Off Topic Politics Thread

[San Tejón]

Taken from a political journalist. Yet again, making the poor worse off.

The much-vaunted cut to National Insurance is not what it seems. When you take other Budget measures into account, someone on £15,000 a year will be £48 worse off a month while someone on £50,000 will be £68 better off.

 

[ChilcoSaint]

Taken from a political journalist. Yet again, making the poor worse off.

The much-vaunted cut to National Insurance is not what it seems. When you take other Budget measures into account, someone on £15,000 a year will be £48 worse off a month while someone on £50,000 will be £68 better off.

What I find slightly baffling is that pensioners, being generally more likely to vote Tory than other age groups, are singled out for punishment by this cut to NI.

 

[thereisonlyoneno7]

What I will add (I am not a Tory apologist honest!) is that those earning over £50k a year will naturally get a bigger benefit than say someone on £15k as they are paying more of their income on NI. The benefit is increased to those earning £50-60k/year if they have kids as they now get 100% child benefit. I do not deny that other changes mean that lower income households may be worse off.

My issue is that the 40% tax is meant to be for higher earners, but since the freezing of the personal allowance, is £50k really a 'high' earner in the traditional sense of the word? Yes, it is a good income, but £50k 5 years ago is different than £50k now. I think that £65 or even £70k would be a good start. I also have no issue with the tapering of the personal allowance over £100k so that earnings over £125k have zero personal allowance.

My last point is that the feeling on here seems to be that it is all pensioners and the 'rich' that vote Tory. For the first point that is clear on here as a lot of the more vocal Labour supporters are pensioners. I would also argue that there are a huge proportion of people that earn over £125k (and a lot more) that vote Labour.

 

[StJabbo1]

GB News has reported losses of £42 million as a result of overpaying onscreen talent, thereby demonstrating a misunderstanding of both accounting practices and the word 'talent'

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[StJabbo1]

GB News has reported losses of £42 million as a result of overpaying onscreen talent, thereby demonstrating a misunderstanding of both accounting practices and the word 'talent'

You must log in or register to see images

How this tory propaganda bandwagon gets past so many ofcom investigations is beyond me although a number of complaints have been upheld but rejecting those about the below is ludicrous.
https://www.theguardian.com/comment...er-conspiracy-theories-ofcom-bias-anti-vaxxer
"In fact, all pedlars of wild conspiracy theories will be encouraged by Ofcom’s decision to reject complaints about the GB News presenter Neil Oliver linking the coronavirus vaccine to something called “turbo cancer”. The fact that there is no such thing as “turbo cancer” – a Reuters factcheck stated that the Canadian doctor who claimed it was linked to vaccines is under investigation for spreading false information – did not stop Ofcom deciding that Oliver’s claims didn’t violate its rules. It appears that his freedom to express misleading or indeed outright deranged ideas trumps Ofcom’s mandate to prevent harmful or offensive content."
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/gb-news-uk-bias/
"Overall, we rate GB News Right Biased and Questionable based on a lack of transparency with ownership and funding, numerous failed fact checks, and the promotion of conspiracy theories and pseudoscience."
"Failed Fact Checks

• In September 2021, there was a three-week period when renewables produced between 2% and 3% of the country’s electricity. – False
• The CDC said that immunity from a prior Covid-19 infection is “paramount.” – False
• The Covid-19 vaccines are not safe because people are dying and getting seriously ill as a result of receiving them. – False
• UKHSA data shows that people who receive a booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine are more likely to be infected with the disease. – False
• Receiving a Covid-19 vaccine makes you more likely to be admitted to hospital with the disease. – False
• “While the media talks a lot of the 150,000 deaths, perhaps they should have been talking about the number of people who died ‘of Covid’ not ‘with Covid.’ That was just 17,371 up to the end of quarter three 2021.” – False
• Official UKHSA data shows booster vaccines are ineffective. – False
• The first asylum seeker flight from the UK to Rwanda was stopped by an EU court. – False
• Vaccine trial data shows you’re more likely to get serious adverse effects from the vaccine than be hospitalised with Covid-19. – False"

 

[San Tejón]

What I will add (I am not a Tory apologist honest!) is that those earning over £50k a year will naturally get a bigger benefit than say someone on £15k as they are paying more of their income on NI. The benefit is increased to those earning £50-60k/year if they have kids as they now get 100% child benefit. I do not deny that other changes mean that lower income households may be worse off.

My issue is that the 40% tax is meant to be for higher earners, but since the freezing of the personal allowance, is £50k really a 'high' earner in the traditional sense of the word? Yes, it is a good income, but £50k 5 years ago is different than £50k now. I think that £65 or even £70k would be a good start. I also have no issue with the tapering of the personal allowance over £100k so that earnings over £125k have zero personal allowance.

My last point is that the feeling on here seems to be that it is all pensioners and the 'rich' that vote Tory. For the first point that is clear on here as a lot of the more vocal Labour supporters are pensioners. I would also argue that there are a huge proportion of people that earn over £125k (and a lot more) that vote Labour.

For what it’s worth, a person working full time on the minimum wage will have an annual salary of around £19000.
I think if you did a poll amongst them they would consider someone on £50k to be a high earner, compared to them. Perception will differ depending on what you earn, I guess.

 

[EasyBreezer]

From April, minimum wage for a full time 37.5hr/pw worker will be £22,300 a year.

Fiscal drag is creating billions in extra revenue. The overall personal tax burden is currently enormous by historical standards and will grow further until the end of the freeze in March 2028.

This is no giveaway, this is a stealth tax with the occasional throwing back of crumbs.

 

[Osvaldorama]

What I find slightly baffling is that pensioners, being generally more likely to vote Tory than other age groups, are singled out for punishment by this cut to NI.

Hopefully because they have finally realised that they need to actually help working people instead of using them as cash cows.

I don’t see why pensioners should get so much really. They’ve had their whole lives to save and buffer for their retirement.

Not on out that, most of their pension schemes were 100x better than ours.

Stop giving them money is absolutely fine with me. Reward young, hardworking families instead.

 

[Archers Road]

Anyone else been fortunate enough to see that video of Rishi Sunak with a whiteboard explaining to us how the budget works like we are children who need to be told why we are definitely so much better off?

Best part is him starting off by writing CONTEXT *underlined.

Even if you ignore everything else, he just seems so fundamentally bad at politics.

‘You know what the public really love? Condescension!’

Yeah, he’s just not very good at politics. As PM he only ever had two things going for him; he’s not Boris Johnson and he’s not Liz Truss. Whenever I see him and Jeremy Hunt pictured together, it looks like a brochure for a soulless sales conference in a country house just off the M6. Wooden doesn’t begin to cover the pair of them.

 

[AberdeenSaint]

Hopefully because they have finally realised that they need to actually help working people instead of using them as cash cows.

I don’t see why pensioners should get so much really. They’ve had their whole lives to save and buffer for their retirement.

Not on out that, most of their pension schemes were 100x better than ours.

Stop giving them money is absolutely fine with me. Reward young, hardworking families instead.

You try living on the state pension. I`m 66 and I`ve been used as a cash cow by the government all my life - I`ve earned every penny of the pension pittance I get off the state. We already have one of the worst state pension arrangements in Europe. Do you really think that if the government reduced the state pension provision, that it would somehow end up `rewarding hardworking families` ?

 

[Number 1 Jasper]

Hopefully because they have finally realised that they need to actually help working people instead of using them as cash cows.

I don’t see why pensioners should get so much really. They’ve had their whole lives to save and buffer for their retirement.

Not on out that, most of their pension schemes were 100x better than ours.

Stop giving them money is absolutely fine with me. Reward young, hardworking families instead.

Come back in 30 or 40 years , re-read your comment and see if you still agree with it .

 

[thereisonlyoneno7]

Hopefully because they have finally realised that they need to actually help working people instead of using them as cash cows.

I don’t see why pensioners should get so much really. They’ve had their whole lives to save and buffer for their retirement.

Not on out that, most of their pension schemes were 100x better than ours.

Stop giving them money is absolutely fine with me. Reward young, hardworking families instead.

Wow. Sorry O's disagree 100% with every thing said here.

I am practically speechless, and if you knew me personally, you would know that is a rare thing.

 

[oldstocktonsaint]

The idea that pensioners will vote Tory is a myth. I go on holiday with a group of ten other pensioners. Out of that group I am the only one who has ever voted Tory in the past. Im a committed don’t trust any politician voter, so my vote is never guaranteed. I vote for the least worst option.

 

[EasyBreezer]

Whilst Os maybe being a bit sensationalist, it is inarguable that since the triple lock was introduced, the state pension has given retired people a pretty good deal and basically every tory budget until this year has favoured retirees over young/ working people. When you further factor in cost of education and accommodation relative to income, young people since the tories got in 14 years ago have had a pretty terrible deal.
It is also inevitable that to pay for the triple lock, they will just incrementally raise the retirement age and amount of qualifying years required to receive it.

This is unsustainable in the long term and actually agree with Os, it is about time working people were given a bit of a break. It does seem to me and many others that the ladder gets pulled up a little further each year and if we don't at least consider, let alone prioritise working people, the whole system will suffer.

 

[StJabbo1]

Whilst Os maybe being a bit sensationalist, it is inarguable that since the triple lock was introduced, the state pension has given retired people a pretty good deal and basically every tory budget until this year has favoured retirees over young/ working people. When you further factor in cost of education and accommodation relative to income, young people since the tories got in 14 years ago have had a pretty terrible deal.
It is also inevitable that to pay for the triple lock, they will just incrementally raise the retirement age and amount of qualifying years required to receive it.

This is unsustainable in the long term and actually agree with Os, it is about time working people were given a bit of a break. It does seem to me and many others that the ladder gets pulled up a little further each year and if we don't at least consider, let alone prioritise working people, the whole system will suffer.

As an overseas pensioner I'm aware of the poor UK pension in comparison with other comparable European countries.
Raising the threshold of income tax is the best way to help those most in need rather than reducing NI.

 

[ChilcoSaint]

Hopefully because they have finally realised that they need to actually help working people instead of using them as cash cows.

I don’t see why pensioners should get so much really. They’ve had their whole lives to save and buffer for their retirement.

Not on out that, most of their pension schemes were 100x better than ours.

Stop giving them money is absolutely fine with me. Reward young, hardworking families instead.

I love you too mate

 

[ChilcoSaint]

Whilst Os maybe being a bit sensationalist, it is inarguable that since the triple lock was introduced, the state pension has given retired people a pretty good deal and basically every tory budget until this year has favoured retirees over young/ working people. When you further factor in cost of education and accommodation relative to income, young people since the tories got in 14 years ago have had a pretty terrible deal.
It is also inevitable that to pay for the triple lock, they will just incrementally raise the retirement age and amount of qualifying years required to receive it.

This is unsustainable in the long term and actually agree with Os, it is about time working people were given a bit of a break. It does seem to me and many others that the ladder gets pulled up a little further each year and if we don't at least consider, let alone prioritise working people, the whole system will suffer.

Lowest State pension in Europe. Not a good deal at all.

 

[San Tejón]

The way the retirement age is going up and the way the Tories have started to reduce the life expectancy, in many areas, many 1000s/millions won’t even draw the pension.

 

[ChilcoSaint]

The way the retirement age is going up and the way the Tories have started to reduce the life expectancy, in many areas, many 1000s/millions won’t even draw the pension.

I know I keep banging on about the NHS but it is very dear to my heart, arguably this country’s greatest historical achievement. But the thought of nurses, HCA’s, porters and so on having to do a physically demanding job up to 71 years of age makes me so angry I could punch someone.

 

[Osvaldorama]

Come back in 30 or 40 years , re-read your comment and see if you still agree with it .

I will be fine because I’ve been saving and investing since I started work at 16.

I won’t be relying on the state.

People need to stop relying on daddy government and start being more responsible.

I don’t understand this mindset of people failing to take any responsibility for their retirement, and then wanting to punish the working people for their poor decisions over their lives.