This may be unpopular - but what about the squeezed middle?

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They are talking about raising taxes on the average person now. Which will really effect lower middle class families who are already feeling the pinch due to increases in cost of food, gas and electic, increasing childcare costs and rent or morgage increases. They are going to increase pensions and benefits with inflation but lots of middle class earners are not having their wages increased with inflation but will now have their taxes increased. What about help for the middle class, especially lower middle class and working class who earn slightly to much to qualify for any help but will now stuggle with all these increases.

You won't have to pay nursery fees for long it's a temporary thing then your finance's will improve. The less well off will still be less well off at least yours is temporary pain and long term gain.

Yeah we won't have to pay them for too long, but going to work to have almost 3/4 of my salary go on childcare does feel like a bit of a piss take. A lot of people in my position would stop working and therefore paying taxes altogether. I only carry on because I know that the few thousand I do actually take home a year is the difference between affording or not affording birthday/Christmas presents and a relatively cheap family holiday every year.

I'm certainly not saying I've got it worst or anything. More just how have things come to this? Where working very hard at school, earning postgraduate qualifications and having professional jobs doesn't equate to a bit of financial freedom.

What about paying more in tax but getting better public services?

How much more? I mean socialism doesn’t work so…. How about less tax and leave those that can to take care of themselves? Push up minimum wage instead. I have a child working for £6.80 right now. That’s bullshit money. Nobody should be paid that little.

60k is a decent salary and higher than most. The 60 year old earning 30k may be sat on half a million equity.

Neither is vulnerable. Help should be directed at those most in need.

The main reason we have such a squeezed middle combined with inadequately funded public services is because this country has chosen to sell itself as a good base for market manipulation, expert advice on offshoring and tax avoidance, and is a centre for money laundering. We have specialised in hiding the real wealth and taxing what little is left over. This is a country of low taxation for tax avoiders, not for wage slaves.

I know it's shitty, lots of people have to make that sacrifice but just think if you did quit your career your earnings level wouldn't be as high for when the DC start school. I have 1 DC due to building my career and childcare fees she's now 9 !! So probably too bigger age gap to have anymore. We have nice holidays , treats etc you will reap the rewards when DC start school. I promise.

Immigrants do have ID cards, but they are rather pointless when no-one ever asks for them.

Whaaaat. I am surprised I don't need to show ID when ordering Uber😂

I think what the pp meant was they dispose of ID if they want to evade authorities after visa run out. Overstayers.

You mention mortgage rises.. .

Being on benefits doesn't exclude you having a mortgage. There are thousands of people getting no help as they don't get housing benefit.

Try servicing an average mortgage when the UC is well below and that's without bills.

But it's not realistic to expect benefits to pay a mortgage. That's not what they should be for

It would be sensible for benefits to pay the interest on a mortgage to give someone time to find a new job - the disruption to the whole family otherwise is just stupid
And it's probably cheaper than paying someone's rent

Mind you if housing benefit can pay rent then a landlord gets to keep his income and pay tax to the government on that.

If a homeowner gets no help then who cares except the homeowner.

The property will be sold and thus bought and more stamp duty goes into the government coffers.

the state then may well have to help with housing benefit but not for a while til the equity runs out and another family can be propped up by the state.

So it's ok to pay a landlords mortgage and pension but not a person who in all probability could find another job quicker than they could sell the house ?

I agree that it’s nuts. But there are various people who think if you’re a homeowner you must be loaded. Or have loaded parents. Or must be Tory scum so need taking down a peg or two.

Even if it costs the taxpayer more. The irony is not lost on me.

there’s a lot of hatred on here for anyone who isn’t rock bottom of the heap and dares to say they’re negatively affected by the COL crisis.

No houses are historically appreciating assets you surely can't expect the government to fund something you will make profit from?

Oh I absolutely agree!

Sometimes people buy houses because they need somewhere to live and pray that they have their mortgage paid off by their 70s. So they can carry on living in it. Making a profit when you sell may or may not happen. I won’t be selling my house for any reason that I can see - I need somewhere to live! And I don’t think I would make a profit anyway. My savings have gone into making it watertight (ish) and some insulation. I wouldn’t get back what I paid out on it for years and years.

Its difficult to comment with clarity on the definition of squeezed middle.

However, I support reversing the reverse on NI increase (this disproportionately benefits higher earners) and potentially further marginal tax increases for high and higher rate tax payers provided we also do sensible stuff around big corporations like reverse the banker bonus cap lifting, proper windfall tax etc.

It's going to be tough for all.

Houses were of course much cheaper, and there weren’t so many other consumables to tempt us in the 70’s. Credit was much more frowned on too, the mortgage was most likely our only debt IIRC.

When Thatcher was PM she cut basic rate income tax from 33% to 25%, and the top rate which was in the 90s to 40%. But VAT went up. Swings and roundabouts?

theconversation.com/fact-check-have-the-conservatives-always-been-the-low-tax-party-77742

The 70s also saw huge wage growth

What makes me anxious is the complete lack of safety net for anyone. The Tories are obsessed with slimming down the welfare state but completely fail to realise that most people are only one or two mortgage payments away from real financial difficulty. You can be working hard, paying your way and then just get clobbered by a chronic illness and, under this system, are totally stuffed.

This is so true, the normal rules of inflation and cooling the economy by reducing borrowing and spending, don't really work when the inflation is being driven by unavoidable energy cost hikes.

Yup. We are basically funding the country out of the tax take from increasingly low earners, while the landlords and share owners laugh all the way to offshore banks accounts.

Time after time, societies that do the same collapse.

How do heal your foot after taking a gun and taking a straight shot at it. The answer - don’t shoot yourself in the foot.

Because there was 25% inflation and the country went to the IMF. Are you really glorifying the wage growth of the 70s?

The mind is well and truly boggled.