Media Cost OF Living Crisis

Yeah no problem with that. Fair play. The taxpayer pays that and I'm fine with it.

The issue I have is making work pay. If someone works minimum wage and can't make ends meet, then that's a problem. The question is HOW you want to pay for it. You can either pay for it through increasing those people's wages so costs go up and you pay at the point of service. Or you pay for it through tax when the government gives those people benefits to top up their pay (housing benefit, medical cards, and these cost of living payments the poster above highlights).

Ireland is a well off country. People who work should be able to live with a basic standard of living. The working people, even on minimum wage, should be well clear of those who don't work.

i personally know somebody on €80k a year , single mother of 2 kids under 15

pays her morgage , bills , pension etc

and yet her credit card is maxed out

she works in the medical field and has studied many years and lectures sometimes in UCD and yet hasn't a pot to pee in

to me that isn't right at all and yet my neighbour who is a single mother and has 3 kids and works probably 10-20hrs a week and has a government house etc , get's her holiday away every year and kids decked out in good clothes etc , that's whats wrong with this poxy country

the people who actually get educated and work and contribute to society get screwed and they gougers like my neighbour get an easy ride

makes me sick

Ah here. The person on 80k needs to learn a thing or 2 about budgeting from your neighbour.

But that's not the whole story either. Some people who earn less than me have bigger TVs than me. But I don't prioritise my TV. I prioritise saving for a house. I would like a house in a middle class area in a catchment area for good schools for my child, so that's an extra cost. I also put money aside for his Uni fees if he goes to uni. We have a car and we go on cheap trips to interesting places and museums to stimulate his mind and give him an interest in the world.

So I don't have money for expensive clothes, TVs or regular holidays. But I'm happy with how I spend my money on investing in the future and giving my child the best chance I can with the income I have. I doubt the single mother working part time has money for that so we just prioritise different things.

But christ if you have 80k income and can't make ends meet, then you have a budgeting issue because 80k is a decent wage. The part time worker doesn't have more than 80k in income, does she?

80k when you pay tax and prsi , person is left with about €4k a month , sounds alot

then mortgage of €1500 a month , €120 a month tolls to their job , €250 a month fuel , pension , electric , gas etc

not alot left to live a comfy life , but yes could be managed better i agree

Stupid thread.

Of course there are working people who were already stretched before this who are now in deep deep trouble after about 1k/month of an uptick in cost. Which of us have an extra 12k a year that we wouldn't miss in our budget? To argue that this isn't badly hurting some people is utter stupidity.

However, some are insulated from this change abd for some of these, times have never been better.

There are the people in the example above, - one working on 80k who can't manage and another on welfare who appears to be flying. It's to be pointed out that the one on welfare probably isn't paying down what will eventually be an asset she will own. Also - she probably prioritises whete she can get a lifestyle win: - clothes and cheap holidays. Lots on welfare do that. The other woman prioritises her childrens education and owning an asset to hand on to them.

(You could make a case as to which strategy is better in the long run, but that's for a different thread as it involves a very complicated set of actuarial calculations)

Every situation and person is slightly different.

But on average, - yes, the cost of rent/mortgage repayments, and fuel/electricity alone have made it very difficult for a significant number of people.

not a hope of wages , she's a cleaner so i'd immagine €15 p/h

but government handouts have made her life alot easier than a person contributing to the exchequer hugely

that's my issue , too easy to hand out money

Yep, people should mind their own business.

Honestly if you think someone is scamming, then report them instead of complaining here.

And all these "I know someone on x wages and they're struggling" most people can't manage money. That's blatantly obvious.

I can see where the impression that the Cost of Living Crisis isn't as bad as the media makes it out to be comes from if you consume a lot of UK media. While there are certainly issues with some welfare recipients taking the piss and gaming the system, it's to our credit as a nation that unless there are serious addiction or health issues, the welfare payments people receive are enough to ensure that the kids are fed, clothed and educated if the household budget is well managed. Our nearest neighbour certainly can't make the same claim.

If you think life on the dole in Ireland is hard, just try to imagine what it's like trying to raise a kid in a council flat in somewhere like Harlesdon or Brixton (a young single parent on benefits there would be entitled to all of about £130 a week under the Universal Credit scheme - about half of what they'd get in Ireland).

It's not obvious to me that your parents own their home. How would I know unless you tell me? Like i still don't know if your parents had any involvement with owningnor renting council housing because you haven't said.

Theresba very funny radio clip of a bloke talking about growing up and getting no help from the government - he later elaborates that he grew up in a council house which his parents subsequently bought for thruppence-ha'penny. But he got no support from government.

My Parents bought the house in 1974 for 4400 pounds

my mother stayed at home to rear 4 kids , my dad worked to

interest he told me was 16 % back then also

too easy now for single parents that's my point , if you are told that you will not get subsidised with hap or similar , you'd think twice about having kids

i work and have 2 kids and im a single dad , pay a mortgage also , where is my help ? i'm paying tax etc , alot are not but get the help , that's the issue

When you realize the government is taking 50% in tax from small landlords and almost nothing from REITs.

OP judging by this and your responses it sounds like you're projecting your own experiences onto the rest of the country. I live in an inner city area and I see plenty of poverty. Your theory that "the media are talking it up to sell more papers" is pretty damn ignorant to be frank.

Yes. I'm for real. I asked a question a few times which you didn't answer till now. Fair play to your dad. I won't ask any more questions because it takes too long and you get too pissy when eventually answering them.

Depends what you mean by "better off". The children of single parents wouldn't be better off. You dismiss single parents as getting pregnant for the rewards, yet you're a single parent. Did you get your children's mother pregnant for the rewards from the state? I presume not, but you dismiss others in a similar situation to yourself.

Look, if living on benefits is so great, why do you work? Why not just get on the gravy train? The answer is obvious, it's not better on benefits.

How you're jealous of people with less than you, is beyond me.