The Most Selfish Generation in History and the Debt Trap

ruggedtoast

The more articles there are like this the harder it becomes for the boomers to hide. Soon there will be a search light turned on them everywhere they like to reside. The static caravan holiday parks, the mid range chain restaurants, the universities offering pointless creative arts degrees for the over 50s to find themselves.

Niv

PaulW1965. Where I dont fully disagree with you on the fairness of tuition fees, but is it fair that those that will never go to university effectivly pay for others to go via the tax system?

Dont get me wrong, this is a debating point not a personal attack or anything. I went to uni and feel that paying a little extra in tax for my degree is a worthwhile expense. I chose to go to uni, it was free at the point of contact, and I pay back now that my earnings are over the threshold.

Niv

PaulW1965

Niv wrote: »

PaulW1965. Where I dont fully disagree with you on the fairness of tuition fees, but is it fair that those that will never go to university effectivly pay for others to go via the tax system?

Dont get me wrong, this is a debating point not a personal attack or anything. I went to uni and feel that paying a little extra in tax for my degree is a worthwhile expense. I chose to go to uni, it was free at the point of contact, and I pay back now that my earnings are over the threshold.

Niv

A baby boomer millionaire pays a marginal tax rate of 52% (and that is only temporary!) and will be reduced to 42%! Whilst you pay a marginal tax rate of 41% on £15k - that's a joke! But somehow you've been convinced by the baby boomers that that is ok?

StevieJ

ruggedtoast wrote: »

Ha. Selfish boomers. They have been skewered by this news, skewered and wriggling as Paxman, their boomer in chief has blown the lid on them.

I'm sure there will be a stampede of self entitled charlatans along any minute to start whining about IPhones and pensions and how hard they've had it.

I don't think they could hold a candle to you on that

dtsazza

PaulW1965 wrote: »

Yes it is a tax - 9% over the £15k threashold. Which means that a young graduate faces a marginal tax rate of 20% income tax, 12% NI and 9% SL making 41%!!!! At £15k !!!!!!! And as for stopping - it lasts 30 years!!!!!!

Sure, but that's because they're paying for a service that they've used, and it's coming out of the payslip.

If you could get rent, food and utilities "free up front" from the government and pay it back in your payslips, the marginal tax rate might well be 80-90%. And that would also be fine - whether it comes out of pre- or post-tax income is an accounting distinction rather than a financial one.

Besides, £59% of say £30k as a graduate is still more than 68% of £20k as a non-graduate.

(Asides from which, two corrections: firstly the threshold is now £22k IIRC; and secondly the tax lasts for 30 years or until the nominal amount has been repaid. If you're paying tax for the full 30 years it's because you didn't pay back the full cost of your education, and you're let off. In every way this is a good thing compared to the alternative of a "classic" fixed-term loan.)

Going4TheDream

Niv wrote: »

PaulW1965. Where I dont fully disagree with you on the fairness of tuition fees, but is it fair that those that will never go to university effectivly pay for others to go via the tax system?

Dont get me wrong, this is a debating point not a personal attack or anything. I went to uni and feel that paying a little extra in tax for my degree is a worthwhile expense. I chose to go to uni, it was free at the point of contact, and I pay back now that my earnings are over the threshold.

Niv

I think your point is fair, graduates can earn upto £400k more over their working life than non graduates, perhaps the £30/£40k is a worthwhile investment in their future. I imagine that depends on what career they go into and what degree they study but it seems they are likely to have a better quality of life financially than non graduates.

On that basis why should University education be free and paid by the tax payer. After all it is not compulsory it is a choice??

StevieJ

ruggedtoast wrote: »

The more articles there are like this the harder it becomes for the boomers to hide. Soon there will be a search light turned on them everywhere they like to reside. The static caravan holiday parks, the mid range chain restaurants, the universities offering pointless creative arts degrees for the over 50s to find themselves.

Are you on drugs? the hallucinogenic kind favoured by boomers from the the 60's?

OptionARMAGEDDON

he does have a point. the boomers are going to get hammered once my generation get in power. let the spite flow forth...

dtsazza

PaulW1965 wrote: »

One day you will expect this young generation to pay for your pension, your health care, your bus pass.....I suspect they will tell you to get stuffed?

I think you missed the point of my post. I welcome a situation in which people are financially responsible for their choices rather than getting a blanket guarantee from the taxpayer.

I don't want taxpayers to pay for me when I'm old, nor anyone else. We'll have had our whole lives to make provision for retirement (even easier with a reduced tax burden thanks to no longer providing a state pension).

I don't see why we should all live off the fruits of the next generation's labours when it would be infinitely fairer to live off our own.

StevieJ

Going4TheDream wrote: »

I think your point is fair, graduates can earn upto £400k more over their working life than non graduates, perhaps the £30/£40k is a worthwhile investment in their future. I imagine that depends on what career they go into and what degree they study but it seems they are likely to have a better quality of life financially than non graduates.

On that basis why should University education be free and paid by the tax payer. After all it is not compulsory it is a choice??

If they do earn more then they will pay more tax in the future anyway that should cover their tuition fees, presumably that is what effectively happened in the past.