Cost of living squeeze in 2022

[ClaphamGT3]

I have been predicting for some while now that this is going to be what does for Johnson - not sleaze, 2020 Christmas parties or vacillation over Covid.

The catch-22 for Johnson is that every fiscal move that he makes to ameliorate the impact for the blue-wall constituencies will be at the expense of the traditional true-blue shires, but he needs them both on-side.

[paulw123]

ClaphamGT3 said:

I have been predicting for some while now that this is going to be what does for Johnson - not sleaze, 2020 Christmas parties or vacillation over Covid.

The catch-22 for Johnson is that every fiscal move that he makes to ameliorate the impact for the blue-wall constituencies will be at the expense of the traditional true-blue shires, but he needs them both on-side.

Johnson and his gang have nigh on bankrupted the country since the pandemic turned out not to be so scary in April/May 20. They have had so many chances to be prudent with the money but just chose to print more and give it straight to their mates.

[bitchstewie]

paulw123 said:

Johnson and his gang have nigh on bankrupted the country since the pandemic turned out not to be so scary in April/May 20. They have had so many chances to be prudent with the money but just chose to print more and give it straight to their mates.

Yes but we live in strange times where that was absolutely fine because it was "all within the rules" and nothing could be proven whilst people got terribly upset at the idea of a £20 uplift in UC to ensure people could feed their kids because it was "their money" that was paying for it.

My guess is there's probably a fair bit of overlap if you did a venn diagram of those two groups.

[anonymous-user]

Welshbeef said:

You then have the so called tax sinkholes

£50-60k can be an effective 60% tax rate
£100-125k is an effective 60% tax rate
3.25% new NI above the max threshold is a tax load

So what can you do - and this is if it’s affordable - pay into your pension so every extra £40k you put in a gross £100 into your pension. An amazing return.

This is long term planning for sure but it means you can drag forward the time you can financially retire + inheritance tax with pensions can be extremely efficient.

I’m sure all those on minimum wage thank you for your contribution.

[Deep Thought]

Red9zero said:

dmahon said:

I guess the half a trillion we’ve printed wasn’t from the magic money tree after all?

I won’t turn it into another Covid thread, but I have little sympathy for people cheering for lockdowns and restrictions whilst thinking there would be no consequences simply because we put the bill on the countries credit card.

Exactly. Most of my friends and neighbours managed to wfh, so haven't stopped working. My sister and brother in law however, both work for a charitable trust and were on furlough for 18 months. I'm not sure people actually stopped to think where all the money was coming from.

More restrictions and more lockdowns seem to have been what the most of the UK wanted. Well they were told at the time there would be consequences and here they come.

There seemed to be no realisation that the government were doing it all by borrowing money that we as taxpayers are now going to have to pay back.

[Welshbeef]

ClaphamGT3 said:

I have been predicting for some while now that this is going to be what does for Johnson - not sleaze, 2020 Christmas parties or vacillation over Covid.

The catch-22 for Johnson is that every fiscal move that he makes to ameliorate the impact for the blue-wall constituencies will be at the expense of the traditional true-blue shires, but he needs them both on-side.

And yet the only other political party that could win and run govt is a party that actively wants even higher taxes for higher middle earners and above. Remember labour consider the wealthy to be top 5% with is £80k+ but the £50-£80k have shoulders too.

Re energy supply all govt colours refused to have replacement nuclear power stations.

[Deep Thought]

garyhun said:

Welshbeef said:

You then have the so called tax sinkholes

£50-60k can be an effective 60% tax rate
£100-125k is an effective 60% tax rate
3.25% new NI above the max threshold is a tax load

So what can you do - and this is if it’s affordable - pay into your pension so every extra £40k you put in a gross £100 into your pension. An amazing return.

This is long term planning for sure but it means you can drag forward the time you can financially retire + inheritance tax with pensions can be extremely efficient.

I’m sure all those on minimum wage thank you for your contribution.

Yes, for peoples hard work and efforts to get themselves up the pay ladder, they should just bend over and take their 60% shafting.

[Kawasicki]

Energy crisis only exists because renewable energy hasn’t been rolled out extensively enough!

[Gecko1978]

Deep Thought said:

More restrictions and more lockdowns seem to have been what the most of the UK wanted. Well they were told at the time there would be consequences and here they come.

There seemed to be no realisation that the government were doing it all by borrowing money that we as taxpayers are now going to have to pay back.

As some one who did not an could not have had furlough (contractor) the issue I have is I am being asked to pay it back, if I had not worked there was nothing for me yet I have to pay it back for people who were on 30k a year an had a 12 month holiday. If you had furlough then my take is a 1% tax rise for you over say 30 years or till retirment but why should thoes who could not have benefited who were left to fend for themselves have to help you pay back your free holiday

[mike74]

Earthdweller said:

mike74 said:

Earthdweller said:

But, my real concern is the large numbers in good jobs, with mortgages and “good lifestyles” that are absolutely maxed to the hilt and have zero savings and zero spare every month, with commitments that meet or exceed their monthly income

Why do you have concern for these people?

I don’t

I have a concern about the impact the collapse of their lifestyles will have on the economy and everyone else

There’s a difference

Potemkin consumer lifestyles propping up a Potemkin consumer economy.

It would be nice to think in the event of both of the above collapsing that the one group of people who come out relatively unscathed are those who have lead, and can continue to happily lead, modest, prudent, financially responsible lifestyles living well within their means and not feeling the need to keep up with Joneses.

[crankedup5]

mike74 said:

mattyprice4004 said:

Since when is fuel £1.50 a litre, yet no one is kicking off (or making any noise at all…) about it?

I honestly can't think of another Western country where, by and large, the general population are so meek and unwilling to protest as we are in the UK.

The UK population are just one rung above the NK people in terms of being unthinkingly, unquestioningly subservient.

I suppose it's a result of the bulk of the UK population being little more than compliant, obedient debt slave worker drones, mainly through suppressed wage levels and rampant house price inflation for the last couple of decades.

Waving placards about in the pissing rain is for the mugs, far easier to pick your own targets for boycotts or join boycott calls.

[Gecko1978]

Kawasicki said:

Energy crisis only exists because renewable energy hasn’t been rolled out extensively enough!

or maybe it does not work....or is more expensive than say nuclear which was proven a low C02

[Electro1980]

Gecko1978 said:

As some one who did not an could not have had furlough (contractor) the issue I have is I am being asked to pay it back, if I had not worked there was nothing for me yet I have to pay it back for people who were on 30k a year an had a 12 month holiday. If you had furlough then my take is a 1% tax rise for you over say 30 years or till retirment but why should thoes who could not have benefited who were left to fend for themselves have to help you pay back your free holiday

Contractors could be furloughed. Anyone on PAYE could be furloughed. If you chose to set up a limited co and take dividends rather than going through PAYE that’s the risk you take.

Also, furlough was for companies, not individuals. Companies got money to ensure they could keep going when closed. Individuals got paid by the companies. No individual on PAYE got paid by the government.

[anonymous-user]

Deep Thought said:

garyhun said:

Welshbeef said:

You then have the so called tax sinkholes

£50-60k can be an effective 60% tax rate
£100-125k is an effective 60% tax rate
3.25% new NI above the max threshold is a tax load

So what can you do - and this is if it’s affordable - pay into your pension so every extra £40k you put in a gross £100 into your pension. An amazing return.

This is long term planning for sure but it means you can drag forward the time you can financially retire + inheritance tax with pensions can be extremely efficient.

I’m sure all those on minimum wage thank you for your contribution.

Yes, for peoples hard work and efforts to get themselves up the pay ladder, they should just bend over and take their 60% shafting.

You miss my point by a country mile. But I forgive you as it’s Xmas.

[captain_cynic]

Welshbeef said:

You then have the so called tax sinkholes

£50-60k can be an effective 60% tax rate
£100-125k is an effective 60% tax rate
3.25% new NI above the max threshold is a tax load

So what can you do - and this is if it’s affordable - pay into your pension so every extra £40k you put in a gross £100 into your pension. An amazing return.

This is long term planning for sure but it means you can drag forward the time you can financially retire + inheritance tax with pensions can be extremely efficient.

I think lack of education can't critical thinking skills is one of the biggest impedements.

Take the above for example. I earn over £50K and I'm nowhere near paying 60%. I get over £3K per month into my bank account and there is no dodgy tax avoidance here. That is what I get after PAYE.

Then again I know I'm in the top 10% of income earners in the UK on that rate.

The issue isnt for those earning millions, they aren't even paying the same tax rate as I am.

[Jim the Sunderer]

We've both acquired new roles with increased difficulty and responsibility for a modest increase in pay.

I appreciate Boris wiping out our hard graft.

At least we've got house big enough to see us out... unless he bks up the interest rates

[bitchstewie]

garyhun said:

You miss my point by a country mile. But I forgive you as it’s Xmas.

It's like on of those sad face Daily Mail article about the squeezed middle just scraping by £100-125k.

[mike74]

crankedup5 said:

far easier to pick your own targets for boycotts or join boycott calls.

I see little evidence of the general UK population daring to even do that, apart from perhaps the brainwashed simpletons who make up the liberal woke element who are happy to pronounce on twitter that they're 'cancelling' someone or something that has offended them.

[captain_cynic]

Gecko1978 said:

Kawasicki said:

Energy crisis only exists because renewable energy hasn’t been rolled out extensively enough!

or maybe it does not work....or is more expensive than say nuclear which was proven a low C02

The UK gets half of its power from burning fossil fuels

42% natural gas.
9% coal

21% nuclear.

24.1% from renewables. This is everything from wind to biomass.

The big issue is gas... Namely the cost of it. Renewables are working to get us off our dependence on foreign fossil fuel supplies.

Sorry if the evidence does not fit your theories.

[RUSTILLDOWN]

clockworks said:

Seems to me that it's better than 30-odd years ago though, when interest rates and inflation went mental. I think we've just been "spoiled" by a decade of stability.

30 years ago everyone was getting huge inflation salary increases and house prices increased significantly (in effect, savings).

Since then inflation calculations have moved from RPI to CPI and then CPI is regularly tweaked (in effect, to reduce it).

Everyone knows that inflation is double or triple the official statistic. Trouble ahead!