Does anyone else feel guilty about benefiting from these price reductions

[Deleted User]

lisyloo said:

It’s a really nice thing for you to give it to charity.
I just think that people like Alan Sugar and many other rich people, simply won’t get round to it.
A lot of them probably do already give to charity but many just won’t have the time.

What did Alan Sugar do to you?

Whatever was done, everyone would have found something to complain about and many people would have said it was unfair.  Just look at the threads on here over the last couple of months.

MattMattMattUK

mmmmikey said:

At the end of the day we'll all have to pay it back sooner or later through taxes, or leave the debt for our children, so I'm absolutely not thinking it is wrong for anyone to spend it how they please, it's their money.

Most people will not pay anything back as they are not net taxpayers, the reality is some people will make a contribution towards paying it back, but most people will leave it to children, grandchildren etc. who end up being higher earners and they will suffer poorer public services because of it.

Spoonie_Turtle

One way of benefiting oneself as well as others, if anyone feels at all guilty about spending it rather than donating, is to spend it with ethical brands or local independent shops - as the purchaser, you benefit from buying something you want, and the money goes towards workers who will make use of it (perhaps on their own energy or food) rather than to be hoarded by people at the top who won't.  Win-win.

[Not that I think anyone ought to feel guilty, but I do understand the feeling of getting something you don't fully need whilst other people are still struggling.]

lisyloo said:

A little. I don’t think that element was targeted enough - going to well off people as well.

before anyone says give it to charity. Yes we Know we can donate to charity.
Unilateral action by a few whilst very nice does not solve the unfairness of the measure.

Of course, but in this situation right now that's all we can do.

michaels

I have a fix, I am glad I will be paying back in tax the money has borrowed cut the prices for reach people to heat their swimming pools even though I am getting no benefit at all.

This year the govt is borrowing 15,000 on behalf of every household in the country.  I would prefer they didn't.  If I had to borrow 15k then I wish I could choose what it was spent on rather than the govt.  Any household who are not saving at least 15k this year is living beyond their means courtesy of a loan taken out by the govt.

[Deleted User]

michaels said:

I have a fix, I am glad I will be paying back in tax the money has borrowed cut the prices for reach people to heat their swimming pools even though I am getting no benefit at all.

This year the govt is borrowing 15,000 on behalf of every household in the country.  I would prefer they didn't.  If I had to borrow 15k then I wish I could choose what it was spent on rather than the govt.  Any household who are not saving at least 15k this year is living beyond their means courtesy of a loan taken out by the govt.

Almost everyone who is a net beneficiary of public services, which is most of us, is living beyond their means courtesy of the government.  That means nothing.

jj_43

Our rental energy usage is low too so will have lower bills this year, and the renovation property is mainly the standing charge so will be in credit on that for the year. I don’t feel guilty, but it is ridiculous. but you get what you vote for.

Ultrasonic

jj_43 said:

Our rental energy usage is low too so will have lower bills this year, and the renovation property is mainly the standing charge so will be in credit on that for the year. I don’t feel guilty, but it is ridiculous. but you get what you vote for.

Nobody voted for the current plan.

Coffeekup

zzzt said:

When you take into account the price cap (funded by the government borrowing money and handing it to energy companies) and the £400 payment given to everyone, I'm actually going to see my bills go down because I don't use that much energy to begin with and the £400 is more than the extra I would pay with the new price cap. I could have afforded to pay more, but instead I'll be saving money.

Earlier in the year I was preparing for the worst and planning on how to use the least energy possible, but I might as well not have bothered. I could have done nothing and my bill would actually go down, at a time when the cost of energy would be double or more.

It seems a bit mad. But I suppose in the long term I'll be paying for it anyway through my taxes because we'll all have to pay off the government's excessive borrowing for decades to come.

I was saying the exact same to a friend a few days ago, and that I felt guilty. I thought as everyone else is having it why should I let it bother me? But it still didn't feel right.
After reading this thread I can relax.

fatbelly

I like to take advantage of government schemes when I can. I qualified for the Warm Home Discount one year.

Took advantage of Eat Out to Help Out

Got my £150 council tax bung into an account I rarely used and used it to rejoin the Woodland Trust.

I will look forward to paying virtually nothing in Electricity for the next six months!

TheBanker

As there is no way to opt out of the government support, nobody should feel guilty for receiving it.

I don't need the £400 and could afford the bills under the original October price cap. With more time, the government could perhaps have come up with a more targeted, and therefore less costly option, but we are where we are. 

Like many people, I'd budgeted for the higher prices, and I've taken steps to make my home more energy efficient. So I will be quite a bit better off compared to if the government wasn't providing the support. I am saving the money up. In the Spring it may pay for a weekend away that otherwise would not have happened. This will be in the UK so supporting our economy. 

As a higher earner, I expect my taxes to increase under the next government, which will almost certainly be Labour. In the same way that I do not feel guilty about receiving the help now, I will not feel resentful when I am asked to pay a greater contribution towards the cost of the benefits system, the NHS and other public services.