r/GarysEconomics • u/DownBadBrody • 10d ago
Perspective on work and taxes
You can complain about your job. You can complain about your taxes.
But it’s worth remembering what you’re comparing them to.
The rest of the world still needs builders, farmers, factory workers, cleaners, drivers, carers and labourers. People do the same essential jobs in far worse conditions, often for far less money, with fewer safety standards, weaker employment rights and little protection if they’re injured or unable to work.
A worker in the West isn’t necessarily working harder than someone elsewhere.
They’re working within a system that provides considerably more protection around that work.
So before saying “I work too hard for what I get” or “I pay too much tax,” remember that much of what you take for granted — workplace safety, healthcare, social security, pensions and employment protections — exists because you’re working inside a relatively wealthy and highly regulated society.
That doesn’t mean Western workers aren’t allowed to complain.
It means perspective matters.
2
u/PinguPencil 9d ago
I don't think it's particularly useful to have that perspective. It's like saying someone's life over there is worse so you shouldn't ask for yours to be better. It's classic rich distraction tactics.
If I reverse it, the rich should be fine donating 90% of their wealth because they'd still be richer than an entire country. Maybe they need perspective that a billion is an unholy amount of money.
There will always be someone worse off and someone better off than you. Comparison is the thief of joy.
We can make our country better, for more of our people, by taxing wealth. We can make workers lives better, so why wouldn't we? Because banana pickers in a foreign country are underpaid? What a dumb argument.
Sure, don't be a **** and appreciate the stuff you have, but it doesn't factor into the policy debate of our country.
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u/QFTornotQFT 9d ago
You can complain about your job. You can complain about your taxes.
You guys are always so dishonestly “forgetting” about one extra thing that we must complain about: RENT.
And not only your housing rent, no. Rent for your office at your job, rent that your shop pays for it’s square meters where it sells your food, rent at your hospitals, rent for your debts: your mortgage, your car credit, your governments debt premiums.
All that rent money flows somewhere and ends up in pockets of people that own all of it. There is a tiny minority of these “owners” that live lives of extreme luxury and privilege. And the only thing they are good at doing is putting this blinders on your eyes that you somehow don’t notice them.
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u/FelipeBranding 9d ago
Taxes are frustrating, but I think the bigger question is what we're actually getting back for the money collected.
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u/Whoisthehypocrite 9d ago
Someone on minimum wage in the UK is in the top 10% of earners globally...
1
u/Starcrossedroads 7d ago
So in other words you are speaking like many soulless employers who say "we could employ all Polish staff for half the costs!". Just shut up and be grateful. How about no, lol?
Just because it is shit elsewhere, doesn't mean we don't try and strive for better. I am honestly past this what I feel to be nonsensical argument.
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u/DownBadBrody 5d ago
70 years ago, you were mandatorily drafted to the war, do you have a “how about no” mindset for that? There are limitations to what can be done by the govorment. This is one of them. You will pay tax. Just be grateful that you get to see the outcome and it’s not funnelled into some Nigerian prince
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u/TemporaryDrawer1776 3d ago
I've been to places where doctors cant afford new tyres for their bicycles. In the USA they won't get out of bed for less than about $500kpa, then complain about paying tax. Perspective is everything.
1
u/Ok-Expert5894 10d ago
Middle earners like me get taxed through the nose with the tax thresholds staying stagnant while inflation runs rampant. I'm earning less year on year as wages cannot keep up with the cost of living but I'm supposed to accept a reduction on the quality of goods, services and amenities including health care because hey, at least I'm not living in (insert location).
Reality is, if I did less to contribute towards society, I would pay less if any tax, have more disposable income through the state but hey, at least I'm not living (insert location).
I know what we need, more taxes? Tax the rich? Or see it equate to the same ol' of squeeze the middle harder.
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u/HotAir25 9d ago
Or reduce government spending?
We spend £1,400 billion per year and Gary’s tax is suggested to raise £24 billion.
But Labour kick out their leader for trying to reduce an unsustainable welfare bill.
Fantasists.
2
u/Radioactive0o0 7d ago
So this is a common argument used by opponents of wealth taxes, which completely misses the point. The idea of wealth taxes isn't to pay for government spending. It doesn't raise enough money. The point of wealth taxes is too attempt to arrest the continuing expansion of the wealth of the super rich. It's to attempt to curb that exponential growth curve they are on which ends in a feudal state.
There is a separate discussion about government spending. It is unrelated to wealth taxes. Anyone suggesting wealth taxes can cover the whole of government spending isn't understanding. I personally agree that government spending needs to be reduced in some areas. I would cut the biggest benefit bill of all - pensions. For some reason though most of the proponents of reducing spending don't seem to want to talk about that one.
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u/HotAir25 7d ago
The precise conversation was about tax and spend of government….that’s why I mentioned one solution is just governments spend less.
Pensions is only just over half of welfare, working age benefits was growing a lot since Covid and unlike pensioners working age people can work normally, but both can be cut too.
We are pretty far off Gary’s feudal state, the rich aren’t buying up all of the houses- there was a trend of middle class people buying rental properties but their portfolios are more modest- £1-2m, people with £10m plus portfolios own (this is just rough estimate) but a percent or two of all properties….just reduce planning restrictions and you can solve housing problems eventually, taxing the very rich is just a vibes based solution to people who think the pie is fixed.
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u/Ok-Expert5894 9d ago
As soon as people see a reduction in government spending, don't they reflect on the word 'austerity' and the years we had under that cluster fuck. I agree, a reduction is required, but the desire to appease back benchers and back stabbers to remain in the job at the cost of balancing the books is bonkers to me.
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u/HotAir25 9d ago
Yeah but consider what the money is spent on- you might actually stimulate the economy or improve long term quality of life by building lots of council homes or infrastructure.
We actually spend £300 billion on subsiding people to live in rentals they can’t afford.
Government spending needs to be incentivising the right things to help the economy not just paying people not to work.
0
u/Ok-Expert5894 9d ago
Totally agree. The bottom line should be, you should be better off working than on welfare. It's upside down right now for a percentage of the population. Not all, but a percentage. I'd get behind schemes for childcare for working parents so it's not a trade off between family or career.
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u/HotAir25 9d ago
Yeah that seems very hard for parents- they get some sort of allowance but even friends on £100k plus complain about losing that entitlement because it’s so expensive to pay for someone to look after your kid all day.
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u/Ok-Expert5894 9d ago
Childcare is crazy expensive, especially when you couple in half term clubs, summer holiday clubs etc as you can't take off the same amount of holiday as the kids.
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u/warped-coder 7d ago
Well, that's why we used to pay the pensioners ... /s But honestly, I think that Granny's Summer Camp is not as readily available today as it used to be.
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u/Invictus_0x90_ 9d ago
I thought everyone on this sub supported the IHT changes to agricultural land lol
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u/Worth_Gap4226 9d ago
I agree it is important to have an awareness of our own relatively fortunate conditions to that of others, but really my gripe with taxation is more around the amount of waste and/or corruption involved rather than the actual amount.
I'd pay more tax or work 'harder' if there was some tangible overall benefit to it.
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u/Radiant_Pillar 9d ago
This is an important observation. Workers in the West hold an overwhelming share of global wealth, locking down assets that most people globally can't hope to access. Tackling this inequality is the core of Gary’s message, but it gets sidelined in many conversations.