To be fed up with all the threads about high earners feeling poor

[trekking1]

It's always the same condescending "I've worked so hard and only have a 3 bedroom house in a great location and an expensive car", as if 1. that's not a lot 2. people who make 5 times less do not work as hard!

And the suprised pikachu face that having a degree did not magically get them a 500k job. That is not how capitalism works folks

£100k after tax is <£5,000 a month inc pension deductions etc.

Private secondary schools round here are £24-30k a year now.

So they would be spending 50% of their take home pay on private schooling for just one child.

Mental, I agree, but true.

Or they’re reasonably pissed off at finding themselves struggling to afford the things they were previously comfortably able to, despite the income either being unchanged, or even increasing.

Much like everyone else facing rising costs.

I am surprised at social work and nursing being classed as low-paid TBH

Social work £32k - £62k
Band 8 nurses range apparently around £43,742 to £114,949 per year (although I would be surprised if there were many at the top end.

I though £50k+ were the people who weren’t allowed to complain?

Compared to £150k onwards

I think this applies across the income spectrum. People are just so entitled. Their choices are everything.

Some are aghast at the very concept of little Johnny not playing rugby, cricket, karting, swimming, and taekwondo "he simply can't give one up, that's not an option." And then his sister Jane who equally cannot possibly stop the horse riding and ballet and drama and violin. Verging on cruelty to suggest it. Well fine, but piss off with your "our monthly outgoings are exorbitant" whining. Your child can do one club a week for now and soldier through

Then there was the poster who we all didn't understand because her £2200 benefits weren't covering her costs. But it was again "out of the question" for her to move. Her rent was £1650. But she really liked the house, it was on a "desirable street" (?!!). Yes I'm sure it is. You very clearly can't afford the rent, and consequently the utilities or your food bill. For you and your child. Move you fool.

There are exceptions where life events throw everything into turmoil. But there's so much self entitlement. "What so I can't even have a takeaway then, you think I don't deserve even that?" And being utterly shocked that anyone dare say "no, not if you're £600 behind on your council tax."

Most will be nowhere near the top

I think high net tax payers have the right to a moan. They always pay more tax than they will ever use - that they choose to pay it rather than opt for jobs and mechanisms to avoid it (or leave for cheaper tax regimes) is why the UK can afford a welfare state.

And I’m glad we pay more tax. It’s annoying but look at the nhs and education? And we still come home to a house and food. Poverty is terrifying.

I cut my cloth accordingly as well. We do not have any debt and only purchase what we can afford.

However that fact that I moan about not being able to afford a particular lifestyle is completely normal. Many people get a bit fed up or regretful about not being able to buy or do certain things because of economic constraints. I don’t understand what the issue with that is?

It’s great that you never felt the need to moan about your lot. But everyone is different. We don’t all have to sit around in stoic silence.

Personally I’ve never really been one of the “I have a roof over my head and food to eat so I’m grateful and can’t complain” brigade. I mean that’s the bare minimum I’d expect out of life in one of the richest countries in the world, when I’m working all the hours and paying a shed load of tax. I’m not going to apologise for wanting a few luxuries to help soften the drudgery of day to day life.

Ah, so it is specifically those on over £150k who are not allowed to speak. Maybe MN should check on sign up?

I don’t mind paying more tax.

I do object to be excluded from what I think should be universal benefits, like childcare.

I have to earn the best part of £100,000 a year to fund two children in childcare, and the government wants to give me no support to do so (bar 15 hours at age 3).

It’s massively annoying. Yes happy to fund services, but I’d like to be able to use them too.

We aren’t living the high life…!

Of course you can, but the reality is that a lot of people in low paid jobs are not in them because of poor decisions, but because they have chosen a job that contributes to society, such as charity work, care work etc. and there is something wrong with society when those jobs are so poorly paid.

It's like an entire generation has been brainwashed. And rich people get richer from poor people spending money they don't have. Not that this is new, but I'm sure it's worse.

This.

I don’t think many people would be rolling in cash if they only had £1600 per month left after childcare costs. Housing, bills, food, clothing, all essential and would be difficult to cover on that amount for a lot of us I think.

A choice is a choice. Financially, it is a poor decision. And really, are there any jobs that contribute nothing to society? Is that even possible?

The reality is that UK’s salaries haven’t kept up with rising cost of living. British people are poorer than they were 15 years ago. Hence the feeling of not being able to afford things which were a given in previous generations.

We moved abroad years ago but are considering moving back to the Uk due to ageing parents etc. I spoke to Uk recruiters and they told me I should expect more or less the same salary for a similar job as I had 10 years ago…!

If you play around with this website you can see how much you should be earning if your salary had risen over the years with inflation,
it’s quite an eye opener https://www.officialdata.org/uk/inflation/2019?amount=120000

I just think it’s in poor taste and insensitive to list themselves as ‘poor’.

Ugh so your argument is that people who do low paid jobs that you absolutely rely on should just accept being poor and have no luxuries whatsoever because you chose a job that earns more.

Ha! My husband earns a lot of money in finance. He is very aware that he earns a lot more than people who do jobs that are much more deserving. And is bloody thankful they do them. But then he’s not a dick.

I think it's more that people have often worked long hours / taken years of professional exams on top of a degree / so have student debt / have had to pay high rent sometimes in a city / then have had to save for a deposit so low equity to loan and then chuck in childcare for two young children and there's not a lot of change left for life. I absolutely get it. Different if you are living in a reasonably priced area and have had help from family for a bigger deposit or an inheritance. Feels like maybe all the sacrifice didn't get you as far as you wanted to. People are allowed to moan about their problems however much they earn, surely?

Yes, there are plenty of jobs that exists solely to make the rich richer. Surely you know this

Leave the country, relocate to low tax countries, etc.

it’s happening already, see nhs trained British and gen z with the wherewithal

Some lower earners seem to think that its only justified for them to be annoyed about the rising costs of living and their lower standards of living. They seem to think that higher earners should be ok about their own living standards getting worse and never complain. Higher earners may still be in a better position than lower earners but they are allowed to be pissed that things are getting worse for them. Threads like this are basically trying to tell higher earners to shut up because there are people who are worse off. There’s always someone worse of than us, does that mean no one should complain?

Politicians love this though, we’re all fighting with each other when we should be demanding they sort it out. Very few people protest in this country at the way most of us are failed by the government, we just fight with each other causing the division politicians need.

I am going to laugh my arse off when the welfare system collapses.

What is classed as a low earner?

Why? On 100k that person has paid £34k in tax - is that not deserving of being able to benefit from government schemes?!