To wonder how the UK will look in 3 years time?

[Labradorlover987]

I was inspired to write this after reading the UC post that was just reported - the govt’s welfare bill has passed but was watered down so unlikely to make any real savings.

I earn 40k, have a school age child and just feel like I am living hand to mouth 😩 I 100% think there should be a welfare systems that supports people on low incomes but I wonder how the current system will be sustained in the long run?

Just wondered what other people thought.

I actually wouldn’t mind paying more in taxes if we could be guaranteed more in services etc - for example my council tax just went up and the services seem even worse this year than usual.

I thought the assisted dying bill was going to be the answer to the ageing population or did I understand that wrong?

What do you mean?

BOE is independent, if they are tightening monetary policy, there is nothing Reeves can do....

Nothing will happen in 3 years. Uk is a passive country and even if it were to turn it would take decades. Plus we are so much better off than so many countries but seem to find it impossible to think about what we have- instead constantly thinking about what we perceive we don’t have, or what we might not have in future.

She’s right! I fully expect Angela Raynor will take his place and she certainly can tell the truth. People historically hate women telling the truth though so we’ll have to see how that goes down.

The real issue is that many people on 150k have a lot more flexibility in how they pay taxes and how much they choose to pay compared with people on lower salaries.

As a £150k earner on PAYe (and an accountant by profession) I would be incredibly interested to hear how I can do this.

That’s completely normal for a country that used to be wealthy and had excellent public services. When in your lifetime you see the place you live go down the toilet you naturally grieve for what you lost.

Or they could be the ones making the decisions

Feel free to PM me.

I think people are confused that £150k doesn’t go that far anymore. Particularly if you live in an expensive part of the country. That’s what wildly printing money gets you. A lot of it about but it’s worth far less than it was.

the Tories and Labour just don’t seem interested enough to tackle the ongoing issues,

but look at how well means testing winter fuel & looking at the benefits went? The majority of the population particularly the older contingent do not want to accept economic reality.

Shhhh, we don’t say that bit out loud.

No, because there is no way to do it.

But by now, there should be some shoots of improvement.

Instead, we’re in more debt, unemployment is up, the economy has stagnated, more businesses are going bankrupt and most people are thoroughly hacked off.

NHS waiting lists are down.

😂

I have to work FT to pay my childcare bill / mortgage.

I pay a gardener £40 to mow the lawn. Compared to the proper bills it’s not making much difference but takes one significant job off my list. How is it that different to paying someone to clean your windows?

Plus a potential crisis re Ukraine adverted by a very professional and strategic intervention by starmer and macron. That must’ve taken up months.

NHS waiting lists are down.

Have you heard of "ghost appointments"? That's where they make an appointment for you which isn't actually an appointment, to get you off the list. An acquaintance was given a telephone appointment for a consultation with a cardiac consultant, organised her day so she would be there, waited way past the designated time and then rang them. "Oh" said the person on the other end "that wasn't a proper appointment" and then went on to explain the latest wizard wheeze for getting waiting lists down. Trouble is, the patient wasn't informed.

Nobody I’ve spoken to have noticed this. Debt is up and unemployment is. They are big things and it will get worse as more businesses go bust. My company is really feeeling it with the increases in NI so my stable job is now very uncertain.

People will start squabbling over who owns the moon, so there will be new space lawyers - can’t wait!

It doesn’t really matter what people think if you listen to the PMs updates and press conferences they provide data demonstrating they are.

It doesn’t exist. Australia is going to be as hot as the core of the earth in the future. That is not the utopia people like to make it out to be. The countries that have law and order are also the ones that have a TERRIBLE human rights record. The only ones I can think of are maybe Switzerland, Holland, Iceland

No country is utopia and much of the west faces aging population and more taxes. However many aren't in as quite a shit situation as we are; they don't have quite as shit housing situation or such intergenerational inequality, benefits are linked to what you paid in etc.
Other European countries generally have higher employers social security taxes but look at the outcry re raising NI here.
For too long we have wanted minimal investment by business and government into people but we want amazing public services 🤔

It’s not so much the energy companies as the result of years of government energy policy. The investment in green energy hasn’t produced the promised results leaving us with a an inconsistent, intermittent production.

We’ve not invested in nuclear power to the necessary extent, unlike the French, we’ve shut down all of the coal powered energy production and replaced it with natural gas, as it’s cleaner. Due to disruptions in global supply, the war in Ukraine mainly, it’s also the most expensive form of energy

as a result here we are, the most expensive energy prices in the world

I’m not sure who the she refers to in this, I’d say even some people in Labour know Rayner’s policies would get a market reaction.