Quote:
Originally Posted by Hugh
After I left the Forces, I lived in shared accommodation for nearly five years - I didn't expect someone else taxes to pay (in part) for a place of my own.
Expectations are higher now, perhaps.....
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Relatively to incomes rents certainly are.
---------- Post added at 18:12 ---------- Previous post was at 18:10 ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by Osem
Our first house in London back in the 80's cost 4-5 times our combined salaries. Thinking back then, our first TV a 24" Hitachi cost almost £400 which was a lot more than I earned in a month. The only reason we could cope financially was because we bought a 2 up 2 down which needed everything doing to it and over the next few years I did nearly all of the work needed myself before we moved on.
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Now it would likely be 10 times your income, and your mention of a TV at that price does away somewhat with the claims that today's kids throw money away while earlier generations were paragons of responsibility - the price of a TV then would now pay for a TV, an iPad, and a few months of mobile phone contract.
EDIT: There are actually records of the ancient Romans complaining about their feckless youth. It seems pretty churlish of us to pull up the rug on 18-20s, especially over such a small amount of money in the grand scheme. The hardship this will cause really isn't worth the saving.
Here's an idea for George and Dave to reduce the housing benefit bill across the board - follow pretty much everyone else in the developed world and take investment in housing off the books as far as national debt goes, liberalise planning with regards to greenbelt designations, allow housing associations to borrow more freely, and overall
build some bloody houses. About 300,000 per year until the end of the decade should do for a start.
Appreciate this may reduce the third of Tory MPs who are landlords' rental yields, and may even harm the plan to keep people feeling a false wealth effect by keeping housing expensive, not to mention it'll make all kinds of people who think the government should be subsidising their house price sulk, but it'll certainly help with the housing, or more accurately landlord, benefit bill.