Am I being too generous ? Or am I too tight ?

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Comments

  • What would happen Nick if you fell whilst running - and broke both your arms.

    Would you be able to work ? Would your boss think less of you the next time the axe comes round ?

    Hard work accounts for a lot - but some times shit happens.
  • Wilikie - I didn't reply because I'd already posted details earlier in the thread but yes, I do if it needs reiterating.

    And Cougie's point is valid. This is what has happened to many people in the US because the healthcare system has sapped their savings. They've had a serious illness, their healthcare hasn't covered it and they basically have to cough up for life-saving treatment.

    It's beginning to happen in Britain because the cost of utilities and other essentials are constantly rising above the rate of inflation, eroding incomes while wages are stagnant.

    And, while I'm here:

    Cost to UK economy of tax avoidance: £32bn

    Cost to UK economy of the banking crisis: nobody actually knows but one figure estimates £850 billion.

    Cost to UK economy of benefit scrounging/fraud: £1.2bn

    Does that put things into perspective for you Nick?

  • you can prove anything with facts

  • Yeah bloody facts getting in the way of a good old rant. Grrr...
  • Nick Windsor 4 wrote (see)

    You miss the point, those who work hard ENOUGH and train hard ENOUGH do not find themselves in that situation 

    This is complete nonsense and twaddle. there is no factual basis behind that statement at all.

    Very many people who work hard and train hard find themselves in positions of redundancy, unemployment, reduced income all the time for all manner of reasons, often totally out of their control.

    I've worked in industries which have gone through boom and bust. It doesn't matter how hard you work or how much training you do, if the area of your employment or expertise crashes it's very easy to find yourself out of work, competing for only a few jobs with other highly qualified and skilled individuals. That's only one small example - retrain of course but that takes time and money. use what skills you have to move into another field of work but that often means starting at a lower pay grade and retraining.
    You don't know how redundancy / unemployment / financial worries will affect any given individual, some people may take it as a challenge, others may take it as a knock and it destroy their self worth. You can't make swinging assumptions based on your own character and experience.

    Oh just as Cougie says, shit happens and I'm wading in the stuff up to my ass.

  • But it's ok cos I'm going to come out smelling of roses so sod everyone else. I'm happy.

  • Hope it all works out for you mrs h-m !
  • I thought we'd already established that Eggy is not unemployed -or have you actually swapped your blinkers for a blindfold this morning? 

    Your argument is one of the worst I've ever seen, based on something you've pulled out of your head and not based on any facts whatsoever. I suggest to you that's its a case of hating what you most fear i.e. that having faced redundancy several times you know how close you might have come to other people thinking that way about YOU. It's great that it gave you the drive to go out and find work. It isn't great that it stripped you of your empathy and clouded any sensible reasoning. 

    Perhaps your real angst shuld be towards companies like Tesco who make huge profits but still have employees that need propping up by the taxpayer because they don't earn a living wage. The boss, meanwhile, earns something like 7m annually in pay and bonuses.

    Oh and you do realise that the term "Daily Mail Reader" can be  metaphorical as well as literal don't you?

  • I don't make regular charity donations, but do make occasional one off ones (after a disaster for example).

    However, I work in the charity sector and hence earn about £10-15k less that I'd get for a similar job in the commercial sector. I also regularly volunteer my time.

    I think of this as as good as a donation, but occasionally feel that maybe I should do more.

  • Watch out for that large pay packet - makes you expensive to the company.

    I know some companies cut costs by taking out the expensive pay grades and throw their workload down to the work level below.

    They may not be as good or as efficient - but they are cheaper so that's someone target ticked off.
  • Colin McLaughlin wrote (see)
    I gave about 12 doses of blood in my younger days but then stopped giving because I felt I should be paid for it. (Yes, I know it would attract the wrong sort of people, but nonetheless the NHS pays for everything else. Why should they get blood free?)


    I read this yesterday, but couldn't reply becauase of the restrictions at work but felt I had to ask you Colin what do you mean by "The wrong sort of people?"

    Are you trying to say that blood from people who would want paying is of lesser quality?

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • I don't think you're right in assuming that, it raises another point though, if I give blood and it used on NHS patients that's fine and to be expected, if I give blood and it goes to private medicine and is used in an operation where the patient or his insurance company will be charged, is it morally correct to charge for blood I have given free and in good faith.

     

     

  • Nick Windsor 4 wrote (see)

    Wilkie I don't give to charity but I do pay tax at the higher rate which is basically the same, and is basically unfair

    Gosh yes, the very first thing I thought when I entered the higher tax bracket was "how unfair, I've been given a huge pay rise and now have to pay more tax to give to charities!" image 

    I don't understand the argument that paying tax = charitable donations. We don't have a choice but to pay tax, and we have little say (beyond voting) as to how our taxes are spent. Is my employer giving to charity because I chose to give some of the money they pay me to charity?

    Anyway, if you want to give to charity - give. If you don't - don't. But it would be refreshing if people had the spine to say "I don't want to give money to charity" instead of trying to pretend the reason they don't is because the government does it for them.

  • Another question - if it was possible to opt-out of paying the proportion of your tax that goes to charity, would you donate that money to charity yourself?

  • I'm not sure what you're getting at EKGO.

    As I understand it, the blood service is run by the NHS.

    Someone paying for private treatment is paying for just that - the treatment - not the blood, which they would be entitled to from the NHS anyway.

     

     

     

  • Gee Raff wrote (see)
    Colin McLaughlin wrote (see)
    I gave about 12 doses of blood in my younger days but then stopped giving because I felt I should be paid for it. (Yes, I know it would attract the wrong sort of people, but nonetheless the NHS pays for everything else. Why should they get blood free?)


    I read this yesterday, but couldn't reply becauase of the restrictions at work but felt I had to ask you Colin what do you mean by "The wrong sort of people?"

    Are you trying to say that blood from people who would want paying is of lesser quality?

     

     

     

     

     

     

    when he said that payment would attract the wrong type of people he meant people like himself who are only willing to save a life if he gets paid for it....one blood donation can now save the life of several newborn babies........

    but if the government can't find the money to pay Colin for his huge time and effort why on earth should he care about the life of a newborn baby.its not his child or grandchild.....

  • Fair enough, so actually what the government spends your taxes on is irrelevant to your choice not to donate money to charity image

    If we've got a problem with paying tax in general, or higher rate tax in particular, we can always immigrate to a jurisdiction where tax laws are more favourable. Otherwise just suck it up as the opportunity cost of living and working in the UK and stop trotting out the "I pay my taxes" line. It's very overdone. image 

  • if you object to paying taxes you can always ask to be paid less so that you pay less....image

  • Nick Windsor 4 wrote (see)

    Cougie you're right of course but part of being prepared is being ready to exit, my contract always provides for 6 months notice in my favour, or I don't take it on.

    So, now you seem to be damning those who are unemployed through redundancy, because they weren't 'prepared' enough to only take a job which had a 6 month notice contract?

     

     

     

  • Indeed, Seren! image

    "Oh no, please don't pay me more! I don't agree with the government's policy on foreign aid!"

  • What do you do for a living Nick Windsor 4?

     

     

  • Excellent question - my careers teacher at school was a waste of space.

    Nicks career sounds an excellent choice so far.
  • From what we've heard so far. I dont mean to tempt fate.
  • xine267 wrote (see)

    Fair enough, so actually what the government spends your taxes on is irrelevant to your choice not to donate money to charity image

     

    Well it shoud be - unless you have some strange idea, like Nick does, that it's all somehow going to benefit scroungers and not paying valuable people like nurses, policemen and prison warders.

  • DustinDustin ✭✭✭

    not every job has a 6 month contract notice period, and I think you'll find that is unusual, as is extended sickness pay if you have a good attendance record.
    and I'm sorry but anybody can find themselves unemployed no matter how well educated, motivated, trained they think they are. 
    In my 3 cases of redundancy it was  alittle hard to be prepared for redundancy, my contract notice was one month and it wasn't exactly up for negotiation. You are lucky that you work in a sector that is so bouyant (and that you can work form home doing with two broken arms) but I dismiss the fact that you can avoid it and simply walk into another job.
    I'll ignore the implication that I didn't try hard enough (nor train hard enough).
    Wilkie - I have 3 (small) monthly DDs, annual subscription to one other, and usually do the odd sponsoring of others (and I too have done stuff for charity). I suspect Nick doesn't do it but I also buy raffle tickets from the kids' school, to win some prize that I probably donated...

    Oh and I give blood, I'll doing anything for a cup of tea and a packet of bourbons..

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