To think the UK economy is utterly broken…

[Paul2023]

Things were never the same after the crash of 2007/2008. Austerity was imposed with the Conservatives in 2010 and things never really recovered after that.

Of course we had Brexit and the pandemic.

We’ve had best part of 15 years of cuts to public services, of which we saw services decimated. We’re now seeing the results.

The Bank of England continues to raise interest rates, yet inflation still ain’t coming down fast enough. Yet, most people with mortgages and who privately rent ( which is most of the population) will be poorer as a result of this.

I think the county is in denial. The economy is in a poor state and I don’t think anyone in government ( who ever it is) has the answer. It’s just a case of sticking plasters over the wounds to fight another day.

Here’s an email a poster got from his father , from another forum I’m on;

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but someone must point out the grim truth facing the UK; we're going bust.

The UK has just hit a new and totally unwanted milestone, as the country now owes more money than its entire economy is worth - and it’s only going to grow as government borrowing continues to soar. The UK is particularly vulnerable because much of our debt is linked to inflation, and the cost of it rises with prices. Inflation is not stabilising because of wage demands, pension and supply chain increases.

It's a major symbolic moment but one that is in danger of getting lost, as the cost-of-living crisis rages unchecked

and homeowners panic over how they're going to pay their soaring mortgage bills.

The government continues to spend a lot more than the nation collectively earns, forcing it to fund everyday spending by borrowing money.

Taxes may be at a 70-year high – and set to rise even higher – but it's still not enough. As the nation gets sicker and older, the shortfall will grow.

We’re a nation in denial. So are France, Italy and even the US, but that doesn't make it right!”

Im just so scared for the future of our kids that I really can’t see how things will ever really get better. There’s going to be a bigger population of older people and less people paying tax. It explains why the government is so keen to get older people back into work!

Does anyone else really worry about the state of the UK?

or should it just be someone richer who has to pay?

In a nutshell yes!

The top 1% of UK citizens own enough private wealth to completely clear the national debt and still have roughly £1.5m each (if shared equally). Their wealth is obscene.

I don't think many people truly grasp just how large the disparity between ultra high net worth individuals and the average person is, hell even the difference between the 1% and the 10% is staggering.

The fact that we're apparently happier to let the standard of living for millions be severely reduced than to ask c670,000 to be less rich, to the point that politicians won't even discuss the situation and the public actively shout suggestions down if they are raised, shows just how broken and beaten down we are as a society.

‘Employment is based around service industries such as banking, which is only beneficial to the rich.’

Completely untrue that banking only benefits the rich. The Banking sector pays the highest taxes of all sectors. However, because resentment generated Brexit, a lot of this sector and their taxes have moved to mainland Europe.

The tax base and number of net contributors continues to dwindle yet the cry from many on here is to shake down this group even further by increasing taxes and driving more people away.

Meanwhile you have large numbers of people who just want to take. Everyday you see threads where people declare they will leave the workforce to become SAHMs whilst calculating how much they can claim in tax credits to support this.

There are never any suggestions on how we increase productivity, it’s always increase taxes. Rishi jumps out of helicopters every now and then to make empty statements backed up by no concrete plans such as ‘the UK will be the AI capital of the world’ and the rest of the world smirks.

Meanwhile you have large numbers of people who just want to take. Everyday you see threads where people declare they will leave the workforce to become SAHMs whilst calculating how much they can claim in tax credits to support this

Maybe if they were paid better salaries they wouldn’t feel this need.

As usual Mumsnet loves to suffer, the mentality of it isn't as bad as a famine? We shouldn't be in this situation.

I am in my mid 20s and my rent for a room, not a flat is £1,350k not including bills a month I earn mid £40k bills=£170 I'm left with very little to save and live each month.

why is this acceptable? The rich continue to get richer and everyone accepts it.

Because the government are on the side of the energy companies and their shareholders rather than us plebs. They probably are shareholders. It's similar to the fact that nobody is clearing up cladding on tower blocks and we're expected to pay for the water companies to clean up the rivers.
Even Thatcher imposed a windfall tax on banks excess profits in the early 80s. I suspect Rishi and co wouldn't dream of it.

This in spades
I feel so sorry for the young , yet your the forgotten ones.
It's much harder these days.

Yes@beguilingeyes I think you are exactly right

To me, this was similar to the early 1990s and we bounced back from that by the mid 90s.
More worrying though is the state of the public services now compared to back then. Most of these services are under staffed and they are on their knees.
Quite simply this country isn't producing enough wealth now to fund it's public services properly and this poses a massive challenge to the government.

I meant to say 12 months, not 2 months.🤔

Very true, although I think this will be a massive shock for many under 45 who haven't experienced these conditions before.

This will be a massive shock for everyone except the rich.

We are heading for Stagflation. Small and medium businesses will go. The local butcher, that cafe you like. People will lose their houses and then pay rent in excess of the mortgages they paid. And we have to take it because of of what Tory PMs Cameron, Johnson and Truss did to Britain's economy.

And the deal done by Hunt and Sunak to stop us from having to declare Bankruptcy.

??? What deal is this?

I think what we are seeing is a generational divide. The older part of the population, owning houses outright or with v small mortgages and generous pensions, just keep right on spending, keeping demand and inflation high, and can pack in work. So BoE has to yank the interest rate lever even harder, hitting the young with large mortgages and other debts.
we are a gerontocracy. It can’t last. Look at birth rates. There will be no one left to serve the boomers the drinks as they laze on the sunloungers.

There will be no one left to serve the boomers the drinks as they laze on the sunloungers.

Don’t worry, we’ll all be dead in 20 years and you’ll have to find another scapegoat.

*or should it just be someone richer who has to pay?

In a nutshell yes!*

Why is it always rich people's responsibility to sort out everyone else's lack of financial sense? Blame rich people for everything!
You know those people who saw opportunity and educated themselves and worked hard, took risks, probably provide jobs, the ones who never whined or blamed everything else or asked for hand outs.
I'm not talking about trust fund kids, I'm on about people who made their own fortune.

If people stopped being so envious of the rich and put more effort into sorting out their own finances there wouldn't be all of this spoiled whinging about what they can and can't afford.

OP you missed out the profits bleeding us all dry.

Company profits aren't taking the beating that our standard of living is.

They are expert at making sure we all blame eachother and not the ones responsible for bleeding out the flow of wealth.

Money has to circulate. The stockpiling is the problem.

I know a few so called ' Boomers ' who are still working
Ok, a few are very well off , but they are retired and worked over forty or fifty odd years.
It's a mix and although i agree it's ' not fair ' it is what it is. If a company makes you redundant or lets you retire early , then they are going to take it!
I totally agree that it's the young are suffering more because of it , but you can't stop people spending money on holidays or whatever if they have it sitting around or even giving it to their children. Maybe this is also feeding the inflation figures too? I know a few younger people who receive a lot from their parents too, just to help out. Equity release and so on.
It's a complex situation. How to stop people spending money!

Some of us were saying the same 30 years ago when mortgages hit 16 percent and our elderly neighbours were having world cruises and buying expensive motor homes etc, whilst we were having to work 2 jobs each just to pay the mortgage.
As someone further up the thread said, this a cyclical phenomenon and we will recover from it and move on.
It's very painful though I agree.
Remember that savers have had a bum deal since the 2008 banking crisis and it's still not great for them either.
The only winners in all of this will be the banks.

The banks will win here for sure.

Thé difference for you was that you did not have to borrow so much. Interest rates were higher but property prices lower.
the interests of the older generation are too dominant. They dominate public spending too - look at how they howl and scream for NHS spending while education lags behind. It’s not sustainable.

Please don't fall into the trap of blaming older people as a whole

The people responsible include government, banks, the super rich, those who misguidedly voted for brexit , those who vote for lower taxes , those who supported Maggie thatcher and her council home sell off , those who refuse to think about raising inheritance tax

Sone of them are older than me and sone are younger than me

This. Many times this.

I agree