to be fed up of hearing 'I've worked hard for my money'

[newbluesofa]

Lots of chat on MN recently about taxes on high earners. So heard lots of 'we have this money because we work bloody hard for it' and honestly I'm sick of it and think the people who say it are selfish.

Nurses work incredibly hard, long shifts, difficult job. Carers provide absolutely essential service, again shift work, difficult hours, difficult job. Teachers provide essential work, I know multiple teachers and they all devote evenings, weekends, school holidays to the detriment of their own families. All of these jobs also have huge emotional tolls. So 'I've worked hard for my money' means nothing to me, because a lot of people work a lot harder for a lot less.

I'm disabled and on benefits as I can't work. I guarantee I put far more effort and work into just keeping myself alive than a lot of high paid people put into their jobs. Just showering and getting dressed in the morning is a 3 hour ordeal that leaves me in pain and exhausted. It took me 25 minutes to walk to the toilet earlier today. It's less than 15 feet away.

If effort and hard work was properly reflected in wages/income then our entire economic hierarchy would be flipped upside down overnight.

Effort and Profitability are entirely divorced concepts but people act like they are tied together.

This!

They say it because people on here often imply that it’s only through sheer luck that they are managing to earn six figures and they should therefore shut up and be grateful and not complain when they are taxed to the hilt to support others who aren’t contributing. I earn a lot and no, I don’t think that overall I work harder than teachers or nurses, though the pressure and responsibilities are different (being on call 24 hours a day at times, all nighters, having to work weekends and holidays). But that’s not the point, I’m not suggesting nurses and teachers should be taxed more so I can pay less, I’m suggesting that (some) people who don’t work at all or choose to work part time shouldn’t be funded by the likes of me (or the teachers and nurses) to the degree they are currently in the UK, and if complaining about that makes me sound selfish so be it. We’re all entitled to an opinion on how our taxes are spent.

Absolutely.
I've worked hard and been rewarded.
I'm not daft- I see other people working hard and not being financially rewarded for their effort.
It doesn't take away from MY effort though - because I HAVE worked bloody hard, nobody popped up and gifted me my salary- lots of additional training went into getting where I am.

Why are you asking us? We don't know.

For me, children.

I prioritised career and getting to earning six figures in my 30s. I’m now one miscarriage in and unlikely to ever get pregnant again. Maybe this would have been different if I’d prioritised children when I was younger.

So there’s that.

They havent though, in many cases....

Of course we would. Progression to the top isn't solely about effort and money, it's about intellect and capability as well.

YANBU. Huge amount is down to luck. Hard work is not limited to those who earn well. (And I say this as someone who earns well).

What exactly is your point OP?
Is this another "you cant have an opinion because you got a high paying job through your own hard work" thread?

I’m not saying it is. I’m saying they are probably saying they’ve worked hard for their money…… because they have. Maybe not in comparison to others, but they certainly have. I think it’s often said because there is a presumption of privilege or luck which is insulting.

My husband is sat over 6 figures and regularly works over 80 hour weeks. He has an awful lot of pressure which I wouldn’t personally handle.

we both sacrificed time and money putting ourselves through professional qualifications (post degree).

If people want our jobs, if they are so fantastic and easy and requiring no more sacrifice than other jobs- why not train for them and apply?

I put YABU because you’re taking from that line what you think it means. They are saying “I’ve worked hard for my money”…. Which they probably have worked for it and they’re entitled to say they’ve worked hard but where you’re unreasonable is you are hearing “I’ve worked harder than everyone for my money”. They aren’t saying that nurses, teachers, carers don’t work as hard as them yet that is what you’re hearing

Actually I think it would even wages out a bit through supply and demand.

It’s not just that, it’s like… isn’t working normal? Isn’t 40 hours a week for THE MAN just part of life? Do we really think that’s hard work? It’s just an exchange I do x for y money.

Meh, I kind of get it. As per a PP - I earn a decent wage now, but I don't work that hard day to day. Sometimes I'm very busy, but mostly it's quite easy. I'm employed because of my knowledge and skill set in a specific area, and what I can do if required.

It's a hell of a lot easier than when I worked full time in a call centre and another 20 hours a week pulling pints to pay rent 20 years ago.

That being said my mum likes to tell me I'm 'lucky'.. which I'm not - I gained experience, put myself forward for opportunities and funded qualifications out of my own pocket.

Yes it's a lot of tax, but it's hardly new information. And there are opportunities for things such as salary sacrifice etc, that lower earners might not have the option of. Moaning about tax is literally a waste of air, for all the good it will do.

Sorry? So the people without the intellect to make a lot of money would be left to be the teachers and nurses? What are you saying here?

Yeah. It's like as opposed to people who just sit at work with their hands down their drawers staring into the middle distance?!

But they think they're above everyone else and are too good to have to pay their taxes.

Presumably they're too fancy to need the state pension or PIP if they become disabled. As they think people who receive benefits are near enough subhuman.

I know I'll at least get scowled at if not all-out flamed, but all jobs are consented to. Which means the conditions, the work, the hours, the pay, the whole package is laid out in the contract that you sign.

Some people have done those jobs you mention and have decided after so many years to move on and become their own boss, for which they have then used their life savings to start a business and get if off the ground. Those will be the people who you are tired of hearing from when it comes to taxes on profits.

Everyone who owns a business started from nothing. There are the ones who inherited it from their parents and in that case it's their parents who took on all the risk and ploughed through all the uncertainty and worry.

I sometimes complain about my boss, but then it's because of him that I have an income and could pay my mortgage off. He started from nothing and there have been many a night where he's not slept and has had to restructure the company to make sure it doesn't fold. I remember one particular restructure where I came within a hairs' breadth of being made redundant and it was during that time my boss was questioning whether or not the company was worth running anymore. It's still running and I still have a job, so in spite of all the fear and uncertainty, he kept fighting. I and many others are eternally grateful the company wasn't packed in.

Life is hard. Bloody hard. While I understand you're sick of hearing 'I worked hard for my money', people wouldn't be saying that if it weren't true. Everyone works hard, it's sadly the ones that fight tooth and nail to keep their employees from being cut loose that get dunked on the most because they took that leap and decided to make more money.

I think the point is, that unless people were born into wealth, and get money handed out, then they HAVE WORKED hard for their money.

That doesn’t mean anyone else who earns less, hasn’t worked hard too.

When I watch Rich house, Poor house ... one can be envious, but all the rich people, have worked very hard to have the lifestyle the do. I think that's why they choose these particular individuals...because they tell their story. Not like rich kids going skint... who have had everything handed to them.

I think you’re conflating two things there.

I work hard for my salary, it wasn’t gifted to me, and I’m grateful for it.

I work hard for my salary and acknowledge that some people require state support that my tax contributes to, and I’m fine with that.

Working hard doesn’t always equate to a higher salary, and having a higher salary doesn’t mean you can’t acknowledge your position of financial privilege, or that you should begrudge people using your taxes to live.

They’re not mutually exclusive.

Well in fairness, many haven't.

Nor do we live in an egalitarian world.

Different roles command different salaries. Unless you would like a neurosurgeon to be paid at parity with, say, a domestic cleaner?

That’s absolute shit, I’m pretty sure that neither of us have heard a man say that they sacrificed having children for their career. It’s a disgrace that we are still here with that.

But don’t you think that some people turn that onto women who are struggling in lower paid work? People say things like ‘get a better paying job’, ‘work extra hours’, ‘we shouldn’t be topping up your wages because you chose to have children you couldn’t afford’.

It can be structurally impossible to get to well paid work and all the ‘sacrifices’ to be made are already done?

But do people WORK HARD for their salary

or do they just, less dramatically, show up and deliver their job?

why is it so hard for them?

I don't think the issue is people who earn more thinking they have "earned" their money any more than someone slogging away cleaning or in retail/hospitality whetever for 50 hours a week. (Ive done it all).
It's the fact it has been EARNED. whether the Liberal left of mumsnet choose to believe it or not, there is an entire culture of people who have never had to work, and their take home is not far less than those who work for it.

I know of two people, and I do know this to be fact, who do not work, actively choose not to, as they would be financially worse off.

To me, these are the targets of the "I've worked hard for my money" brigade.