Latest Moan From You and Me 2024

Given the unpaid hours many junior staff (not just junior doctors) do then 32k works out at just under 54 hours a week or about 9 hours a day (6 day week) on the minimum wage, note I ignored tax, NI and pension in the calculation.
I should have also said earlier that as well as housing, utilities and transport you need to add in student loan repayments that kick in between 20k and 32k depending on which scheme you are under.
I was lucky as we had grants to university.
I was consistently downgraded in my chemistry results due to my inability to play the violin.

 

Well, I have to say that has never crossed my mind. A hungry person doesn't need to pass a personality test to get help, surely? And some pets are vile. Your donation may go to sustaining a vicious dog that goes on to kill or maim, fuelled by the calories you provided.

I donate children's toothbrushes. Recently it was suggested children should brush their teeth in school. That is wholly unworkable, IMV - a completely ludicrous idea dreamt up by someone who has never been in charge of 30 5 yr olds. So, better to assist parents with the basics for doing it at home.

 

All I'm saying is that the people mentioned were in secure employment, and above minimum wage.
If those are allowed to use food banks then probably 60% of people working should be allowed to use them.
But I dont think they do.

Was this person on the TV who is running the food bank trying to make a point, as she never mentioned anyone who is actually on a low wage let alone anyone on benefits.

 

As someone who has had a fair bit of experience dealing with animals, I am of the opinion that vile pets are only vile because of early conditioning by humans. Like people.

But the next time I pop a box of hamster food in the food bank box I’ll bear in mind that I might be supporting a vicious rodent.

 

But maybe people become vile because of early conditioning by humans (parenting, etc) too.

Personally, I feel "owning" a hamster (or goldfish or bird, etc) is very cruel, but then I've never been in favour of animals being held in captivity for the emotional benefit of humans. They may be fed and housed, but it is imprisonment nonetheless.

I wouldn't donate pet food anyway as I can't bear to go down that aisle in the supermarket because of the overpowering smell.

 

My point exactly.

I’ve only ever had rescue animals. The organisation that we support doesn’t sell them and they are never owned, only “fostered”. One little cat we took on was offered as “the most terrified cat we have ever had to home”. I don’t know what his first four years of life had involved but it took us four more to get him to trust us not to hurt him. He was a lovely little thing and we were humbled by his eventual faith in us as kind and non threatening beings. He’s buried in our garden and I talk to him whenever I pass by.

 

A bus driver on 35k, I'm out of touch.
I was only on 23k when I retired 4 yrs ago.

Yes I get all that regarding housing but surely if those types of people are struggling what are the ones on lower wages doing.

 

The housing market has got all out of sync with salaries ... and just building more is not the answer on its own.

Other bills have risen enormously. There is a line beyond which many people will start to struggle ... and essentials have gone beyond that in recent yrs.

 

Supply that is unaffordable is not going to help.

 

They can sell them, they go like hot cakes around here.

If the price drops the builders will walk until it goes back up again, they can wait years and grab land and sit on it until the price and density is right.

 

Indeed. But it isn't solving the problem of affordability. They sell to then be rented. That means profits now and in the future get skimmed away from communities as locals are not accumulating assets. The current model is not working, which is why it is all at crisis point.

 

How do you solve the problem of affordability.
Nobody who has a house wants the value to drop, especially those who have bought recently.

Personally I dont care if they do drop in value, but someone who has just taken out a mortgage isn't going to want the price to go down.
Its always been seen as an investment.