Fuck it - the government will look me

[Phonicshaskilledmeoff]

I am becoming increasingly frustrated with the way our country is run. I love my country, but what on earth can I do to fix it? the Rachel reeves pension and stamp duty rumours have tipped me over the edge.

I believe 90% of our lives is the summation of our own choices. Bar (some of) our own (and families) health and tragic life events, there is very little we can’t choose in this country.

I’m not saying that the playing field is fair - I absolutely acknowledge that some groups face structural barriers that make good choices harder. Others are unaware those choices even exist. That’s where government should step in—not to equalise outcomes, but to equalise access to meaningful choice.

I think we all acknowledge that bad governments are ones that take away choices. This government, however is also taking away choice by incentivising bad choices. Policies should nudge people toward self-sufficiency, not make state reliance easier than self-reliance, or rewarding short-term decisions over long-term

Our Government should be working towards equitable availability of choice (not equal - see below) to make sure those choices are as easy and available to everyone. Policies should be in place to make sure people are encouraged to make the right choices.

I increasingly feel like I make the right choices and think what was the bloody point!

I’m going to wish I never paid into my pension soon and went on holiday instead! Should I just spend my money, move into a smaller house and quit my job. At this point I think I’d be better off.

Jargon Buster - EQUALITY - It’s assumed there is a level playing field and everyone gets the same resources. EQUITY - Everyone gets what they need to succeed, which may mean different levels of support.

You’re wasting your time on here OP. Most people on MN are left wing and vote Labour - and if they aren’t happy with any of the policies that Labour implement, most of them wouldn’t admit to it anyway. They just double down and blame it on the Tories, Brexit, pensioners etc. There are threads on MN for people who aren’t happy with this Government - I don’t think we are allowed to reference other threads specifically, but just do a search and you will find one where you will get a friendlier, more empathetic reception.

Choice*

‘Extremely privileged to even own a house’ oh how we laughed. Guess what? That used to be called aspirational living and was encouraged. Now it’s a case of ‘know your privilege and pipe down.

I don’t think it’s most people at all. It’s the very vocal minority that shouts down everyone else.

Bad advice. I stupidly said similar to my kids. Now I tell them to get a great education and a good job in another country.

You are wrong about pension contributions.

Not taxed on pensions on the way in, that's the whole point of them. But if you were it, and the tax when you draw them, is covered in your list under "income tax".

You missed insurance tax, tax on utilities (can't remember what it's called, but 5% on gas and electric), travel tax on flights.

The tax on private education is on your list, it's VAT.

I'm quite well off, but I've never had to pay capital gains tax. Individuals don't pay corp tax. I do, because I have my own company, but it's pretty low because I put as much of my income as possible into the pension.

Inheritance tax only around 6% of estates pay.

It is a genuine question as I am curious which country you think offers this choice and how they afford it.

I can't actually believe you think that ninety percent of where people end up is down to their hard work.

Absolute bollocks.

Do you think or have a better life chance? My kids or my cousin's kid.

My cousins aas a single mother with a violent man aged 23 ( didn't know she was pregnant until 4 months) the father has never anything to do with the child. They spent first 4 yeaes living in the box room at their grandparents house with my aunt and awful uncle. My cousin is severely dyslexic and never got a single gcse. Her Dad is violent and beat everyone often. By aged 10 the kid has moved house 5 times and schools 4 times. Had 3 "dads' and also is dyslexic. Never have money, barely enough for food, no energy to do anything other rthan get theough the next day (My cousin's kid)

Compare to my kids who have two parents who love each other, prioritise education, are in OK health, can offer stabilty, can reach them to read, take them to art galleries and museums and on holiday. They have never witnessed violence, they are friends with some of the kids they went to nursery with. We've helped them fill our uni applications and job applications, sorted out work experience with our equally sorted mates in relatively interesting fields.

Who do you think should and will need the most support from the government? My kids at some point are likely to inherit off my parents, probably in the region of about fifty thousand pounds each. By that point, hopefully they will also have managed to save enough to get on the housing ladder.

My cousin's estranged from her parents and her son will never inheritance anything.

Hardly a level playing field.

That's exactly the same advice.

You’re wasting your time on here OP. Most people on MN are left wing and vote Labour - and if they aren’t happy with any of the policies that Labour implement, most of them wouldn’t admit to it anyway. They just double down and blame it on the Tories, Brexit, pensioners etc.

Regardless of which party you support the facts remain that all of the below have contributed to where we are now,

Tories
Brexit
Ageing population

It really isn't because of illegal immigrants & the economy hasn't been growing for years...

But the rumours are in part deliberate destabilisation by opposition forces (and not necessarily just other political parties).

Whatever is announced, people will remember the fear of uncertainty and the fear of the rumours more than the specific detail of any budget announcement.

"I’m going to wish I never paid into my pension soon and went on holiday instead!"

I'm closer to 70 than not. Believe me, that thought will pass away more quickly than you realise.

You’re not wrong OP. This government (like those for the last 25 years) are only for those that don’t contribute, only take. And yes contribution is financial. You can’t pay for things with warm words and kind sentiments. You have to go out and earn cold hard cash and then pay for the public services which most in this country now get for free, since over 50% are net takers.

Even more insulting is the increasing amount of freebies given to people who simply choose to not work at all. People love gaslighting to say this isn’t happening. But motability cars for ADHD is a thing. Over 1000 people are going onto disability benefits a day. A million young people simply choosing to live on benefits. Another million foreign nationals claiming benefits.

The whole thing is a joke and slap in the face for those who pay for this largesse.

You’re not wrong OP. This government (like those for the last 25 years) are only for those that don’t contribute, only take. And yes contribution is financial. You can’t pay for things with warm words and kind sentiments. You have to go out and earn cold hard cash and then pay for the public services which most in this country now get for free, since over 50% are net takers.

Even more insulting is the increasing amount of freebies given to people who simply choose to not work at all. People love gaslighting to say this isn’t happening. But motability cars for ADHD is a thing. Over 1000 people are going onto disability benefits a day. A million young people simply choosing to live on benefits. Another million foreign nationals claiming benefits.

The whole thing is a joke and slap in the face for those who pay for this largesse.

I've always told my kids to work hard at school or else they'll end up in a shitty job unable to afford things

You can work hard & still have a job which means you can't afford things. Most industries have seen salaries stagnate.

".... since over 50% are net takers."

What is your evidence for this statement? @WildLimePoet

Spot on PigletJohn. That has been my observation and opinion for a long time.

The ‘weird’ stamp duty tax - misspoke. I’ve heard all sorts. I’ve already paid stamp duty. I’ve heard I will be re-paying it when I sell it. I’ve also heard I will be paying an annual charge. I’ve no clue what I will be paying. I do no that the government would like to tax me for having a large house- therefore I should probably downsize.

Yes it is a choice to downsize - I may well do that. I’m not sure the government would want to encourage me and others to do that though as it will just push up the prices in the mid priced band

That’s not my observation

You are talking as though everyone is broadly starting from an even playing field aside from a few exceptions. I think that is incredibly naive. Peoples life chances are hugely affected by the situation they were born into, family wealth and education. There's now a huge divide in the country between people with inherited wealth that then enables them to buy secure housing snt those without and that's before you get onto all the other situations and health issues that can affect the kind of choices you are able to make. We are not a poor country just a very unequal one.

Countless of these tedious and predictable disabled benefits bashing threads pop up with depressing regularity on MN every week. However, despite many posters on those threads pointing out that PIP is a non-means tested benefit, which one can receive while also working full time, people like the OP still seem unable to fathom this simple fact.
The OP seems to be suggesting that PIP awards are a barrier to employment. This is a ridiculous and ignorant suggestion. I work full time and have been severely disabled all my life, born without eyes and with multiple joint deformities. In order to work and live I need a great deal of specialist equipment, adaptive technology and paid carers. My PIP helps with this, though it does not cover all of the extra costs related to my disability. My employer covers much of the costs of equipment and support at work, in conjunction with government access to work schemes, but in order to actually get to and stay in work, not to mention to look after myself and my family, I require a whole accessible infrastructure outside of work.
If the government removed my PIP tomorrow it would probably make it impossible for me to work so I would end up costing the sainted tax-payers, of whom, despite being a lazy disabled benefits scrounger, I am also one, a lot more money.
Removing PIP would certainly have the opposite effect to the one you claim to be hoping for. No amount of 'insentivisation', in the form of PIP, is holding me back from being 'self-sufficient', just as no amount of pulling myself up by my bootstraps has caused my eyeballs to sprout so far, though maybe I haven't tried hard enough!
While I remain blind there is no amount of encouragement that will make it possible for me to do my job without specialist equipment since I am incapable of using computers, phones or tablets without specialist software, unable to read physical documents unless translated into braille or electronic formats and a number of other tasks essential to most modern workplaces that would also be appropriate for a blind person.
Maybe you should think about cases like mine before declaring that PIP is the enemy of employment.

and then pay for the public services which most in this country now get for free, since over 50% are net takers.

When people harp on about the above do they realise the biggest % of net takers are pensioners and with an ageing population that means increased net takers?

Did you know that the country where people pay the highest taxes in the world has also been voted the happiest country to live in for the last 8 years?
They also have the best public services that people are willing to pay for.
They also have the softest, considered prisons in the world, and are consistently one of the lowest ranking crime countries.

Why we don't look at it far more as a model is because we have a terribly biased press who have pushed an agenda the benefits the most well off. So we have consistently had people voting.The parties that will actually cause them the most harm.

What you have "heard" are the usual pre-Budget rumours that fly around every time the Chancellor (of any party) is about to deliver a Budget.

Ignore them. Wait for the Budget and then decide.