Comments on: Where angels fear to tread..

By: ZZb

ZZb — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:08:57 +0000

Great post – very good points.

Why every tax payer has to pay to protect the already wealthy is crazy.

By: TW

TW — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:24:05 +0000

michael, i really fail to see how heather has been insulting to hard working savers, while your comment seems to imply that people who don’t have over £50k in the bank are badly educated or frivolous with their money.

The average “hard working” person with a good education is taking home under £2k per month. From this they will have to pay in the region of £800 per month for rent/mortgage, another £400 on food and £150 on fuel. The truly austere will be able to save £650 per month. After 10 years they’ll hit the savings limit… If they haven’t cracked and say, bought a car. Thor forbid they are daft enough to get married….

The government figures, and banking figures, point to 93% of all UK savers having under £35k and 95% being under the £50k threshold. Not all of these will be spendaholics.

The sad truth is, as with all things, the poor will be forced (through increased bank charges, taxation etc) to provide insurance for a rich minority. That is not an insult on the rich, but it is unfair on the poor.

By: Heather

Heather — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:18:24 +0000

Mike

Where to start?

Insulting hard-working savers? What???? Where?

And you are speaking to the uncrowned queen of making do, although, admittedly, not of mending.

Most people, no matter how hard they work and how well they are educated and how good they are at darning socks don’t have £50k.

How many people can “save” £50k? You could maybe get £50k from an Inheritance or a business deal, or you could live at the expense of relatives and save all your money. But very few people could save £50k from their wages? Is it insulting to these few people to say that they are pretty much in the minoroty.

Alun made a good point about aspiration. Some people might aspire to being able to save £50k but hoping doesn’t make it so.

Alun

Great idea. This was in Newsbiscuit the other day. http://newsbiscuit.com/article/geldof-launches-bank-aid-as-markets-plummet-370

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:35:14 +0000

No need to be insulting to hard working savers.

`How the fuck do you save 50K’?

Get a decent paying job (a good education can help but isn’t necessary), and then spend less than you earn. It’s as simple as that.

And what’s wrong with `mending and making do’? If that’s what it takes – it’s a lot smarter than being in or on the verge of debt your whole life, don’t you think? Let alone more sustainable and less wasteful. No need to look down your nose at it, `I can’t cook/sew/fix stuff!’ is hardly a badge of honour worth wearing, is it?

By: Alun

Alun — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:27:20 +0000

Do people need to have £50k of savings in their account to feel like the guarantee affects them? There’s also the matter of aspiration. There’s been a lot of people going out and buying decking for the back garden and avant-garde cushions for the living-room to boost the value of their house. As anyone who watches TV knows your house is a gold-mine. Or at least it would be if the housing market wasn’t in the toilet too, but the kind of people who think they can make money doing up their own house aren’t going to be too bothered about that. There’s the lottery too. What’s the point of winning £50m on a rollover if you only get to keep £50k of it?

Your problem Heather is that you will insist on paying attention to reality.

Still it could all be solved. I’m working on the lyrics for a charity single to raise money to solve the crisis. But so far all I have is:
A bitter wind is blowing through the city,
The parties all have very few delights,
The bonuses are barely multi-millions,
(Bono shouts out this next line: )
Spare a thought this Christmas time for your parasites.
I thought “Bleed the World” would make a good title.