away anytime soon so just have to do what we can to baton down the hatches and prepare for the long haul. I just hope as a nation we don't let the pain detract from our support to places such as Ukraine and don't allow ourselves to kick the financing problem down the road onto our kids and grandkids.

I believe they will have to. Otherwise the energy market will collapse large sectors of our economy.

The problem with the idea that everyone should chase progression is that we actually do need lower skilled/responsibility-level jobs to be done in our society. Someone will always have to do these jobs and they should be able to afford a life that isn't poverty. A basic standard of living that doesn't require food banks and not putting the heating on should be the minimum standard of living in this country that even the most lowly paid workers can afford. Everything other than that is a luxury that people can work towards if they wish, but a waitress should be able to afford to buy enough food for the month and have enough electricity etc. We're talking about a basic standard here, nobody is saying a waitress should be living the same life as a psychotherapist or whatever.

Exactly.