Yes I do.
At 16 years old when I started work I was given a retirement age of 65, decades later they decide to move that date, not once but twice despite having paid all my tax duties up in full.
I didn't complain about my tax dues in my younger years, I just accepted them. I didn't go sick at times when I should have gone sick, I worked on because I had a family to support and bills to pay.
Life got easier as the decades faded into the distant past, but it came at sacrificies of seeing your kids grow up as much as you would have liked to, looking back.
I stopped smoking around Covid, mainly because I knew I would have to go into hospital for ops, I knew that meant me being put under each time and it was the sensible approach.
My drinking vastly reduced over the years, some due to governnment health advise and constantly being asked if you drink or smoke by endless medical staff. Also the responsibility of looking after a family comes first.
I've often said taxes should be higher, when tax got reduced from 25% to 20% by whoever, I said it was madness, they were taking the money off me, and I adapted, so why reduce it. I accepted my resposibilities.
So sorry mate, if they can't afford it now, I played my bit.
I need all my prescriptions and part of them is to alleviate pain, I've had them most my life and I always paid for my prescriptions until age was on my side.
So I'm not going to feel guilty.
If you had set different rules when I was born, then I would have adapted to them as well as I grew older, so don't go making me feel guilty because the model don't fit now and people want to move the goalposts once again.
My view - I'd like to live as long as possible, provided I'm relatively healthy and enjoying it - mainly as I'd like to see all my girls settled down before I go!
I've paid a small fortune into the system over my lifetime and certainly ain't gonna be a 'net cost' to it when I do pop'em.
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