To think there will be a divide after covid?

[MiaMarshmallows]

For example DP has saved tons of money and is looking forward to spending but for myself and others, we have lost jobs, income and will be feeling the effects of this for a long time to come.
Does anyone else feel there will be resentment when we see all the wealthy and those who have done well out of covid, having a brilliant time while everyone else struggles to get by?

No but I do feel that it is the biggest divide between people.
Some will come out of lockdown in a better financial place than ever ready to pick up where they left off. Others have had their lives torn apart and will have to watch the lucky few having a great time.
Yes, this is life but it's very cruel at times.

But surely it's healthy to only care about what money your household has?

It is not healthy only to care about your own money. As if we are not bound in social ties. They do say though wealthier people are much more prone to turn their eyes from social inequality or the sight of poverty.
It will just be back to the same old inequalities but with a certain amount of resentment thrown in. Maybe it will be like after world war two. Sone people can't understand how Churchill, who 'win the war' could have been flung out of power at the end of it. He was hated by many, because they were the ones on the front line but they got no chance of benefitting from the peace. Trouble is, there is nowhere really to go politically right now.

The expression "We're all in the same waters, but some of us are in dinghies and others in superyachts" (or similar) I read on here at some point last year, sums it up pretty well for me.

Some kids are going back to school after a year of one-to-one learning with a SAHP/furloughed parent, tech aplenty, lovely time spent baking bread and running around the garden. Others have been trapped in homes with domestic abuse, with one phone or laptop shared between six and a dodgy internet connection. When the divisions in society were huge to begin with, that kind of experience can set the latter child back for life potentially.

Likewise the financial effects - if your situation is already precarious, the safety net just isn't there.

There will absolutely be a divide, of course.

What’s new is that covid has challenged the ‘feckless poor’ narrative - you’re poor because your lazy and also not as clever as me, I’m wealthy entirely through my own efforts etc etc.

How do you reconcile this with entrepreneurs, people who happen to work in events, airline pilots, 3 million self employed, including everyone who worked behind a personal service company and everyone who set up after the cut off date etc.

It will be interesting to see how it pans out - we need to be fed a new narrative to reconcile this amount of cognitive dissonance. It’s going to be difficult but I suspect the one that will win out will be sunak’s shrug that his heroic efforts were never going to be able to help everyone so the losers just need to suck it up, basically.

@PenisBeakerIsMyFavouriteMuppet

I’m one of the lucky ones this time round. Secure job that allows me to WFH, no salary cut, saving money on commute etc. Exact same scenario for DH.

But we weren’t so lucky during the last financial crash. I lost my job, DH’s salary was halved; we nearly lost our home and had literally no extras for years.

Swings and roundabouts, really.

This is us too. We struggled for years in the last crash but this time we are fine. I will never forget that struggle though.

Like someone else said there have always been those that are worse off. We are by no means loaded now but doing OK.

Why would your “D” P be spending loads of cash on himself while you struggle?

There are clearly going to be divides. The whole pandemic has shown up the huge inequalities in society. The poor will always suffer the most, it’s sad.

And I didn’t keep my job, I lost mine, completely out of the blue, as I was so sure it was secure and my boss would look after me. I was wrong. I was lucky to get another one though.

@MiaMarshmallows

For example DP has saved tons of money and is looking forward to spending but for myself and others, we have lost jobs, income and will be feeling the effects of this for a long time to come. Does anyone else feel there will be resentment when we see all the wealthy and those who have done well out of covid, having a brilliant time while everyone else struggles to get by?

Does anyone else feel there will be resentment when we see all the wealthy and those who have done well out of covid, having a brilliant time while everyone else struggles to get by?

The reality is that the "average" financial gainer, will have been working throughout the pandemic, often more/harder and not furloughed or made redundant.
And although some will have been hit harder financially, they have also pretty much not spent the last year working in very difficult circumstances, not in effect having been in holiday mode, gardening, decorating, enjoying the sun pretty much for the entire lockdowns and longer.
So actually if there is a divide, I'm not going to feel guilty that we maybe able to enjoy this year when last year I was shielding and working throughout, as I've remained.

busylizzie’s post is a good example of resolving cognitive dissonance by telling yourself the story that makes you feel the best about your own experience. We all do it, and there will be more of this. There are many thousands of business owners who have struggled to survive over this period. I guess ‘gardening and holidaying’ is the new ‘feckless and stupid’.

It should be shared.

Do you mean that the OP and her DP should be sharing the extra savings? Then ideally yes, an equal partnership wouldn't have one heading out spending tons whilst the other was left at home without anything.

Or that those who have managed to save this past year, or even make more money due to their job being more in demand, should be sharing with this who have lost jobs and lost income? If this, then how would that even vaguely happen?

He doesn't sound like much of a 'DP' if he is 'looking forward' to spending his money whilst his partner struggles?

The gap between have/have nots has widened but as has the gap between have/have a lot. The Rees-Moggs of the world need to be taxed more and tax avoidance schemes be cut down on.

@BusyLizzie61 exactly, it would have been difficult for me to work much harder. There was no DIY / decorating, learning a language, enjoying the nice weather etc. It has been early starts, late finishes, eating a quick sandwich at the laptop etc

It's already there, plenty think the furloughed should be the ones to pay for everything & are the new benefit scroungers. Incredibly short sighted imo.

they have also pretty much not spent the last year working in very difficult circumstances, not in effect having been in holiday mode, gardening, decorating, enjoying the sun pretty much for the entire lockdowns and longer.

I did all these things whilst I worked. Were the furloughed supposed to sit crying staring at a wall?

busylizzie’s post is a good example of resolving cognitive dissonance by telling yourself the story that makes you feel the best about your own experience

Yep

I remember last summer seeing all the beaches full and I hadn’t been furloughed and trying to work and manage (failing) homeschooling. It was hard reading about people doing lockdown projects and baking banana cake with their children - it was really hard and I felt like such a failed parent.

We haven’t saved money as we still had normal bills to pay, but are lucky to both still have our jobs - it’s very uncertain though whether they will be in place long term. I’m worried about tax rises and how that will impact our finances (it’s already quite tight) I was hoping to get a better paid job this but there isn’t a lot at there. I’ve also had to take a £250 pay cut which kicks in in April.

Yes some people will be better off some not but sadly it’s always been that way in some form - it’s just suddenly more noticeable and people are talking about it.

I think there's more of a divide between those who worked throughout the whole pandemic and those who stayed home. From what I have listened to anyway

So many different groups and family make ups. Just had a chat with my parents who think everyone will be rolling in it like them as they are retired and not spending. It was a surprise when I told them someone in nearly all of our neighbours households have lost their job except us. Not even furloughed just redundant.
I fear for our jobs in the future so although we have saved a bit I'm not going to rush to spend as it's all so shaky. We've worked throughout with homeschooling and all the craft gang have really just added to the mental pressure.

Wfh is working not just worked outside home will have a big impact.

I am one of those that were seriously struggling financially before lockdown. The lockdown meant that I was just about able to cover my bills as I did not have travel or ds sports costs to cover. No change in income. So when sports re-opens and travel to work and school costs etc I will be back to where I was!

As others said, there has always been a divide. The divide will just be a bit different now.
Despite both of us continuing in our full time jobs and working 12 hour days for the past year (as well as home schooling alongside for a portion of it) we’ve lost 20% of our income, which stings. We’re still better off than many though... we can pay our mortgage and bills.
I didn’t envy those who were furloughed, despite a summer in the garden looking appealing. If you’re furloughed, it generally means your job is at risk. That’s not a nice position to be in.
I also think a lot of those who are so far unscathed might see the impact later on... currently the economy is being propped up, but that will end.
Hopefully people will start to realise that others are in financial difficulties through no real fault of their own, instead of regarding them as feckless and work shy, and will all be a bit more empathetic.
I doubt it though.

It's going to be a shitstorm in lots of ways. Generationally, financially, socially, societally.

And this government, supported by the press, will wind it up and wind it up, because if we're a fighting with each other, we won't notice the mess they've made of everything.. covid and Brexit.

I mean it's destroyed the working class (as always), shaken up the middle class (the financially vulnerable lower middle class, anyway) and not really touched the UMC or upper class (who could afford to weather the storm and may have actually well done out of it). So it's just exposing our class system again. Which is much more significant and inflexible than most people like to pretend it is.