On 11 Feb 2017 at 1:18am Hyena wrote:
Looking forward to the next council tax rise .
Along with no pay rise for seven years ( Third sector) and the usual utility increases , fuel etc its all good.
25 years of supporting others, never been more skint.
No political posturing please. I don't care.
On 11 Feb 2017 at 7:18am Trevor wrote:
Well, if everyone looked after their granny, and didn't shove them into care, we all might be better off.
On 11 Feb 2017 at 10:18am Blatant Liar wrote:
See the post about the police
I'm pleased I'm chipping in to their pension pot
On 11 Feb 2017 at 9:01pm jack wrote:
Trevor, people can't look after their granny anymore after a while.To survive, a family needs two incomes; the economic system of neoliberal greed has demanded it. We have been stripped of any possibility of extended familial care. And now only the rich can provide it for their nearest and dearest. We're in a trap with all its associated guilt and grief. I fear for the future with this talk of people having to care for their relatives; we're in a rat trap.
On 11 Feb 2017 at 11:14pm Hyena wrote:
Social Care not just about the elderly, Autism,
Mental health, Learning disabilities etc.
On 12 Feb 2017 at 12:29am The Greek wrote:
Here's an idea, no-one vote Tory next election?
On 12 Feb 2017 at 8:14am Sussex Jim wrote:
Hyena, back in the seventies I did have pay rises; every year in February. But, two years running, The Chancellor (Healey) increased the rate of income tax in the following March budget by so much that I actually ended up with an overall CUT in my wage packet.
Income tax has now been reduced to 20%. The burden of funding local services is being passed to the local authorities- therefore Council Tax has to increase. At least every household pays it, which is fair.
On 12 Feb 2017 at 2:45pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
I'm in the same boat as you, Hyena, although we got a 1% pay rise last year - our first in 8 years.
Sussex Jim: while every household pays council tax, the difference between the amounts paid by the richest and those of modest means is relatively small. The tax for the top band, which could be a mansion or a castle, is only about double that for a band D property, which is a pretty average family house. And a couple who can only afford a band A studio flat are still paying roughly two thirds of the amount paid by the family in the band D house, although they could have 4 or 5 incomes if they have adult children still living at home.
Property based local taxes are generally a good thing, as they are harder to evade/avoid than income-based taxes, but a rebanding is long overdue and there need to be more bands at the top end.
I'm also mystified as to why Lewes district is one of the most expensive in the country for council tax, when the services we get, both county and district, leave such a lot to be desired.
On 13 Feb 2017 at 10:41am Ed Can Do wrote:
The more people like Sussex Jim use anecdotal stories from 50 years ago to justify voting for the current bunch of Tories who are steadily asset-stripping the nation for the enrichment of themselves and their rich buddies, the more I favour a maximum voting age to be imposed in this country. If your chances of living through to the next general election are less than say 50% (And with the collapse of the NHS and social care this is looking increasingly unlikely for anyone drawing a pension) then you shouldn't get a vote. Then we can finally be rid of the Conservatives forever and get on with the job of rebuilding the country from the mess they've left.
On 13 Feb 2017 at 5:25pm Sussex Jim wrote:
Well, fifty years ago, Ed- most men in a manual job would retire at 65 and be dead soon afterwards. Nowadays, far from a collapse, the NHS doctors seem to go out of their way to find things wrong with pensioners and prescribe more pills in order to prolong their lives.
Perhaps if we "got rid" of the Tories we could have a brave new socialist state similar to the former East Germany. Once we have spent the confiscated assets of the "rich" there would be no more funding for the NHS; and those no longer drawing a wage would die off in the "dog eat dog" society. Therefore, no need to squander the state budget on pensions!
On 13 Feb 2017 at 7:55pm Hyena wrote:
It does not matter who is in power . If you are on an average wage whether you work in the public, private or third sector it's just different levels of hardship.