Thread: Is Britain a land of paupers?

According to government research, almost half of UK adults have less than £500 set aside for emergencies. That almost half of UK adults have less than 500 quid in savings in this day and age seems ludicrous and I'm really surprised at it. Is Britain really a developed country?

Originally Posted by Neverna

Is Britain really a developed country?

Britain started going down the pan in the early 60's in my opinion. I just couldn't wait to get out.

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

Originally Posted by Neverna

Is Britain really a developed country?

Britain started going down the pan in the early 60's in my opinion. I just couldn't wait to get out.

Yup, and it's in a very bad way at the moment.

Reality setting in....

Akin to other similar cultures, the insistence to living an illusion catches up.

Yes a land of paupers, indeed! My brother is building a Ha-ha

Interest rates are fuck all, and the rich half have grabbed an inceasing portion of the loot.
so it doesn't surprise me .
Min wage for over 25s is going up 50p to £7.20 soon. and the fact many people think that's high shows how beaten down they are...
Poor were way better off in the 1980s
Foreign countries were much cheaper for holidays too

Originally Posted by Dapper

Funny thing is that he used to give me the old lecture about "You don't know how hard it was when I was a kid...blah blah blah."

I think he was on about his Chimney Sweep job before he robbed all those fruit machines mate

Originally Posted by Neverna

According to government research, almost half of UK adults have less than £500 set aside for emergencies.

It's the same number in the US basically.

And it's bad.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

^indeed, and this is a major problem aswellas highlighting the insanity of greed culture.

My dad was a policeman with a basic salary of 12,000 pounds a year and bought a nice 3 bed house in London for 12,000 pounds about 40 years ago.

Today, the police basic salary is about 25,000 pounds (x2 from before), and the same house would cost over 400,000 pounds (x33 from before). How is that sustainable???

It's not, that's why London is rapidly becoming a ghost town enclave owned by international elite who visit once a year.

London drained of all that once made it

Originally Posted by Black Heart

It's the same number in the US basically.

And it's bad.

I'll agree with you on that, even 15 years ago the US was crumbling.

You guys have to deal with huge poverty alongside an authoritarian police state.

My condolences.

Time for a revolution

I live in the UK and haven't found a better alternative for me. You can still do OK here if you grab your chances and are not afraid to work hard. I will be visiting Thailand next week for a short holiday to see a friend or two that live there. Looking at the temperatures forecast, its gonna be real hot............

It's a country which has been pauperised, which is not quite the same as a land of paupers. Regardless of stupidity like " You can still do OK here if you grab your chances and are not afraid to work hard" the fact is that zero-hours contracts, the slashing of in-work benefits, and the near-impossibility of any normal worker under the age of 40 ever being able to afford a house mean that many people here are, effectively, penniless. This is all part of one of the greatest acts of thievery in British history. The average Briton, of course, being an economically and politically illiterate bullet-headed chav, blames all this on immigrants and the EU - much to the delight of his Bullingdon masters.

Originally Posted by Neverna

According to government research, almost half of UK adults have less than £500 set aside for emergencies. That almost half of UK adults have less than 500 quid in savings in this day and age seems ludicrous and I'm really surprised at it. Is Britain really a developed country?

A link? Clarification of 'savings'?

When I were a kid the savings went into property and although I had nothing at the time, I ended up with a fortune....

...Sorry! that was the smart bastards around me...I got pissed on my monthly pay-packet and bought big bikes and fast cars...had a whale of a time as a kid and never expected to live as long as I have...but I'm still alive and still driving fast cars safer than the best Thailand can offer...

So scrap the research and put it into my pension fund!....

After my father had his hat handed him in a divorce ( not my mom she died in a car crash) we lived in a friend of his basement. That schooled me well. Why I'm not married I guess. Not that it's a bad institution it just doesn't appeal to me and the gf doesn't demand it. I'm lucky and will not complain about my lot in life. I guess I could say I made it. Sad others have no options today. Milwaukee used to be a place where you could choose which manufacturer you wanted to work for. Not anymore they all went south. What is a pension? All replaced with 401ks . If you dont or can't afford to put money aside you are screwed. Sucks but reality.

Living in your mothers basement is reality for many but still others do quite well here. The options are few however for the average as we moved to a service type economy vs manufacturing. Some times reality sucks. Still I can't complain, I've done ok I guess, from where I started their was only one way to go and that was up. Sad the dream is unimaginable for the average. So I say don't be average. Play the game the best you can despite the odds. Be the ball Danny. Be the ball. It's in your court.It's game on. No crying.

if you grab your chances

Half the problem is people grabing stuff and having to do so ..
you hear that rat race term used a lot these days, eg in a cafe - ''quick grab those seats''
maybe the words usage has just changed...
but still i don't like it

... blames all this on immigrants

Yeah they don't exactly help the situation though do they..

Try withdrawing your labour for better conditions when there are unlimited replacements in the EU who will work for less.

These 2nd world people have a ''better attitude'', at least for the bosses, as they are puppy dog compliant , and so very eager to please - like working overtime hours for flat rate, so that overtime rate is now a thing of the past .

It's their dopey attitude that got them communism and is now losing workers rights here .

Sure its the establishment that's ultimately to blame for this, and not the dumb immigrants, but if the rich guy next door is tossing rats in your house , you have to deal with these rats urgently, and tend not to like them

zero-hours contracts

Got to love that term
they even try to boast the average hours worked in those contracts is 20 or whatever ,
the point is the average hours agreed is by definition ZERO

the slashing of in-work benefits

those things are half the problem, they need scraping altogether
you have a group of workers earning £7
some take home £7 , others much more - maybe £12,
imagine the £7 guy suggesting they all go on strike for £9 an hour...

It's those benefits that have made the welfare bill unaffordable, wages drop , rents soar, workers power diminish , and recipient people become grovellingly grateful to the government, we seemed to survive alright years ago without them .

I know you all probably think I'm just a drunken bumfuck. That is by design silly. I do wear tee shirts and blue geans and anything I can do, I do myself. Meaning the work I do when Im not doing my job. Its all about opportunities cost. I learned that a long time ago. But what do I know. I'm just a guy that had a house built in Laos so I would have some place to stay when I got there. And guess what, It has no basement.

The fish. And yes it is hard to breath if you are underwater.

Originally Posted by fishlocker

I know you all probably think I'm just a drunken bumfuck

I didn't before but, after reading that incomprehensible bilge, I do now.

Originally Posted by blue

we seemed to survive alright years ago without them

Yeah, duuuhhh. You am right! Bring back the good old days....

Well DrBob I'm sorry I've broadcast my 'stupidity' but it's my perception and experience.
My 4 kids without higher education have all done ok including my youngest son buying his own house on joint salary with his gf of £45,000, no help from either parents.
The students and single parents that work for me are very happy with their zero hours contracts, they work both ways.
Soon there will be no working tax credits, minimum wage X 16 hrs means you can't qualify. No more state sponsorship of poor and unfair wages, (although minimum wage should be £9.50)
I have 20 people work for me, we take care of each other, work together.
I have haven't put up the rents of my properties for 12 years, fair rent gets good secure tenants.
Sorry if it's not working out for you in the UK, perhaps you know of better prospects elsewhere ?

Originally Posted by DrB0b

Originally Posted by Bower

Well DrBob I'm sorry I've broadcast my 'stupidity' but it's my perception and experience.

Apology accepted. Better luck next time. Happy to see that the 24 people you mention are sorted. Can you explain to me to me how that relates to the situation of the other 60 million, you dim [at][at][at][at]?

Now I just gave an opinion on a thread, you think it was a stupid one. Now you could have engaged in a debate and I might have learnt something, but being the clever one you call me a dim [at][at][at][at], and so that's me having to remain one.
That's what happens in the UK, it's how the f**king Tories get power, keep power, the academics just take the piss instead of informing. UKIP for example, 4m votes because labour just ridiculed them.