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One million cancel broadband as living costs rise

bbc.com

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Re: One million cancel broadband as living costs rise

#311

Post by c7THEC2DDFVV2V »

JimDabell wrote: post #229
jameshush wrote: post #153

Visiting family in the UK for the first time in about five years. Costs here are _way_ higher than I remember. I bought three hamburgers, three drinks, and two large pops at a burger shop here, the total was 48 GBP (about $60 USD). This was at Five Guys. I couldn't believe it. I visited my co-worker in the UK, and over some beers, he mentioned he's getting taxed at 48-50% on top of this. Also 20% VAT on regular shopp…

> he mentioned he's getting taxed at 48-50% on top of this. The highest income tax bracket is 45%, and you only pay that rate of tax on the money you earn past £125k – you don’t pay that rate on your entire income.

thats incorrect. you lose your tax free allowance, which is a furtger 12,500 tax paid. Plus you need to consider graduate tax and the interest on those 'loans' which currently sits at 4.5%

Re: One million cancel broadband as living costs rise

#312

Post by asdfman123 »

andy_ppp wrote: post #145
omginternets wrote: post #117

Just yesterday I was trying to sign up with Verizon for my new address. Fiber is not available in my building, so they offer "5G Home Internet" for $60-$80/mo, which is crazy expensive for what it is. I asked whether there were ADSL lines available, since these were recently available for as cheap as $15/mo. It seems this is no longer the case. Maybe there's a market here? EDIT: I am in the US, and I've just realized…

It’s still always interesting to see how vested interests and rent seeking seems to be a big part of US business culture. I wonder if the US would be more or less successful without these uncompetitive business practices.

> vested interests and rent seeking seems to be a big part of US business culture

This is also true about nearly every other country that exists or has existed throughout history. US is notable for being, on average, much more competitive and less corrupt.

(But it's heading in the wrong direction, and that's only on average. Many countries have caught up, and a few others have surpassed it.

Re: One million cancel broadband as living costs rise

#313

Post by elijaht »

gavin_gee wrote: post #223
gavin_gee wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My unscientific burger comparison I think calls BS on the UK prices. Everywhere is expensive now. The problem with the UK is Brexit and a country that went from being very supportive to small business and entrepreneurs to a high tax wasteland of averageness. The UK is the deepest into its decline of any western empire. They are shuffling deck chairs on the titanic. the coronation was the canary for living in the past…

what I dont think brits really understand about US food prices in restaurants though in recent years in places like seattle is there is a 40% tax on the prices on the menu. sales tax 10% Living wage tax 10% 20%+ tip expectation Everyone I talk to from earning $80K a year to $1M a year are not eating out as much as its absurdly expensive. Just this week. 2 people. dinner at a reasonable seattle restuarant on a tuesday…

Hmm, even if the restaurant is not high end, those are quite high prices.

Just went out to a restaurant I would describe similarly (https://www.thebutchersdaughter.com/west-village/). Mains are ~$20, appetizers are ~$15, wine is ~$15. Two mains, two apps, four glasses of wine would be $130, with tax and tip is $180. That is still high for me, but that does include four drinks.

Re: One million cancel broadband as living costs rise

#314

Post by bombcar »

streptomycin wrote: post #196
jameshush wrote: post #153

Visiting family in the UK for the first time in about five years. Costs here are _way_ higher than I remember. I bought three hamburgers, three drinks, and two large pops at a burger shop here, the total was 48 GBP (about $60 USD). This was at Five Guys. I couldn't believe it. I visited my co-worker in the UK, and over some beers, he mentioned he's getting taxed at 48-50% on top of this. Also 20% VAT on regular shopp…

FWIW, in CA that order at Five Guys would be $55 ( https://www.fastfoodmenuprices.com/five-guys-prices/ gives prices at (8.95*3+3.06*3+7.41*2)*1.0725), but I imagine people in CA are richer than people in the UK...

People in CA would go to In-n-Out anyway. https://www.fastfoodmenuprices.com/in-n-out-prices/ at (2.463+2.163+1.872)1.0725 = $18.88.

Even if you double the fries because they're not "large" you're still under $25. Five Guys is batshit insane.

Re: One million cancel broadband as living costs rise

#315

Post by dukeyukey »

rcarr wrote: post #159
bnastic wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There is no reason to pay the money I am paying here if I can get better food, climate and general quality of life for the same (or even less!) money elsewhere in Europe Sure. And you should probably do that. But then a lot of other people are of the opinion that they can ignore food and weather and come to Britain. Net migration numbers in recent decades have not gone in favour of your line of thinking? UK high st…

> Sure. And you should probably do that. But then a lot of other people are of the opinion that they can ignore food and weather and come to Britain. Net migration numbers in recent decades have not gone in favour of your line of thinking? Some of them are pretty surprised at the state of things when they get here. There was a report in the BBC that a lot of Ukrainian refugees find the education system and housing co…

Which is weird, since the UK scores higher than most of its neighbours and North America in stuff like PISA scores. Quite a lot higher than some of them.

Housing sucks though.

Re: One million cancel broadband as living costs rise

#316

Post by sangnoir »

spir wrote: post #168
yazzku wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Things are getting tough for lots of people and that's with extremely high levels of employment. Capitalism has succeeded then.

[flagged]

So good things are a result of capitalism, and the bad concomitant outcomes are due to "globalization, AI" and "failure of government"? Perhaps there is a link between the cheap Walmart milk in your fridge, record Walmart profits, automation (self-checkout), hardball supplier negotiations and rising inequality as indicated by Walmart employees also being on SNAP.

Re: One million cancel broadband as living costs rise

#317

Post by Spooky23 »

wskinner wrote: post #265
vkou wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US, someone earning $155,000 USD (Equivalent to 125k GBP) will also be paying 6.2% in social security taxes, 1.45% in medicare taxes, and then another 6.2% in social security taxes (employer's portion)[1], and 1.45% in medicare taxes (employer's portion). Added to the rest of their marginal tax rate, they'd be seeing a rate of 22 + 15.3 = 37.3%. Of course, they won't actually get health insurance for it, which…

I'm not sure where you're getting the $20,000/year healthcare spending number, but that looks like it is too high by an order of magnitude. See e.g. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2... , which puts median annual household spending on healthcare between $1,500 and $5,540 in 2019. If you're talking about total annual healthcare spending, that is largely paid by employers so should be account…

Good employers usually pay 75% or more. My family health insurance costs $28500.

That median number also includes people without coverage or with Medicare and Medicaid, which aren’t accounted for that way.

Re: One million cancel broadband as living costs rise

#318

Post by traceroute66 »

jameshush wrote: post #153

Visiting family in the UK for the first time in about five years. Costs here are _way_ higher than I remember. I bought three hamburgers, three drinks, and two large pops at a burger shop here, the total was 48 GBP (about $60 USD). This was at Five Guys. I couldn't believe it. I visited my co-worker in the UK, and over some beers, he mentioned he's getting taxed at 48-50% on top of this. Also 20% VAT on regular shopp…

To be perfectly frank, most people in the UK (and elsewhere really) just need to learn how to cook !

From a UK perspective, being able to cook achieves:

     a) The ability to buy raw ingredients in bulk
     b) You can cook dishes that last you multiple meals (and NO, this does not mean eating the same thing)
     c) You can make soups and stocks from bones (all you need is bones, cheap vegetables, cheap spicing, and water)
     d) VAT on raw ingredients is either 0% or 5%
     e) Raw ingredients are cheaper than processed food
     f) Raw ingredients are A MILLION times cheaper than restaurant prices (depending where you eat, you're typically paying up to 300% mark-up on ingredients because the restaurant needs to cover its costs)
And no it is not time consuming, the more practice you get, the quicker it becomes. And things like soups and stocks you don't even have to watch the pot, you just put it on and forget about it for a few hours.

Re: One million cancel broadband as living costs rise

#319

Post by Nextgrid »

whywhywhywhy wrote: post #183
gameman144 wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Striking provides a forcing function to reveal the actual value to the employer of your labor. In certain fields (e.g. medicine, academics) there are huge centers that represent the majority of jobs for a region. Specialized workers here find it harder to job hop, as there are fewer opportunities. Striking provides another means to better pay. Say you value my work at $40/hr, but are currently paying my at $20/hr. In…

I mean I might be biased because this strategy worked for me. But how about, hear me out. Instead of not working you try working harder and providing unique value to your employer. Hard to swallow for union types but it’s how I ended up being paid significantly more and having no issues buying a house.

This approach only works if your employer knows you have other options and risk leaving if you aren't properly compensated.

In an environment where your employer knows you don't have any options, there is no incentive for them to pay you any higher regardless of how much effort/value you provide.

Re: One million cancel broadband as living costs rise

#320

Post by zamnos »

bilekas wrote: post #228
skippyboxedhero wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it wouldn't because when you pay tax your money isn't being flushed down the toilet. You don't understand at a fundamental level how the govt works in the UK.

This has nothing to do with the government policies.. it's simple math.

If people are getting the math wrong (as is what happened here) then maybe the math isn't so simple?
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