Aibu it's not the Government's role to bail people out?

[Katypp]

The UK is massively in debt and money is short.
AIBU to think that families should be expected to manage their own household budgets instead of constant calls for Government subsidies every time prices go up?
It's coming up to summer. Surely it's not unreasonable to expect householders to manage their own bills by cutting back their energy use?
Surely adults could be expected to manage their own grocery bills? Obviouly covid was exceptional, but oil prices rising have happened many times before with no expectation of bailouts.
My question is, given the state of the economy, do we need to wean ourselves off expecting the Government to step in every time prices go up and learn resilience again?

Banks and energy and water companies get huge bailouts. Massive corporations get enormous tax breaks. But of course, it’s ordinary people just trying to get by that’s the problem, right….

this is because there is a war in the middle east and it affects us
these sorts of bail outs happen because they need to

Im not sure which hand outs you are explicitly talking about here.

I think something does need to happen with heating fuel. That price has gone bonkers, and there aren't the same protections as gas and electricity where caps are in place.

Something needs to be done about petrol - not price necessarily, but availability. The local petrol station to me is dry by about lunchtime every day currently. Its creating its own local mini panic, as everyone is topping up frequently, as far as I can tell. Yet 5 miles down the road I can pay an extra penny a liter and haven't struggled yet - my commute means I fill up twice a week.

When heating oil prices spike it's still cheaper than for people who are reliant on electricity for heating/hot water. But no one does anything to help them. I don't get it.

Why is a nation, so rich in this resource it exports more than it uses, paying so much for it?

I dont think electricity and gas is actually capped in that sense, i mean yes there is a limit - but its based on prices beforehand which is why the cap goes down in apr but in the few months after it i assume will soar? So instead this time of it being expensive possibly temporarily now while usage is quite low as its warm it may go high in time for boilers going on for winter?

Also take CB it was say 20.30 a child a week when mine was born then hardly went up. If it had gone up by 4% only i would have had 400+ a year for that child now a year just to match inflation (which in terms of costs for a child have soared way more than 4%…! And so probably another 200 a year for child 2.. and yet they saved on cutting the high earners out.

Its about 2.75 here 1 day for school meals.
school trips have soared due to coaches.

I dont think older couples can understand how much the food prices is impacting - kids are bottomless pits.

I would t be surprised if more businesses give up though if they use lots of gas/electricity or fuel

I can only assume you are not being adversely affected?

If the Government can help out the banks and huge corporations, they can bloody well put their hand in their pockets and help me and other struggling tax payers.
I've already got two jobs, I've cut my cloth so much there's no cloth left.
Heating oil has more than doubled so I don't have my heating on.
My electricity contract ends next week so my unit price will increase.
Fuel has increased and I need my little 14 year old mini to get to work.
I've gone down to one meal a day.
Pray tell ..what else can I do?? Im seriously thinking there's no point in being here.

I’m assuming you’ll be fine, OP.

This is my pet peeve on MN. People writing about statutory duties as if they are etched in stone and not subject to change. This is partly how we have become so entitled as a society. People believing that they have an immutable right to whatever help they think they need or want without questioning if they should first help themselves.

I think we need to look at the State's statutory duties wholesale and consider what is affordable and even desirable. The State can't cushion us all from global crisis all of the time. Sometimes we will have to take the hit as citizens. If energy prices have increased then ultimately we as individuals are going to have to start making decisions about energy consumption and doing what we can to reduce our usage. Some of this will be unpleasant but that's what should happen in response to a shortage of anything. You don't just carry on as you always have done and demand that the state pays part of the increased bill so you don't feel the squeeze.

But, unfortunately, it's not "the Government", is it? Because the Government's money all comes from taxpayers - so it's higher paid taxpayers bailing out low/no earners. And, no, this is not OK, because taxpayers already contribute huge amounts..... we all know that there is an obligation to support those who are less economically fortunate, but there have to be limits.

There needs to be more borne by companies such as energy providers.

Funny how it never seems to happen the other way around, when it comes to things like council tax.

We get endless complaints from councils that they just can't balance their books and make ends meet, but WE - even those in band A or B homes - can magically stump up an extra 9% with no drama.

What if people are already on the breadline? What if they're already having to choose between heating and eating?!! That is the stark reality for some families. Is it their fault that the ginger twat in the US is causing spiraling energy bills because of his illegal war in Iran? The problems lie at the top, not the bottom of the food chain. There should be no need for people to be living in poverty in this day and age but those in power are totally fucked up!

The price of fuel directly impacts those of us who, due to having no public transport anymore, rely on our cars to get to work. The more I spend on petrol, the less I have to spend elsewhere. Imagine all the small businesses that will be losing out as people will not have the means to get their nails/hair/whatever done as well as the cafes/restaurants etc who will/are closing because people aren't spending enough. There is a knock-on effect to rising prices so anything that can reduce that is fine by me.

Absolutely this!

They won’t do next time a bank fails. They now have a ‘bank bail-in’ mechanism whereby shareholders and creditors (people who have money in a bank account are unsecured creditors) will have to bear the losses.

But if they tax people more to pay for that energy subsidy then that also means that there is less money spent in the local economy. If they tax businesses more then they will begin to make losses and shut down or simply hire less people. Your post implies that there is a painless way to raise the money to bring energy costs down.

ABSOLUTELY BLOODY THIS!!

The government bails out banks. Doesn’t charge as much corporate tax as it should (Amazon).

If everyone started off on a level playing field, perhaps your pov would be visvle op. But there is such disparity in privilege in this country.

Personally I think it is the mark of a highly civilised country that has excellent healthcare system free at point of contact, superb tax funded education for all and a solid welfare state with social housing.

Would it mean less tax though? I thought the profits go to BP??

OP, the govt is currently taking a higher proportion of my income in tax than at any time since I started working at 18 forty years ago.

That obviously leaves less for me to cover mortgage, utilities, clothes & shoes, transport and food for me and my dc.

They have chosen to do that.

I buy flour by the sack and make all our bread, I buy potatoes by the sack to get a lower price. I cut & dry our own wood for the log burner. I grow salads, veg and fruit. Freeze food for the winter. I make jam. I cycle to work in the summer. I cook from scratch. I can't remember the last time I took ds out for a meal.

I am doing my best !

This govt NEEDS to understand they cannot keep taking, and giving nothing in return.

Op you could change your title to ‘aibu to think that the government is not there to help people?’ It’s literally what they’re there for when you break it all down!!!

The UK government subsidizes the O&G industry to the tune of £17,500,000,0000 a year, the equivalent of £610 for ever household in the UK, all while O&G companies post record profits.

Maybe it's time to look it that since they clearly don't need all that extra help...

Does that include the amount that they (at least used to) guarantee as safe - it used to be £85k per institution; not sure if it's that now, if it still exists?

It seems mad if we've reached a stage in 2026 whereby the people who stash all their cash inside their mattresses are the most cautious, wise ones!!