Cost of everything. Race to the bottom.

[Eddyraisins]

The cost of things are horrendous no point in denying that.

A mortgaged family are probably £400-500 down a month from a couple of year ago.
A non mortgaged maybe £300. For renters if landlord has put rent up then its the same as above. Food, the insane gas and electricity costs, petrol, food bills gone up 25 percent plus. Just everything. Any spare money doesn't go as far as it did anyway.
Now insurance is creeping up. Everything is up.

It sucks all round.

Why are people fighting at the bottom instead of looking up?

Yes people on min wage work hard and have many different challenges, time also stands still if work is boring. It can be really hard. I also see people that have studied hard and earning ok but they can't switch off after work, have students loans, have been sold the idea life should be slightly better. It should be! Both have their challenges.
Life is shit we are all down.
Battling at the bottom while the rich are fine.
It is representative of that cartoon. The guy with all the food pointing at a guy with some food, pointing at someone with an empty plate saying he is goong to take yours.

Lets compare up not down. AIBU to stop blaming each other and blame upwards?

Many of us are struggling lets not take that away from those struggling.

No, just better-informed than you about the sort of people earning top salaries.

Certainly in the sectors DH & I work in they tend to be from fairly similar backgrounds

I know literally no-one who genuinely did their best and made sensible choices who’s now in poverty.
what's a sensible choice?

I think that's Ops point. We should be looking at the government and those in power not at our fellow workers. Op is saying we shouldn't look at those who have slightly more with anger we shod be looking at government for allowing those on minimum wage to struggle so much.

It’s not an equal starting line.

This

I do though know a great many who arsed about, bunked off for a smoke, picked the easiest degree they could, still got a third and now blame everyone else for why they struggle to feed their four children.

*None are that are me. However it could easily be if someone had a disabled child and couldn't work. So many factors.

Also not back pedalling. I can worry about others and want a more equal society. Obviously you can't and think its super easy.
I would love you to meet some if tbe families at my work and local church.

Tell them all about their bad choice.
*

This thread is ridiculous. How about everyone stop looking for someone or something to blame…put your head down and work to improve your own circumstances. You know who is responsible for my lot in life? Me. Good or bad, prosperous or poor, easy or hard. For every situation I’ve been in the common denominator is me. My choices are what brought me to whatever position I’ve been in. Sure outside factors play their part, but my reaction to them played a bigger part.

Let me guess the responses…

I’m part of the problem
I can’t because of (insert solvable problem here)
Those damn 1%
It’s harrrrrrrddddd

As long as your spinning your wheels looking for an equal society you are part of the problem. Spoiler Alert it will never exist.

This thread is quite muddled, but I think both sides of the debate have some truth. There are huge structural inequalities around educational opportunity that affect the opportunities open to children and young people. That is undeniable.

But, at the same time, individual choices do have an impact, especially once someone reaches their mid-teens. Two sixteen year olds at the same school may have an identical crop of GCSE and equally supportive parents. The choices they make from that point onward will have an impact on their life many years later. Do they pick subjects that open doors? Do they spend time online finding out about future avenues? Do they do the necessary amount of study to get the best results that they can? Do they spend their Saturdays gaming/scrolling or in a part-time job?

Jumping into the future, do they begin their working life promptly after graduation or spend years on travel and ‘finding themselves’? Once they are working, do they stick to a reasonable budget or spend £100-£200 every weekend ‘going out and having fun’? Do they take up addictive and expensive habits? Is ‘chilling’ after work more important than seeking promotion or studying for an additional qualification?

It’s not all a choice and of course terrible things can happen to disrupt people’s lives, but many people are dealt a pretty good hand in life and then waste their potential due to mediocre or poor choices.

@AnotherTeaPlease
I am poorer than I was. We all are. Everything costs more thats not dishonest.

I don't disagree with you in essence.

Howeber, another point was people do make all ' the right choices' and still struggle.

I see both sides. Things have become expensive. People who have ' made sacrifices expect more and now arw struggling.
I agree this thread is muddled and has many different themes up for debate.

Vrtually everyone is having a hard time or at least paying out more for less than they did a few years ago.

And virtually everyone thinks they're having a harder time than most people or think that others are having an easier time.

And virtually everyone wants it to be easier on them.

Everybody is getting less for their £ spent than they were a few years ago. Everybody is effected by inflation.

No-one ever wants to pay more tax. Or pay inheritance tax. Or individually pay for healthcare or care homes. Everyone wants to keep as much of the money they earn as possible and pass it on to their loved ones if that's applicable.

No-one wants to spend their savings on living costs.

Everyone who pays income tax and NI has worked to earn their money. But that doesn't mean they worked harder or better or more than people who earned less. And there is that implication on MN and in society.

I've never earned enough to get into the 40% tax bracket but I also know that most people in that bracket aren't swimming in money and that there is no huge 'super rich' money tree that can be tapped into that would make any kind of dent in the money required by the UK to make lives easier for everyone.

It's just daft when people keep saying 'tax the rich' who are already paying a shit-ton of tax. And even if you wanted to tax on existing wealth, you'll just drive the super-wealthy to leave the country and take their money and businesses elsewhere.

It's not a solution but literally everyone thinks 'someone else' should pay more to sort all this out but not them or anyone they know.

Not everyone is poorer!
I'm not
I have no debt or mortgage, interest rates on savings have risen.
The point I made earlier is that I can absorb price rises by down grading my choices.
Many cannot.
Telling us that everyone is struggling normalises it.
Some are struggling, many are not.
Of course as always those who are struggling and poorer are the most vulnerable in society but guess what we have the likes of 30p Lee saying it's normal.
The race to the bottom normalises poverty.
It gets groups of people blaming each other instead of holding the Tories to account.
They are laughing their heads off .

Interest rates wee held very (artificially?) low for a very long time. Now they are now near the "old normal" it's causing problems.

Not sure what can be done about it.🤔

@Littlemousesing
I absolutely agree.

Although yes you can absorb the cost but you still will have less than 2 years ago. Even just on food bills.

You just have to look at any thread about private schools to see how obsessed we are as a nation to race to the bottom. Parents are vilified for daring to use their money to fund their children's education despite already paying a lot in tax and not using up space in overcrowded state schools. It's ridiculous. Stinks of 'I can't afford it so I'm just angry at everyone who can and want to bring them down'

@HettyWainty I agree with a lot of what you say.

My posts re tax were in the context of the 1%. To be a family in the 1% you would need to earn 250k net which if on PAYE would be 450k ish gross

You just have to look at any thread about private schools to see how obsessed we are as a nation to race to the bottom. Parents are vilified for daring to use their money to fund their children's education despite already paying a lot in tax and not using up space in overcrowded state schools. It's ridiculous. Stinks of 'I can't afford it so I'm just angry at everyone who can and want to bring them down'

No people resent that private schools perpetuate inequality

It never was. Such is life. There will always be richer/more privileged people.🤔

No-one ever wants to pay more tax. Or pay inheritance tax

I actually don't have a problem paying IHT or more, my parents home is about 1.1m & DHs 2m ish. Our own home is expensive with lots of equity as we had 6 fig help to get on the ladder. Nothing to do with my choices...

It never was. Such is life. There will always be richer/more privileged people.

To me a progressive society is a more equal one and often safer with better health outcomes. At the moment social mobility is going backwards, I don't think it's a good thing but you're entitled to your opinion.