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Middle earners punished

1000 replies

Eucalyptus321 · 25/11/2025 21:18

I am feeling so disheartened and frustrated by how middle earners are constantly suffering at the hands of ridiculous government priorities. My husband and I have a greater household income than other families we know but have less cash in hand due to increased taxes coupled with the fact we receive zero benefits like child benefit or tax free childcare etc. ZERO. If they want middle earners to fund the country thought tax then at least support us with childcare costs. It’s a joke that two parents earning £99k each get childcare funding but parents with one £101k salary and one £25k salary receive nothing. I just need to speak to people who understand the burden of raising a family amidst the current financial climate and then the potential of further tax rises!

OP posts:
Thread gallery
9
Fargo79 · 26/11/2025 16:53

Baconbuttymad · 26/11/2025 16:48

Yes of course, for example I have total respect for cleaners and bin collection people as it is a physical and demanding job however they chose to do that job rather than a more well paid job.
higher paid jobs often require degrees and advanced qualifications that’s how it is.

Edited

You've changed the direction of the conversation. Of course lots of high paid jobs require degrees. That is unrelated to the point that was made by a PP that I challenged, which was the implication that high earners work harder than other people.

ItsInTheSingingOfAStreetCornerChoir · 26/11/2025 16:58

PodMom · 26/11/2025 09:39

I think that's unfair actually. I'd have no problem in paying more income tax to help someone short term as a safety net or someone long term who is disabled. No problem if it means the nhs is improved so I can see a dr.

I do like others have said have a major issue with people using benefits as a lifestyle choice. You say its tiktok hype but I know for a fact people like this. I know a couple who don't work, both on long term sick and claiming every benefit going. He gets carers allowance to look after her, she gets carers allowance to look after him. They get get carers allowance for the teen dd who goes to school fulltime.

They get so much benefit they live in a 4 bed semi detached house where the rent is £1600 a month. My friend is their landlord. She also has 3 bed properties which she rents out for £780.

But God forbid they have a smaller house when the taxpayer will fund a much nicer house than I live in. This is a fact, not hype. And yes they have had a foreign holiday this year because they told my friend they were off to Spain for 2 weeks. I haven't been abroad for 7 years!!!!!!

I'm not saying people on benefits should be living on gruel and in rags at all. But there is something fundamentally wrong with the system when some people can live like this and other people on benefits are having to use food bank. An overhaul would surely benefit the people most in need?

Because if you multiply that wasted excess rent £9600 a year which is been paid out to them when they could be in a cheaper, smaller house up and down the country for all the people in a similar situation that's a lot of wasted taxpayers money which could be better spent elsewhere.

As I said earlier I'm on a bit under 50k a year. I'm supporting dd through uni which is costing me a fortune as her 9k a year maintenance loan doesn't even pay the rent. She's gone back to uni after being made redundant after the NI rise and her company went bust. She wasn't eligible for a penny in benefits, etc as she's sensibly saved too much (hoping for a house deposit) and instead was expected to spend thousands of her house deposit supporting herself.

So far this year I have spent - £300 on a private rheumatology appt due to a waiting list of over a year so I could start medication for Ankylosing Spondylitis which I got diagnosed with. Crippled in pain but can't start biologics until I see a specialist and have to wait a year. £120 for a scan to diagnose a frozen shoulder because it was a 4 month waiting list. £200 for an injection for my shoulder as I was in agony and not sleeping and the wait for that was weeks. I've spent around 1k on physio as there is nothing on the NHS.

Yes, I'm pissed off and I'm struggling financially. And I do see with my own eyes my taxes going to fund people to have a better lifestyle than me.

Why are you so concerned with this other family? You ‘know’ are they actual friends that have shared the ins and outs of their benefit claims, health and finances?
Maybe they’ve had family pay for their holiday or they’ve cut back on spending to save for it. Benefits don’t come with conditions on what you can or can’t spend it on.
Just because you haven’t been abroad for years doesn’t mean it’s unfair or that no one else can. We didn’t go abroad from when my eldest was 5 until she was 15 because we couldn’t afford it, we didn’t bleat about it being unfair we don’t concern ourselves with what others may have or appear to have.
You say yourself that you’re helping your DD and once she finishes you will instantly be better off. You have disposable income that you choose to give to your DD who has money saved which you’re entitled to do but don’t plead poverty when you don’t have to give your adult child with savings money and you’ve spent £1500+ on private medical treatment, neither of which the person you ‘know’ could probably afford to do.

Baconbuttymad · 26/11/2025 17:19

Fargo79 · 26/11/2025 16:53

You've changed the direction of the conversation. Of course lots of high paid jobs require degrees. That is unrelated to the point that was made by a PP that I challenged, which was the implication that high earners work harder than other people.

They don’t have to work harder as they already worked hard to get those roles in the first place.

Fargo79 · 26/11/2025 17:22

Baconbuttymad · 26/11/2025 17:19

They don’t have to work harder as they already worked hard to get those roles in the first place.

Yeah you're just having a totally different conversation now.

AlltheHedgehogsontheWall · 26/11/2025 17:22

ItsInTheSingingOfAStreetCornerChoir · 26/11/2025 16:58

Why are you so concerned with this other family? You ‘know’ are they actual friends that have shared the ins and outs of their benefit claims, health and finances?
Maybe they’ve had family pay for their holiday or they’ve cut back on spending to save for it. Benefits don’t come with conditions on what you can or can’t spend it on.
Just because you haven’t been abroad for years doesn’t mean it’s unfair or that no one else can. We didn’t go abroad from when my eldest was 5 until she was 15 because we couldn’t afford it, we didn’t bleat about it being unfair we don’t concern ourselves with what others may have or appear to have.
You say yourself that you’re helping your DD and once she finishes you will instantly be better off. You have disposable income that you choose to give to your DD who has money saved which you’re entitled to do but don’t plead poverty when you don’t have to give your adult child with savings money and you’ve spent £1500+ on private medical treatment, neither of which the person you ‘know’ could probably afford to do.

Yeh you would really have to know a family very well to know what their income is. Our house was rented out before we bought it and the neighbours have mentioned that they family that lived here before us with 5 kids must have been getting so much in benefits, because they were always going on posh holidays, driving nice cars, designer clothes etc.

What they clearly didn't know is that they hadn't paid the rent in months and had to be evicted because they wouldn't leave voluntarily, were in huge debt to the energy company and had been put on a prepaid meter, and were up to their eyeballs in credit card debt and payday loans. It was a huge hassle for us to manage to convince all the people they owed money to that they didn't live here and they only left us alone when we managed to find their new address.

That family were clearly irresponsible and I don't condone their behaviour, but they did not have all the money they appeared to have.

Baconbuttymad · 26/11/2025 17:26

Fargo79 · 26/11/2025 17:22

Yeah you're just having a totally different conversation now.

I’m just saying you don’t need qualifications as such to be a cleaner or bin person hence the lower pay.

Thankyourose · 26/11/2025 17:28

‘Pensioners Furious After Buying Homes for £500, Accidentally Becoming Millionaires Thanks to Liberal Gentrifiers

Britain’s pensioners are up in arms this week after discovering that the houses they bought in 1963 for roughly £500 and a bag of cement are now worth over £2 million, thanks to wave upon wave of left-wing, organic-soap-buying, bicycle-riding liberal gentrifiers.

The catastrophe has left many elderly homeowners in an impossible situation:

they are now outrageously wealthy on paper — but unable to afford their council tax, or in some cases the artisanal sourdough bakery that replaced the newsagent.

Margaret Pemberton, 87, who bought her three-storey Victorian terrace in what was once “a slightly rough area full of blokes fighting outside the pub” says she had no idea her modest investment would one day be worth more than the GDP of a small country.

“It’s bloody outrageous,” she told The Herald.

“One minute it’s a working-class street, next minute Guardian readers move in, open a pottery café, and suddenly my house is a ‘heritage property with excellent transport links’. Now I’m apparently a millionaire but I can’t afford to get my fucking bins emptied.

Local councils insist the rising charges are necessary, primarily to fund cycle-lanes, yoga parks, and other things elderly residents have instinctively opposed since the day planning permission was granted.

Derek Simms, 91, says he can no longer recognise the neighbourhood he moved into as a young man.

“Back then the only latte we had was a dog with a cough,” he said. “Now every shop sells cold-brew coffee or artisan dog biscuits. My house is worth two million quid and I still have to choose between turning the heating on and paying for the compost collection.”

Property analysts say the situation is “tragic but also deeply hilarious,” noting that many pensioners have become millionaires “against their will,” trapped inside assets so valuable they can’t bear to sell them.

One expert explained:

“They hate the liberals who moved in, but the liberals are the only reason their houses are now worth more than Starmer’s kitchen tiles.”

The government has promised a review into the crisis, though early drafts appear to recommend that pensioners “just sell their £2 million homes and buy a cheaper one like literally everyone else does.”

Pensioners’ groups have dismissed the suggestion as “an attack on traditional values,” insisting they will stay exactly where they are — ideally while loudly complaining about the price of everything in a house that could pay for all of it ten times over.

Meanwhile, estate agents remain on standby, circling neighbourhoods like polite hyenas, waiting to list another “characterful period property with massive unrealised wealth potential and slight smell of lavender.”

Thankyourose · 26/11/2025 17:29

😂

AlltheHedgehogsontheWall · 26/11/2025 17:41

LookingforMaryPoppins · 26/11/2025 13:30

Doesn't usefulness depend on need?
I would rather a stockbroker invest my meagre pension in the hope I may stand a chance of being able to retire before 90 than a nurse.

As for your example, can you explain the logic for a system that results in someone earning £99,999 pa being far better off than someone earning slightly more? Even with your example, the child care costs and 60% tax still could result in the person earning slightly over £100k being worse off. Envy aside, the £100k plus earners are the net tax payers that the majority of tax payers rely upon. Removing incentive ultimately risks reducing tax revenue and increasing benefit cost.

The only thing you lose at £100k is the tax free childcare, and the funded hours. Tax-free childcare is a maximum of £2000 a year, or £8k if you add up the 4 years between mat leave ending and school starting. Less if you have a summer born.

Every family I know with someone earning £100k has a nanny anyway, and nannies don't count for the tax free childcare. The funded hours (aside from the fact they're not actually free) usually come with all kinds of conditions which essentially requires parents who can structure their lives around those conditions, which aren't usually compatible with a £100k job.

Unless one parent is a stay at home parent, in which case, they wouldn't be eligible for it anyway.

AlltheHedgehogsontheWall · 26/11/2025 17:46

And @LookingforMaryPoppins, no-one believes in that stuff about the incentive being removed.

"Congratulations, you've got the job, now let's negotiate salary. We were thinking £100k."
"Oh no thanks, I'll take £70k, I'll be £1500 a month worse off but I'll get £166 back in tax free childcare if I max it out and £50 in child benefit, so that's much better."
"Oh I'm so sorry, we mistakenly thought you had logic and mathematical skills based on your interview and CV, we're going to have to withdraw that offer."

BIossomtoes · 26/11/2025 17:47

Thankyourose · 26/11/2025 17:28

‘Pensioners Furious After Buying Homes for £500, Accidentally Becoming Millionaires Thanks to Liberal Gentrifiers

Britain’s pensioners are up in arms this week after discovering that the houses they bought in 1963 for roughly £500 and a bag of cement are now worth over £2 million, thanks to wave upon wave of left-wing, organic-soap-buying, bicycle-riding liberal gentrifiers.

The catastrophe has left many elderly homeowners in an impossible situation:

they are now outrageously wealthy on paper — but unable to afford their council tax, or in some cases the artisanal sourdough bakery that replaced the newsagent.

Margaret Pemberton, 87, who bought her three-storey Victorian terrace in what was once “a slightly rough area full of blokes fighting outside the pub” says she had no idea her modest investment would one day be worth more than the GDP of a small country.

“It’s bloody outrageous,” she told The Herald.

“One minute it’s a working-class street, next minute Guardian readers move in, open a pottery café, and suddenly my house is a ‘heritage property with excellent transport links’. Now I’m apparently a millionaire but I can’t afford to get my fucking bins emptied.

Local councils insist the rising charges are necessary, primarily to fund cycle-lanes, yoga parks, and other things elderly residents have instinctively opposed since the day planning permission was granted.

Derek Simms, 91, says he can no longer recognise the neighbourhood he moved into as a young man.

“Back then the only latte we had was a dog with a cough,” he said. “Now every shop sells cold-brew coffee or artisan dog biscuits. My house is worth two million quid and I still have to choose between turning the heating on and paying for the compost collection.”

Property analysts say the situation is “tragic but also deeply hilarious,” noting that many pensioners have become millionaires “against their will,” trapped inside assets so valuable they can’t bear to sell them.

One expert explained:

“They hate the liberals who moved in, but the liberals are the only reason their houses are now worth more than Starmer’s kitchen tiles.”

The government has promised a review into the crisis, though early drafts appear to recommend that pensioners “just sell their £2 million homes and buy a cheaper one like literally everyone else does.”

Pensioners’ groups have dismissed the suggestion as “an attack on traditional values,” insisting they will stay exactly where they are — ideally while loudly complaining about the price of everything in a house that could pay for all of it ten times over.

Meanwhile, estate agents remain on standby, circling neighbourhoods like polite hyenas, waiting to list another “characterful period property with massive unrealised wealth potential and slight smell of lavender.”

😂

ErhManGah · 26/11/2025 17:48

We earn £100k+ .. Never used a nanny

okaysooo · 26/11/2025 17:49

I moved away from the UK last year - can someone fill me in on what's happened? I was considering moving back in a few years but I'm seeing these posts again and again

PigletJohn · 26/11/2025 17:53

okaysooo · 26/11/2025 17:49

I moved away from the UK last year - can someone fill me in on what's happened? I was considering moving back in a few years but I'm seeing these posts again and again

If you buy a house that's worth more than £2million pounds, you'll pay more tax than someone who lives in a less valuable house, starting in April 2028.

If you keep getting pay rises, the tax you pay will increase.

Is that a deal-breaker for you?

Sassy31 · 26/11/2025 18:08

I hear you . We live at the end of the district line . Bog standard terrace - over 2k month mortgage over 2k year council tax. High child care costs & on top of that travel costs are insane from Zone 6 to 1 for work . Decent salary but all swallowed up by every day living …
everything is so expensive now .. It’s unsustainable. I’m dreading next year bill increases as each year I feel poorer … despite earning a good wage!

Whistonia · 26/11/2025 18:10

Eucalyptus321 · 25/11/2025 21:18

I am feeling so disheartened and frustrated by how middle earners are constantly suffering at the hands of ridiculous government priorities. My husband and I have a greater household income than other families we know but have less cash in hand due to increased taxes coupled with the fact we receive zero benefits like child benefit or tax free childcare etc. ZERO. If they want middle earners to fund the country thought tax then at least support us with childcare costs. It’s a joke that two parents earning £99k each get childcare funding but parents with one £101k salary and one £25k salary receive nothing. I just need to speak to people who understand the burden of raising a family amidst the current financial climate and then the potential of further tax rises!

A £100k salary is not a middle earner. It’s in the top 5%. It’s a high salary. How do you think people on £30k manage

OonaStubbs · 26/11/2025 18:12

At some point enough is enough. We can't continue to pay more and more out in benefits and just expect workers to suck it up.

ForPlumReader · 26/11/2025 18:14

You are entitled to feel frustrated and disheartened but you are not a middle earner.

Whistonia · 26/11/2025 18:14

fruitbrewhaha · 25/11/2025 21:38

This come up all the time here. The top 1%, that people on £100k are the high earners. No they are not. They are absolutely middle earners. Have you been to London? Have you walked around the residential areas. From the City to Chiswick, down through Barnes to Richmond, miles and miles and miles of massive houses, £2mil upwards, rows and rows of house £10mil plus. Flats that cost £2mil. Theatres full every night with tickets costing £150 each. Restaurants with menus costing £200 each. The shops, the designer goods. Who do you think is buying all this. Not people on £100k. Nope.

Have you walked around a poor northern town.

leicester66 · 26/11/2025 18:20

@beddiem good for you. This country loves to penalise entrepreneurs and anyone who wants to do well in life meanwhile the government does god knows what. The uk is against family and family values it’s quite normal here to charge their own children rent and basically kick them out at 18!

Dorisbonson · 26/11/2025 18:21

AlltheHedgehogsontheWall · 26/11/2025 17:41

The only thing you lose at £100k is the tax free childcare, and the funded hours. Tax-free childcare is a maximum of £2000 a year, or £8k if you add up the 4 years between mat leave ending and school starting. Less if you have a summer born.

Every family I know with someone earning £100k has a nanny anyway, and nannies don't count for the tax free childcare. The funded hours (aside from the fact they're not actually free) usually come with all kinds of conditions which essentially requires parents who can structure their lives around those conditions, which aren't usually compatible with a £100k job.

Unless one parent is a stay at home parent, in which case, they wouldn't be eligible for it anyway.

Are you smoking crack? Who is earning a 100k a year and can afford a nanny?

AlltheHedgehogsontheWall · 26/11/2025 18:28

Dorisbonson · 26/11/2025 18:21

Are you smoking crack? Who is earning a 100k a year and can afford a nanny?

No, I'm not, are you? Perhaps if you could cut down you could afford a nanny, crack is expensive. If you're taking home £6k a month, you should be able to afford £2.4k a month for a nanny. Maybe you need a budgeting class to help you.

croydon15 · 26/11/2025 18:28

Eucalyptus321 · 25/11/2025 21:36

No if you read my original post, I am looking to talk with people who are also feeling frustrated about being on higher salaries but having less take home than those on lower salaries.

I understand your pov if you try to do well you get penalised. There's no incentive to work hard as you only get taxed more.

lindyloo57 · 26/11/2025 18:38

Its the same the pension, I worked brought up 2 children we didn't get help with childcare in the 70s 80s o sone of it was part time. I will get a full pension I have no private pension, my sister who have never worked much,will be on pension credit and with benefits you get with it, will be better off then me, and they say working pays.

Hedgehogbrown · 26/11/2025 18:41

GrandmasCat · 25/11/2025 21:25

And just today I realised I am a crap earner surounded by crap earners… I don’t think I know many people who are earning over £50k, let alone over £90k each, yet we all own houses and live without too many financial worries. Never thought that£90k would be considered middle earners.

you don’t need benefits, you just need to learn to live within your means. But agree that some government poicies are blatantly unfair for single people.

Edited

This is true. OP you are a high earner. If you want a better life and to see your kids more, then the one who earns 100k should work less! Reduce childcare costs, live within your means. What do you want?!

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