Oh Dear

I’m getting sick of these “poor me” posts from the younger posters on here who clearly have a problem with older people. Yes we had better music, clothes, pubs and clubs, but every day was for living and brought its own problems. We still had to work hard for what we got, had the uncertainty of being able to pay the mortgage.
I inherited nothing when my parents died, I had two weeks to clear the council house. What we have will one day be yours.

 

No better way to grow your military than spend billions on filling it with people who absolutely don’t want to be there. How could that possibly go wrong?

 

One thing attracting less comment than I expected is the Tories' surreptitious plot to level things up as between pensioners and workers. If they had announced that in future pensioners would pay NI on their occupational pensions (state pension alone wouldn't take them above the threshold) there would have been an outcry. Instead they have flagged their intention to do away with NI altogether. The tax income they raise will therefore have to be mainly through income tax, to which pensioners with occupational pensions are liable. So that is a potential tax hike for pensioners.

 

YES. Labour ought to be banging the drum on this. My 86 year old dad gets some pension credit, lo and behold, it takes him above the tax threshold. And I believe he's going to have to fill in a tax return form (which should be fun , no internet, not computer savvy).It'll cost more to administer than the amount of tax he'll have to pay back.

 

This national service is just another Conservative con, file it under the 40 new hospitals, the 28 new warships, the Rewanda deal, 8 new power stations, and other stupid gimmicks.

 

And not stopping the boats!

 

It's either unaffordable or slavery.

 

What are you on about. I suggest you look into the strike and what in fact happened.
(Neither me or my mrs worked throughout that whole 12 months. She had given up work to bring up the kids. A few yrs b4 the strike. I became the sole breadwinner and worked o/t to compensate). Our mortgages were suspended. If we'd have been thrown onto the streets the backlash from the electorate would have been a political disaster. What little we got through child benefit went on food to supplement what we got from the soup kitchens. We dug for coal. We got food donations from all around the world. What debt we had built up I paid off straight away. From the transfer money I recieved. The holiday money they paid us at the end also helped. I genuinely do not know 1 person who lost their home. (Maybe some on here can point to someone) some i admit thought it would be over in weeks and didnt act as prudently as they possibly should.

As for how do you get to a £10k-£20k deposit ask those who have. In my sons case I helped him out of my pension. (Never said it was easy. especially for the self employed to even get one. Young ones in a lot of cases today live for today. Same with pensions. not look to the future)
We personally. as most did. saved up for that 10%. £500 in our case. Out of wages in 1974 around £25pw between us I tipped up as lots did whilst living with my parents. So left with around £7pw to myself. My Mrs lived in hospital accommodation after leaving home. So we probably had around £15 disposable income. By the time we decided to get married and buy a house we had saved that £500. Took 2.5yrs. So i guess around £4 pw.
During that time unemployment was at an all time high. I ask you to read the ragged trousered philanthropist written in the early 20th century and anyone else for that matter and see what conclusions you come to.
And see why we are still a society run for the haves (by that I mean the filthy rich) to lord it over the haven't. All will become clear.

Over one hundred years after its first publication, The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists continues to be considered by most readers as a revelation, a novel of the utmost relevance today, as a book that describes the world as it is. All working people nowadays, especially the precariat, easily recognise the ‘slob-it-on’ work ethic of less resources, fewer people to do jobs, poor wages and conditions, part-time work, and the threat and reality of unemployment. All those people who sell their labour are essentially in the same boat. The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists reveals the essence of an exploitative, capitalist system that is still in place

 

I’m not joining in the bashing of older people, my dad is just about to retire and he’s getting the state pension and not a lot else. My mam will get literally only that a few years later as she was on invalidity most of her life before the Tories stopped it and she’s never had a job to pay a pension on.

The thing about inheritance though, is, hopefully, with most people living into their 80s and having kids in their 20s back then, the ‘kids’ that are inheriting will be in their 60s. The inheritance won’t help them at all when they actually need it when bringing up a young family and buying a home, but will just add to the general notion of over 60s having more money. I’m not expecting any inheritance but I have no interest in any anyway. If I manage to get to 60 odd without it then I’m sure I’ll cope after that too.

 

Correct in everything you say. But inheritance is the final layout so to speak. Hence why we have left a fair percentage to the Grandkids to hopefully help em along. The kids benefited from our help. Eg Deposit. Uni costs etc and are in a fairly comfortable position because of that.
One thing I'll never understand is why parents will fork out for a lavish wedding. Ive known friends save for that day. Talking £12k+ When there are far more practical uses for that money to help em. The mind boggles.

 

Absolutely agree there Hooky. The amount couples spend routinely on weddings these days boggles the mind. Each to their own but 20k plus seems to me to be infinitely more useful spent on something more practical.

 

Me and the Mrs both always found it ludicrous, we didn't get married but have been together 18 years now. My sister spent £15k on a wedding, plus a mad long expensive honeymoon was married for nearly 10 years and is now getting divorced and still in debt. Her ex husband had to have everything now and flash and it still wasn't enough for him. He is a spurs fan so par for the course of doing a spurs I suppose.

 

Even ministers like Steve Baker have disowned the policy saying the cabinet had no knowledge of the plan and have done no work on it and it's been dreamed up by some unknown policy adviser. Stinks of desperation from Richy boy who has nothing really to say and is grasping at whatever straws his advisers throw in his direction however ludicrous and unworkable they are.

 

I swear he's got a job lined up for the 5th of July for some American investment firm or something. Noticed a lot of the client media today has pushed the narrative that it has popularity in the general public but it feels the more folk I speak to, mates still in the forces, mates and family on the NHS, my kids and their mates (and their parents) and the old folk I've spoken to all think it's desperate, wasteful and ludicrous. Not to mention the funding for it will take directly from leveling up funds. I can only think the public they have spoken to in the media are staunch forever Tories and have the view that rishi has a midas touch.

 

Next policy announcement:



Tax threshold to be raised for pensioners to be above state pension amount. If it’s so low it’s dragging people on the state pension into it, it’s too low all around and should be raised for all.

 

Another fiddle of the books, hoping pensioners will not look at the fine prints. About half of the cost comes from not raising taxes on pensioners as planned, by freezing their allowances for three more years. So, the £100 "saving" next year is mostly just not having to pay an extra £100 in taxes, rather than an actual gift.

 

The “national service” idea is a dead cat policy - it’s about trying to set the agenda & bit talk about 14 years of despair for the majority of the population. I think we on this thread have fallen into the tories’ trap - we’re pitting generarion v generation - it’s the Tory way of divide & rule! Old v young! Don’t let them set the agenda! Please stop having a go at each other & concentrate your thoughts (& anger) on them”real enemy”!

 

Raising the allowance for all instead of one particular group would be much better and fairer.

 

I very much doubt that anyone involved in that debate will be voting Tory.

 

It's not a contest. Out society and political landscape are entirely devoted to building divisions instead of unifying us. Young people should sympathise with previous generations struggles just as the older generations should sympathise with modern challenges. The ire would be better directed at the f**kers trying to stoke said divisions for their own gain. All political parties are guilty of this.