To think people’s idea of what ‘a rich’ person is, is totally skewed?

277 replies

Y0208680333367 · 01/11/2025 22:22

For example:

Who do you think of as rich?

When the government talk about wealthy people who do they mean?

Tax the rich. Who are ‘the rich’? Etc

OP posts:

the80sweregreat · 03/11/2025 09:44

Not sure why my nursery was so cheap in 93! They did used to put the prices up , but I do recall it was 75 a week to start with. This was Essex though , some other nurseries were 100 a week I remember

Calliopespa · 03/11/2025 11:16

SomethingFun · 03/11/2025 08:17

I don’t think anyone who pays higher rate tax thinks people who earn less have it easy, I think what they are saying is just because on paper you have a high salary that doesn’t mean you’re able to live the high life. It’s a bit shit to assume these high earners are just frittering away their money on champagne and handbags when they should be paying more tax instead because they wouldn’t miss it. And even if they are frittering their money so what? They earned it. Most people didn’t wake up one day and walk into a high paying job, and if they did, why didn’t you if it’s that easy? If there’s no point doing 100k roles as any extra money goes straight to the government then why bother? Might as well take a lower paid, less involved role.

The money you make in property to help you when you’re older is a red herring for a lot of people. Bungalows cost more than 3 bed semis in most places so your equity doesn’t help you necessarily to downsize. Yes you could sell your house in London and move to Blackpool or something but would you know anyone and would you want to do that as a pensioner? Again I’m not saying it’s easier if you only rent as it isn’t, but having modest assets like an average house doesn’t mean you are ‘rich’, you’re just maybe not totally fucked.

There are a lot of sensible points in here - in particular it is true that salary is tied to work done to get the qualification and then usually an element of responsibility/stress because of the impact on others it involves.

So if you disproportionately punish a brain surgeon for earning more, surely they would rather just work in a nice bookshop? And who will operate on society's brains?

I think for me the issue is that many people are struggling - even higher rate earners - to have the lifestyle they feel they had targeted; but instead of the spotlight and frustration being taken out on other taxpayers just because they earn more/have targeted a different trajectory, what we all really need to be asking is why a decent amount of tax isn't getting us what we would hope. And that isn't because a few mega-wealthy people aren't paying even more (over and above what they already pay). There is a far more complicated web of cost of living issues involved.

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