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.

Im an unpaid carer for my disabled daughter, I'm a home to school SEND taxi driver, I'm also a single dad to 2 teenagers who both have SEND issues.
I work hard, we all do. We just don't need or get and recognition which an occasional thankyou would be welcone

I would love to work full time, my boss has cut everyone's hours.

A lot are ŵealthy through inheritance which your either lucky to get, very. Or through marriage, they divorce their husbands and lead a good life. I haven't had either, nursing paid peanuts in my day and secretarial a bit better. I dont agree with the people who have worked to get their money should be penalised.

There's only two certainties in life - death and taxes. I really don't mind paying, I will pay until they put me in the ground, but I object to the ultra- rich companies and people doing their damnedest to avoid paying a fair share.

Well no, we all haven't. Many of my friends didn't start jobs until their early 20s because they went to uni etc. Lots of people have to work from age 16.

There are people who fall in to lucrative positions because of family or connections etc. Then they bleat that they worked hard. Well, not really. I know a few of these people and their utter blindness to normal people's struggles sickens me.
However, my husband earns what many people would say is a very good wage but does sacrifice a lot to earn that. He pays higher tax. I'm re-training so only working part time at the moment, but we get by. No fancy holidays, our car is old etc. We don't qualify for any benefits etc but I know a fair few families who get something and they are much better off than us. The UK is a very strange place at the moment. We should be 'middle class' by the government's estimate and yet we are definitely not.

I feel so much better knowing im in "the bottom centipede" ill use that, with permission 😁

Thanks for that patronising comment - I am well aware there is a spectrum on most disease and anxiety is one of the. However, the current generational view of needing warnings to read Cinderella, read certain books or on numerous films is out of control. The recent study saying they find the work place stressful because they do not get enough praise and basically have their hands held is where we are going orng. wE have turned normal human emotions into illnesses and then we pay people for these socalled illnesses. That is nto what benefits should eb for.

They don't have the qualifications so cannot take the higher earning jobs. Nothing wrong with working hard all your life and saying so.

You don't need lots of qualifications to earn a well above average wage. See my comment about the current gov funded scheme where you can do a two week fully paid boot camp to drive 60 ton dump trucks on HS2. You'd be able to go elsewhere and earn at least £60k a year on a private contract with a few months experience.

Granted, it's not a job that will appeal to all but that's then down to personal choice rather than lack of opportunity.

Just hopefully not at the bottom of The Human Centipede. 🤣 Don't suggest you Google that lol.

What if you are not allowed to drive? That is not a choice.

Didn't happen in my day, but would have loved to have done it, more opportunities these days. No harm though in saying anyone works hard

I know a lad who left school with just gcses. Did year 12&13 but just didn't bother sitting the A-level exams. Somehow he ended up in recruitment. Worked very hard to transfer to the American offices. Then for a new job in America, moved around until finally returning to the UK to set up his own business. Don't know how he did it. But he'd work 80 Hours weeks.

My ex husband lost his mum over the Christmas holidays in Y8, he’d just turned 13 the week before. He didn’t go back in the January and never stepped foot in a school lesson again.

He got 1 GCSE, went to college at 17, by which point he’d been out of education for 4 years, did another 2, and then moved onto A Levels and a degree.

He’s a senior accountant for a multinational logistics company now. Owns his own house outright, new car every year - etc etc.

He also grew up in one of the poorest areas of Teesside, which is saying something as most of it is deprived.

I don’t like the man one bit, ex husband for a reason, but he is living proof that coming back from adversity is possible.

I wprj with someone who "can only work 2 days (15 hours)" otherwise it would harm her benefits. That is the most appalling thinking I've heard.

This sums up succinctly what is happening nowadays.

DH is dyslexic (we only know because DS was identified, and we therefore realise that so was his father. Dyslexia is heritable.) But DH has made a small company from scratch which keeps five families fed and housed all year round without zero hours. And our commercial instinct keeps our SME afloat. Staying in business for a long time (35 years in here) depends on the politics of the moment. I don't think anyone is starting a business now given the obvious hostility of this government to enterprise. They may say different/otherwise but it is obvious that if you are not on any kind of benefit, this is not a government working for your interests.

What if somebody can't be an accountant because they're crap at maths? Or work in telesales because they have a speech impediment?

It was just an example.

The issue isn't her thinking. She's just doing the logical thing to maximise her income.

The issue is that our stupid government can't do very basic mathematics to setup a tapered benefits system, to ensure that people always financially benefit from having a job compared to benefits.