In an interview with the BBC, Johnson has dismissed questions about life expectancy and cancer survival rates (in the context of his "levelling up" slogan) by saying "Look at wage growth". Naturally, he failed to mention the excuse used to suspend the triple lock on pensions - the fact that wage growth is artificially inflated by the comparison with a period when millions of people were on furlough. such is the man's arrogance that he feels able to say quite openly that money is more important than people's lives.

 

Is it really any surprise after 40 years of Thatcherism life expectancy is decreasing!?

 

Is it the Tory conference this week?

For the average student, who will never pay it back, it is essentially an extra tax.

 

The interest rates regarding the tuition loans are ludicrous really, especially when you consider the BOE rates being 0.1%.

 

At a time when a lot of young people are feeling hard done by/struggling for money, they add this on top of it. It will apparantley save them £2 billion a year, but they are more than ready to throw away over 10 times that amount in contracts for their mates.

 

But people sign up to it knowing the implications? I don't agree with the fees, but all students know what they are signing up for. It's unfortunate the tuition is not much cheaper or free, but it's not a tax at all, it's a loan. I don't agree with the Government being able to change the loan at any given moment. The whole idea of putting the fees up partly was to stop people going to University, but University has never been more popular. Tbf I've no idea why they changed it and everyone starts paying it back as soon as they're earning £18k or whatever it is.

Is it really any surprise after 40 years of Thatcherism life expectancy is decreasing!?

 

Is it the Tory conference this week?

 

Yes. Anyone seen the pics of the tons of crates of cider being delivered and crates and crates of wine and champagne? Enough for a full army!

It’s the same every year - full of jokers the Tory conference, no doubt the media won’t be scrutinising them as much as Keir last week!

But people sign up to it knowing the implications? I don't agree with the fees, but all students know what they are signing up for. It's unfortunate the tuition is not much cheaper or free, but it's not a tax at all, it's a loan. I don't agree with the Government being able to change the loan at any given moment. The whole idea of putting the fees up partly was to stop people going to University, but University has never been more popular. Tbf I've no idea why they changed it and everyone starts paying it back as soon as they're earning £18k or whatever it is.

 

Do they know what they're signing up for? Really? Maybe it's changing, but when the pressures on a young adolescent are all saying 'go to uni, it's the only way to get a decent job plus the life experience', and there's a method that promises to be like a loan but not really that is your only realistic shot at doing this, who isn't going to take it? Point is, it's hardly a choice given the immense societal pressures and coercion on so many young people. If they wanted to stop people going to university, then they should have stopped people going, but that would not have been politically possible, so the coalition government went for this half-measure that would undoubtedly cause problems down the road.

 

And while in its current implementation, it's annoying, it's bearable, because it only takes from the top end of your income and only if you earn enough to warrant it. In return, the country has a more educated workforce (which is why many countries make uni free).

 

Now though, this is changing the terms retroactively - would some people have signed up for it had the repayment threshold been lowered at the start? It was already a regressive method of gaining money that taxed, yes, taxed, social mobility, this further change just, yet again, puts extra strain on those with the least ability to pay. Young people don't vote for the government, so they are getting punished.

also if I were to treat it like a loan then I would have to reckon with the fact that making repayments is an utterly useless endeavour as more gets added on in interest than makes a dent in the repayments each month and it is better for everyone, particularly my mental health, if we accept that what is actually happening is that I get taxed more and will be taxed more for the majority of my working life as long as I maintain this income level, because of two factors that are not particularly in my control, 1) I was born after August 1993 and 2) I, with that in mind, dared to educate myself while not being upper middle class enough to pay it off at the outset.

 

and now the government have tied me and so many of my cohort in from a life decision that the majority of us made when we were 18, they change the terms of the agreement, and not in our favour? uh huh.

Do they know what they're signing up for? Really? Maybe it's changing, but when the pressures on a young adolescent are all saying 'go to uni, it's the only way to get a decent job plus the life experience', and there's a method that promises to be like a loan but not really that is your only realistic shot at doing this, who isn't going to take it? Point is, it's hardly a choice given the immense societal pressures and coercion on so many young people. If they wanted to stop people going to university, then they should have stopped people going, but that would not have been politically possible, so the coalition government went for this half-measure that would undoubtedly cause problems down the road.

 

And while in its current implementation, it's annoying, it's bearable, because it only takes from the top end of your income and only if you earn enough to warrant it. In return, the country has a more educated workforce (which is why many countries make uni free).

 

Now though, this is changing the terms retroactively - would some people have signed up for it had the repayment threshold been lowered at the start? It was already a regressive method of gaining money that taxed, yes, taxed, social mobility, this further change just, yet again, puts extra strain on those with the least ability to pay. Young people don't vote for the government, so they are getting punished.

 

I'm not sure that's the case though anymore Iz - I was coerced in to University because of the life experiences and getting drunk every day of the week! Don't get me wrong, everyone's different. My current role for example, has absolutely nothing to do with my degree and nor do I need a degree to do my current role. I think the problem largely comes down to when you're 16/17 it's a really difficult decision to make in your life to decide what you have to do. Not sure of the current cirriculum, but certainly in my school set up the 'career' prospect paths were not there at all. Education is vitally important, but there is also a disperity of courses in terms of the quality of course. For example at my Redbrick University, I was told the parts I was learning in 1st year was akin to what a Poly University would learn in their 3rd year! That is grossly unfair considering the cost and quality of teaching, as most Universities charge the full amount.

 

Also don't get me wrong on the second point either- I think the interest rate is grossly unfair. I don't know why it isn't linked to the BOE base rate and then +1 or 2% of whatever. That part, I do find entirely unfair

It’s the same every year - full of jokers the Tory conference, no doubt the media won’t be scrutinising them as much as Keir last week!

 

It’s started and the speakers have the usual obsession with calling things “woke” and orgasming over slave trader statues. One would think that there’s no problems in this country like supply crisis, pandemic, inequality, poverty or a climate emergency given what they think is most important.

There's been talks that they're going to lower the earning threshold that you start paying back your uni tuition loan. Another way to f*** the young over with what is essentially a 9% tax. The proposal is bringing it down to £23,000, or even as low as £20,000, from the current £27,235. It would mean a lot of graduates (past and present) would find themselves worse off by hundreds of pounds a year.

 

Ah yes, another tax that disproportionately affects the poorer young and younger middle aged and not the older wealthy middle aged.

 

But with many people (possibly most) with student loans working in jobs that don't pay anywhere near £27k it's not surprising they want to lower it to enfold them.

 

Minimum wage for a 40 hour job. If the rumoured min wage increase to 9.42 goes ahead and they lower the threshold to 20k.that would be dangerously close to people on minimum wage paying student loan.(A few shifts a year overtime would do it assuming a 40 hour week)

 

That said constantly raising the threshold as has been done for the past decade was never sustainable.

 

Anyway we all learnt what misogny was as kids didn't we?

Let’s all celebrate our high wages all round with a bit of flying pig watching.

 

We really have become a country which has a cult of personality over a lying buffoon.

 

Interestingly the Torygraph, although not full on hostile against Johnson, seem to be sharpening their knives slightly against him based on the leaders on their website (always interesting to know what the enemy is thinking).

Edited October 6, 20213 yr by Smint

Tory MP reveals grim reality of living on just £82,000 as he asks for payrise

 

https://metro.co.uk/2021/10/06/tory-mp-asks...-grim-15371935/

 

It's shit like this that makes my blood boil. They're just so out of touch.

Edited October 6, 20213 yr by Envoirment

Where can I access that grim reality? Could do with more than double my annual salary as could the majority of the country.

Nadia Whittome, Labour MPs, donated a decent proportion of her salary to charity and got derided by other MPs.

Tory MP reveals grim reality of living on just £82,000 as he asks for payrise

 

https://metro.co.uk/2021/10/06/tory-mp-asks...-grim-15371935/

 

It's shit like this that make my blood boil. They're just so out of touch.

 

I mean, I understand his point but that's forgetting they can claim whatever the hell they like through expenses and don't work as hard as GPs.

 

Very out of touch, just don't know why the £20 UC hasn't been extended. It's not like it doesn't go back in the economy anyway, madness.

Because apparently the Tories believe that all these claimants are poor managers and dont work hard enough and think they deserve to starve. . Angela Rayner had a better name for the Tories and she is right.

What a c**t.

And going back to Johnson's fantasy of high-wage economy (and that will only happen in cases of severe labour shortages like HGV drivers and hospitality and even then will be temporary as more people train to take these jobs eventually) then that will inevitably be passed on to the consumer (negating the wage loss which wouldn't happen to all) and increase inflation. As Tory peer and chairman of Next says Lord Wolfson said. But of course our twat of a Prime Minister doesn't mention that.

And going back to Johnson's fantasy of high-wage economy (and that will only happen in cases of severe labour shortages like HGV drivers and hospitality and even then will be temporary as more people train to take these jobs eventually) then that will inevitably be passed on to the consumer (negating the wage loss which wouldn't happen to all) and increase inflation. As Tory peer and chairman of Next says Lord Wolfson said. But of course our twat of a Prime Minister doesn't mention that.

 

You are beginning to see the penny drop with Brexit with a lot of people, I think even some of the media are starting to turn. Of course this was all Project Fear and the Tories have time on their side for now, with the whole 'wages will rise' (and yes, so will everything else..). Probably have to give it at least another 12 months, but if they don't start sorting these problems out it's going to come back and bite them big time. Did have a laugh at the Daily Express headline today.. as I'm sure most people have!

They don’t even try by o be impartial!

. Did have a laugh at the Daily Express headline today.. as I'm sure most people have!

 

Which one in particular? I would normally laugh at the Daily Express period (as well as GBNews, The Sun, Telegraph and Mail) if it wasn't that a sizable amount of people actually take their poisonous shit seriously!