The UK has a very strange attitude towards wealth.
In the US, the making of money is applauded. People do not envy or hate; they attempt to emulate and achieve.
In the UK, those who educate themselves and do well financially are hated; even despised. Wealth is seen as cheating, privilege, or even crime. Anyone (excluding ex-Labour prime ministers, footballers, or musicians) who makes a personal fortune is derided as a toff or scum.
Of course those Brits who do make serious money are the ones who possibly employ the ones who complain (if indeed they work), but even that is derided by the 'chip on shoulder' brigade.
I know who I'd prefer to spend an evening in the pub' with, and it wouldn't be with those puerile protesters (above) who hate the Prime Minister simply because he has a few bob.
A nation without individuals who have ambition and drive is a nation bound for failure.
There have always been rich people. We need them to employ the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteIt'd be a funny old world if there weren't any rich people.
DeleteYes, we'd all be poor !
DeleteA case of; a hand washes the other. greetings Maria x
ReplyDeleteThat's how it works here.
DeleteSome people are born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Think there is nothing wrong with havin money. It's how you treat other people and don't look down at them. One great thing about living in Ireland is there is very little social class.
ReplyDeleteI was brought-up on the maxim 'always respect the underdog', and that includes wealth-wise.
DeleteI don't believe they are protesting that the PM has money. They are protesting that he is allowing, through weird tax laws, his rich friends and financial supporters to avoid paying massive taxes that would benefit this country at the same time as preaching that the peasants have to 'tighten their belts', put up with having vital services cut and the selling off of their NHS. Robin Hood in reverse.
ReplyDeleteDon't you believe it Andi, they just hate anyone who has more than they do. The juvenile politics is simply a ruse. And as for tax laws, almost every ISA or Union fund uses them.
DeleteIt was Gordon Brown who sold off the NHS, as a result of his PFI hospitals, the NHS now has to pay a bloody fortune every year to the private sector.
From what i just heard on the train everybody hates Dave for having money and his dad and the whole of the Conservative party and also me now for trying to make a good case for wealth. You wouldnt believe the things that were being said Andi.
DeleteThe left have very large blinkers. Still none of them have criticised Blair; amazing.
DeleteAndi, here is The Guardian's view of NHS privatisation. It is currently costing £10 billion p.a. Thank you Labour! http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/jul/05/pfi-cost-300bn
DeleteSurely it's a fact of life that there will always be whingers and demonstrations against the governing party -'twas ever thus. Britain is supposed to be a democracy after all. There are always those who are discontented, and no matter how much they have, they will still want more - it's called greed.
DeleteEveryone knew Dave had money, when some of them (presumably) voted him in, so why do they get so virulent now? There have been very few PM's who haven't come from wealth, and there are some who used the position to feather their own nests.
As to the NHS - ironic, isn't it, that the Labour Government introduced it, and the Labour government sold it down the river, fifty, or so, years later....
But their supporters will never believe it! They like to blame the Conservatives for EVERYTHING.
DeleteWe are surrounded by 'wealthy' English people here and we find that they tend to look down on us because we have a smallholding. They also have a superior attitude, think they are better than everyone else, including the French, are bored beyond bored, and seem to fill their days with drinking, eating, and talking about everyone else. Oh dear, I think I have just had a mini rant. Sorry about that. I don't care about how much wealth a person has providing they are discrete about flaunting it in front of the rest of us by way of their superior attitude. Good post. Got my blood boiling, which does not happen often!
ReplyDeleteThose ex-pat Brits are the dregs; they shouldn't be allowed passports. I have no problems with people who are richer than me (which is almost everyone), as long as they don't flaunt it.
Deletep.s. I always look UP to people who work hard (which I know you do), regardless of how much money they make (or lose).
Tut, tut, Cro I bet they all come from Surrey and Sussex !
DeleteSurrey/Sussex certainly has its fair share of loud and unpleasant people. Everywhere does.
DeleteSo true !
DeleteThe amount of money someone has, the job that they do, or the area they live in don't concern me at all despite the fact that I would be considered to be near the bottom of the heap financially by UK standards. Maybe that's a rare attitude these days, but I'm more interested in the way an individual treats others than the size of a bank balance. Strangely enough, I'm viewed as 'scum' because I don't have much money, don't have a car, and now don't go out to work due to health issues ( I do not claim benefits but am supported by my husband), so if the rich are scum and the poor are scum, that just leaves those in the middle, and doubtless, someone, somewhere, thinks they are scum too.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't we all classify ourselves as 'scum' then we'd all be equal; not that I think we should all be equal financially. I believe in hard work being compensated.
DeleteThe old maxim that if you gathered all the wealth in the world together and divided it equally between everyone within a couple of years there would again be very rich and very poor is so true.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I find it hard to take is that tax avoidance on a large scale does mean our hospitals, schools and the like are missing out.
Wealth doesn't bother me (as long as ihave enough to get by and a bit to spare I am OK) but tax avoidance does, be it the PM or the man next door. One rule for us all.
There's been a lot of moaning against Starbucks, Google, and others, recently; and of course they should pay their dues, but don't forget that they employ huge amounts of people, and pay their full council taxes, etc. I believe that Google are building a new office block in London costing £1 billion which will employ 5000 people. One doesn't want to frighten-away such foreign investors.
DeleteI have nothing against seriously rich people - they are my best clients, and may they prosper into the future. I do, however, have something against large international corporations which siphon money away from their host countries and then launder it in places like Nevada so they only have to put a pittance back into the infrastructure of the host countries. The employees of the big internationals are all taxed at about 20% on their minimum wages, after all.
ReplyDeleteBut better they invest in the UK than elsewhere, even if they do use the system to their advantage.
DeleteBollocks.
DeleteThere is always someone to hate, be jealous of, and look down upon. It is the same all over the world. Humans, whether rich or poor, are programmed to find a scapegoat for their failings.
ReplyDeleteThe USA has the same problems (maybe more) and it has never been more volitle and sickening. I dislike Trump not because of all the money he has, I dislike him for the horrible person he is.
You are not alone in think that of Trump. Over here he's treated as half mad, half dangerous.
DeleteThey rant against tax avoidance yet own Premium Bonds, have an ISA or even pay the tax when placing a bet at the bookies rather than on any winnings. All are for of tax avoidance but ordinary people do it so that doesn't count.
ReplyDeletePay your windows cleaner/plumber/electrician in cash? They you are probably aiding tax evasion to an extent. But hey he's the little guy so it doesn't count.
But the Wealthy? No 25 percent rate tax for them, make it 40 or 50 percent. Then wonder why they avail themselves of perfectly legal tax loopholes and avoidance schemes.
If 25 percent is good enough for everyone else why is it people think that the rich deserve to pay more. Logically they are less likely to use the services taxes pay for. The politics of spite and envy do so well in Britain and I have to say I am ashamed of the entitled attitude of my fellow countrymen.
I don't know a single person who wouldn't pay less tax if he/she was shown a legal loophole (or even an illegal one). All this current nonsense is to try to convince the gullible that DC is an evil capitalist toff; which he certainly isn't. Who'd be a politician eh?
DeleteAlthough the premise over here in the States is often stated to be work hard and get ahead, there remain plenty of folks for whom this work hard premise doesn't result in getting ahead. The resulting attitude might be slightly different from what you describe as that in the UK, but there is plenty of envy over here. The current political campaigns feature lots of talk about the top 1%.
ReplyDeleteThere's so much conspicuous consumption on display, and it contrasts dramatically with the crumbling state of public infrastructure like bridges, roads, subway systems, water systems, school facilities, etc.
Meanwhile, I am glad to live my simple life, clinging to my little apartment, as the rent continues to rise. Average NYC cooperative apartments sell for over a million dollars nowadays.
Best wishes.
I agree with you about the conspicuous consumption; those Kardashians, rap singers, etc have a lot to answer for. It's an unpleasant trait to wave excessive wealth in the face of the poor, especially if it hasn't really been 'earned'.
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