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Originally Posted by Hugh
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Indeed - incomes have become dramatically more imbalanced at the extremes, due in no small part to the prevalence of financial services and the disproportionately high incomes received by some employed there relative to other occupations whose incomes in real terms have largely stagnated or at very least grown far more slowly in the past 30-35 years.
It's also entirely true that 40% of households do not make a contribution to the state at all, and this rises to 60% once health, education and other associated services are added to the mix. This is on a current basis and ignores the inevitable very high net receipt of state services and cash that they will have during retirement.
The idea that 'workers' are contributing to the state purely because they are working rather than 'scrounging' by not working is, sadly, quite wrong these days, and it's also interesting to note that the poorest 10% are not the biggest net recipients, but the following two deciles.