To be so cross at the government

[Hillary17]

I honestly have no idea what we’re going to do next year and it’s now keeping me up at night worrying about our financial situation. We’ve been sensible and cut back as much as possible, got rid of all the luxuries people on here suggest to cut back on but there’s still a massive hole forming in our finances. Ours savings have been wiped by buying our first home and general cost of living over the last six months. We saved for ten years to buy our first home together, worked incredibly hard and sacrificed. It’s hardly a mansion either, your bog standard first house! Currently paying around £750 a month on the mortgage. We fixed for two years due to our jobs being a bit in flux and not sure if we’d need to move - this runs out next year and have just been quoted £1150 for our new price. How can this even be possible?! Where do the banks and government think people are going to find this extra money? We can’t even sell up and rent because there’s a huge crisis in the rental market near us and sales are bombing; we’re absolutely trapped here for god knows how long. We’re not extravagant, just comfortable middle earners who wants a normal life. I know there’s people worse off than us (I’m terrified for them because I can’t even explain the rise in our food shop or household bills) but I’m genuinely starting to think nobody cares about the middle income families. We work really hard, earn a decent amount but still won’t be able to afford to put the heating on this winter. I know I’m going to get bashed for this but I’d expect to at least be able to afford a bloody takeaway on a weekend without being in a state of panic. How is that even a situation in 2022?! I’m just so furious with the government honestly. No point to this post other than to say god help everyone who is a low income earner because if things in the middle are this bleak I dread to think.

I think there'll be an outcry from renters if Rishi does something to help people pay their mortgages. Unless he comes up with something to help re extortionate rents as well.

I absolutely hear you. I don't expect the government to fix all my problems, but I absolutely do expect them to fix the problems that they have caused.

At the moment I genuinely feel like I'm earning more money to go backwards. Looking back, I lived the life of bloody Riley a few years ago, now I earn more I'm stressed out about having the heating on for more than half an hour. It's utterly, utterly shit.

Exactly. Nobody expects them to solve all of our problems. But if they could at least fix the ones that they have caused that would be a start.

His comments are pretty gaslighty tbh. "We've fucked your life up. Don't expect us to fix it!"

Ummm... yes actually. I DO expect YOU to fix the mess that YOU made.

Not Ukraine or Covid. But Brexit certainly. Why should we endure £50bn of tax and public service cuts when £40bn of that can be fixed by rejoining the single market? Just because he and others are too cowardly to admit they fucked up?!

That would be pretty stupid of renters because higher mortgages mean higher rents.

X post! Exact same thoughts.

But Brexit certainly. Why should we endure £50bn of tax and public service cuts when £40bn of that can be fixed by rejoining the single market? Just because he and others are too cowardly to admit they fucked up?!

And frankly, any member of the public - no matter how they voted initially - who is not now emailing their MP to do this and is simultaneously complaining about the cuts and inflation and interest rate rises and tax rises, gets no sympathy from me.

If you want to make things better, send your MP and email telling them to rejoin the single market pronto. If enough people do that, they will. If not, things will continue to get worse. It's the only realistic improvement we can make right now and the impact would be huge.

"Stupid" is probably a bit unfair. If I was paying a huge amount in rent I think I'd feel a bit resentful if the government introduced help for the people who've been fortunate enough to buy a house. Especially as until now mortgage payments have generally been lower than rents in most areas. Probably still are in some cases, even with the increase in interest rates.

The government can't take responsibility for how much they have screwed things up though can they?

Those who plan to vote for them regardless might struggle to deny the damage they've done.

It's like Brexit:

"STOP MENTIONING HOW MUCH BREXIT IS COSTING US AND HOW MUCH DAMAGE IT IS DOING AND HOW IT HASN'T EVEN TAKEN BACK CONTROL OF OUR BORDERS AND JUST MOVE ON"

We're just supposed to pretend everything getting worse is just how it is and there's nothing anyone could do about it...

It's pure gaslighting. And I for one have had enough of it. They treat us like we're fools.

"Stupid" is probably a bit unfair. If I was paying a huge amount in rent I think I'd feel a bit resentful if the government introduced help for the people who've been fortunate enough to buy a house. Especially as until now mortgage payments have generally been lower than rents in most areas. Probably still are in some cases, even with the increase in interest rates.

Maybe a poor choice of word, but it wouldn't exactly be intelligent to oppose a policy that would reduce your own living costs as well as other people's, would it? And make you more able then to save to buy a house if you wanted to, or to simply live more comfortably during a time of such universal financial struggle? What adjective would you use to describe such irrational behaviour? Spite? Jealousy?

Not according to the BOE, they said that whilst we all face Global issues, the UK or rather Truss, decided to put us through a whole heap of self inflicted woes.

UK Govt borrowing costs (and these set the mortgage rates) are higher than all comparable european countries, France, Germany and Spain all lower, only Italy higher - why do you think 100s of mortgage products were withdrawn after her budget? never to return.
UK 10 yr Gilt = 3.53%
Germany ......= 2.3%

Thats what we are all paying extra for, Tory incompetence/fraud.

Yep.

We need adults in Government and I don't think any politician deserves any respect until they will acknowledge and name this elephant in the room and tell us all what they will do to fix this totally pointless damage to all of our lives.

I totally agree, people seem on a short fuse, sadly only going to get worse.

Yes maybe a bit of spite/jealousy/resentment but it would be understandable to a degree. Renters are paying extortionate amounts every month (effectively paying someone else's mortgage) and the government steps in to help the mortgage payer? And do we really think that BTL landlords pass on any help they get by reducing rents? I doubt it.

And it's a shame how it's just becoming normalised, I was chatting in a group the other day and somebody said "you know how you can't use your heating anymore, well etc etc" and everybody else just nodded in agreement.

It's 2022, you should be able to use your bloody heating!

Yes maybe a bit of spite/jealousy/resentment but it would be understandable to a degree. Renters are paying extortionate amounts every month (effectively paying someone else's mortgage) and the government steps in to help the mortgage payer? And do we really think that BTL landlords pass on any help they get by reducing rents? I doubt it.

The Government already helps renters through housing benefit/ UC. I am fully supportive of these being uprated.

Mortgage payers get no help and have just been totally screwed over by Government mismanagement, so yes they should absolutely help to fund that additional cost.

Rents will increase far above inflation - in line with increased mortgage costs - if they do not. So then even if benefits are uprated with inflation, renters will be financially screwed.

A MIRAS type scheme is in everyone's interests, other than those who own outright, who are hardly the people in need of most protection atm given that for everyone else housing costs make up an average of 30-50% of take home pay.

Absolutely this!

And it isn't about reducing rents. This is about stopping rents and mortgages increasing further, so that many struggling now can't pay them at all.

These comments just make me sigh. People even admitting spite at others struggling but not quite as much as them. Honestly. Focus your anger on the Government that made this much worse than it had to be and lobby your MP for ways to make it better for everyone.

<cough>

Single market

<cough>

@AliensAteMyHomework I wasn't admitting to spite. Being neither a renter or a mortgage payer I have no skin in this game. I only said I could understand some renters feeling a degree of resentment if the government helps mortgage payers. I don't disagree with your points, I'm just I'm not sure people will look that deeply into it, they'll just see people who have been fortunate enough to buy getting a helping hand.

Not all renters get housing benefit/UC by the way.

Well that's entirely the problem: many people who believe they are right about things who can't be bothered to "look deeply into them", or listen to those who have. Why should we respect the opinions of such people? Look where doing so has got us. I think it's utterly irresponsible to express an opinion on something or indeed vote on it if you can't be bothered to do basic research or don't have the capacity to understand the consequences of it. And even worse to them moan about said consequences while still refusing to admit you fucked things up not just for yourself but for everyone else, too.

I am using you" collectively here - I don't mean you personally.

I am sick of lazy and ignorant people fucking everything up.

@AliensAteMyHomework calm down dear

And I think this is the underlying cause of the anger in society that previous posters referred to.

One half of the country is angry at the other half for what is their opinion (rightly or wrongly) bad choices that came with consequences be that the Brexit vote, the 2019 election or the reaction to Covid.

The other half is angry either because they disagree they made bad choices or that there are in fact any problems at all but get annoyed about being told "I told you so" or instead they accept and realise they fucked up but find it hard to admit that they helped cause the problem and would prefer to blame instead a nebulous concept of "Government " for implenting these choices- such as the wrong type of Brexit or a lockdown that was in hindsight too long too short etc.

This

@MissyB1
@luckylavender

+++++

luckylavender
@1dayatatime - more broadly we did what most other Nations did when faced with a nouvel virus. No one knew what would happen. And herd immunity has been proved to be a non starter as people can catch COVID more than once. But my original post was about furlough. No one could refuse to accept being furloughed, it really wasn't possible. What we should criticise the government for is the billions they wasted on Track and Trace, the VIP lane PPE disaster & the fraudulent COVID loans.

Absolutely this!

++++

It is very easy to be selective remembering how Covid unfolded. It is easy to forget that the initial Government approach was simply herd immunity and no lockdowns. This was quickly overturned (and even denied by Government) due to overwhelming public pressure / fear.

Even once lockdown was introduced it is easy to forget that there were many voices (including on MN) stating that the Covid measures would cause more harm (economic, education, missed cancer diagnosis, lower GDP causing higher mortality, inflation etc) than Covid itself. These voices were shouted down as either Covid deniers, anti vaxx or granny killers.

Indeed whilst herd immunity was shown not to prevent people catching Children twice in much the same way that the vaccine doesn't prevent people catching Covid but both herd immunity (naturally acquired resistance) and the vaccine are effective at reducing how ill people get.

But returning to your original comment about furlough. Yes you are correct that once the measure was introduced no one could really refuse it. However it is easy to forget that the furlough measure was widely supported at the time indeed even popular and that anyone questioning the cost (economic and otherwise) was shouted down for being a Covid denier / uncaring/ granny killer.

And lastly whilst the Government did indeed waste billions at the time this was done with the full support of the majority of the country. To finish off let me give you an example; "Eat out to help out" cost £600 million yet how many people were critical of this use of taxpayers money at the time and how many went "Hey let's tuck in to a half priced Nando's". Indeed even when it was eventually removed there were still voices saying we need to continue it "in order to support the restaurant industry " when in reality they just wanted to continue with half priced Nando's.

We are all to blame here, the Government just (badly) implemented the popular opinion at the time.