I wonder if the fact that a lot of the older generations have a mortgage that they've already paid off and kids already left the nest basically shields them from the cost of living. The "I can survive on 20 grand, so why can't you?" to the people who are struggling to find a rental for less than 12 grand a year without bills.Sadly, many people (even on this thread) have condemned workers asking for 'inflation busting' pay rises, despite the simple fact that their pay has barely moved in a decade. The same people then believe the politicians who claim that awarding such rises will be terrible for inflation, completely ignoring the fact that the soaring inflation we have has come at the same time as wages being stifled.
My parents are of the opinion that things were 'just as hard'. They were working class - my mum a cleaner and my dad an electrician. We worked out that 90 weeks of net take home pay (all of it) would have bought their house, in Sale, outright. 90 weeks of average take home pay now would pay £45 - £50k. Things are simply not the same and my parents were shocked when I did the calculation.I wonder if the fact that a lot of the older generations have a mortgage that they've already paid off and kids already left the nest basically shields them from the cost of living. The "I can survive on 20 grand, so why can't you?" to the people who are struggling to find a rental for less than 12 grand a year without bills.
I used the inflation busting pay rises on this thread but never mentioned workers I was talking in general.Sadly, many people (even on this thread) have condemned workers asking for 'inflation busting' pay rises, despite the simple fact that their pay has barely moved in a decade. The same people then believe the politicians who claim that awarding such rises will be terrible for inflation, completely ignoring the fact that the soaring inflation we have has come at the same time as wages being stifled. Meanwhile:
I don't think it is too much to ask for someone on the average salary in the UK, to be able to buy the average house, to be able to heat it and and be able to buy some clothes and have a holiday.
- FTSE 250 CEOs saw a similar 38% pay increase, with median pay rising from £1.25m in 2020 to £1.72m in 2021.
- FTSE 100 CEOs annual bonuses leapt to £1.4m compared to £828k in 2020 and £1.1m in 2019. 90% of CEOs received a bonus.
The problem though was the financial situation in most countries was far less stable. Committing to purchasing a house in the seventies was a big risk against a backdrop of rising unemployment, and the vast majority of workers were in factories. They would have remembered, or heard stories, of being able just a decade or so earlier, of being able to walk out of one factory job and into another, but times and industries were changing and some were coming to a complete stop. So confidence of commitment to long term investments was low. Remember, in those days if you defaulted on a loan of any kind you got very little help nor sympathy. It was your risk to take it on. No or very few fixed rate mortgages, not even capped rates. Which is why people rented everything.My parents are of the opinion that things were 'just as hard'. They were working class - my mum a cleaner and my dad an electrician. We worked out that 90 weeks of net take home pay (all of it) would have bought their house, in Sale, outright. 90 weeks of average take home pay now would pay £45 - £50k. Things are simply not the same and my parents were shocked when I did the calculation.
BTW, their first house (council flat before) was £2750. My dad was on £31 a week take home pay.
Sadly, many people (even on this thread) have condemned workers asking for 'inflation busting' pay rises, despite the simple fact that their pay has barely moved in a decade. The same people then believe the politicians who claim that awarding such rises will be terrible for inflation, completely ignoring the fact that the soaring inflation we have has come at the same time as wages being stifled. Meanwhile:
I don't think it is too much to ask for someone on the average salary in the UK, to be able to buy the average house, to be able to heat it and and be able to buy some clothes and have a holiday.
- FTSE 250 CEOs saw a similar 38% pay increase, with median pay rising from £1.25m in 2020 to £1.72m in 2021.
- FTSE 100 CEOs annual bonuses leapt to £1.4m compared to £828k in 2020 and £1.1m in 2019. 90% of CEOs received a bonus.
That makes you an extreme lefty these days.I don't think it is too much to ask for someone on the average salary in the UK, to be able to buy the average house, to be able to heat it and and be able to buy some clothes and have a holiday.
Indeed, that is fact. Nevertheless, 90 weeks pay bought a terraced house in Sale. The average price of a house on that road, in 2023, is £308k. At the current median UK salary, that would take 616 weeks to repay, using full net pay.The problem though was the financial situation in most countries was far less stable. Committing to purchasing a house in the seventies was a big risk against a backdrop of rising unemployment, and the vast majority of workers were in factories. They would have remembered, or heard stories, of being able just a decade or so earlier, of being able to walk out of one factory job and into another, but times and industries were changing and some were coming to a complete stop. So confidence of commitment to long term investments was low. Remember, in those days if you defaulted on a loan of any kind you got very little help nor sympathy. It was your risk to take it on. No or very few fixed rate mortgages, not even capped rates. Which is why people rented everything.
Guilty, as charged in the court of my mum and dad!That makes you an extreme lefty these days.
'Moderates' believe workers should humbly accept whatever they are given, and sleep in a cardboard box if necessary. To ask for more is outrageous insubordination.
With around,I would guess, around 80% of those who bother to vote, having some sort of vested interest in property, it would be a very brave or foolish Party who removed the tax free benefit of home ownership. If the tax was based on profit on sale , nobody would bother moving which would kill the housing market, labour mobility and downsizing by those in larger properties. It would be a disaster.Really do think we need an overhaul of our tax system completely, the disparity has become too great. Even with the income disparity, we focus too much on that rather than wealth. They’ll be making just as much from property ownership…