An NHS consultant would have a seven figure pension in their mid 50s, I think. Not sure I know anyone who has one, but I think there are quite a lot.
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Also: Ā£30k
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The whole thing and the audience you are giving it to.
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Kind of depends on whoās asking as well.
Agreed. Cannot think of anything else to say at this point. 
Fuck it, Iāll bite. Class System. Crass and outdated, this is probably at the centre of lots of āIlls of societyā.
āIām alright Jackā etcā¦
See also the concept of āthe deserving poorā and itās companion, āausterityā.
Well Iām sorry if I offended you or anyone. I wanted to start a political discussion on what reasonable expectations people should have from life, as Iām always horrified by this society and how we leave so many people in a state that isnāt really acceptable.
My personal view is that society (tax, benefits and other support) should be structured so that nobody should be on the top and bottom of my scales.
Despite the push back in this thread I still think that there is value in trying to work out what an acceptable standard of living is, and that we should hold the government to account if too many people donāt achieve it. The fact that even discussing it seems taboo plays directly into the governmentās hands, IMO.
I think the question is what, as a society, do we beleive is a minimum standard of living. There will always b be different levels of income, but there should be a minimum standard of living.
You can define that in many ways but i think income alone is too coarse. In this country fully effective public services should be a given for all so you could start with the following as an example.
Long term housing, affordable and of good quality.
Ability to purchase food, clothing etc
Ability to heat your home.
Access to certain technology such as broadband.
Access to relevant transport.
Leisure time and ability to afford a two week holiday.
Etc, etc.
Iām sure there are far better researched lists of minimum standards of living out there.
Covering basic human needs is the start point. This currently isnāt happening. In terms of: Food / shelter / health / Education (Opportunity for fulfillment & purpose) At risk of trolling (I know this gets trotted out inappropriately all over the show) The idea of what elements are important in human development / requirements are mirrored by a society.
Failing to attain the bottom two levels (Foundation) leaves a society trapped and in many cases desperate (You canāt move upward without achieving each layer in turn) which is unhealthy.
Itās nearly impossible to generalise too.
My mum and step-dad owned their own house by the time they stopped working, and had none of the four children still living at home. Holidays tended to be trips away with one or other of the kids, who covered a chunk of the costs. So maybe they were āadvantagedā. But neither had any pension other than the state one and they lived comfortably enough on that. They never struggled to pay bills or wanted for any of the basics (they ran a runabout car, for example).
Having kids counts. They are expensive. Being retired (i.e. not working) makes an obvious difference too.
One of the big problems is that peopleās expectations are far greater than they used to be. Rampant consumerism / capitalism has usurped care or fiscal responsibility / sensibility.
When was a foreign holiday needed, a new car every 3 years, a new TV / Mobile / latest fashion / home style / tech / takeaways / add your item of choice every 2-3 years considered necessary? These all used to be considered luxuries.
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Ironically you more needed a new car every 3 years in the 70s, when the reasonable life expectancy of a car was closer to 3 weeks, than now - my previous car lasted 14 years, and still worked mostly ok.
I agree that there has been an inflation in expectations to some extent, but some of the things you mention like TV and mobile are closer to essentials rather than luxuries. And I would argue that any reasonable life should have some luxury in some small way.
Iām reminded of an argument I had with my then girlfriend in a shopping centre over whether we should have a bottle of gin or a CD of Goreckiās 3rd. We couldnāt afford either, and she wanted both. She won the argument, and we lived on beans on toast for about two weeks. In hindsight she was probably right.
I agree but we now expect a new one every 2-3 years, along with costly subscriptions to ALL rhe streaming services etc etc.
Itās not uncommon to spend Ā£200/mth (Phone/Sky (Sports?) / Netflix etc etc) on these things !!! and expect to be able to.
The path to social equality through a ākeeping up with the Jonesesā sorting hat 
Its like youāve been possessed by the spirit of Karl Marxā¦ or The Socialist Worker has been subsumed by a glossy lifestyle magazine.
Donāt ever change!
This is another area where not discussing the amount we spend strongly benefits the provider. If everyone was open about what they spent, we could all say āI want the same deal as Fred pleaseā. But we donāt, so many people overpay by a shocking amount.
Thatās sort of missing the point, that all of these things are now deemed essential by many (including those who can least afford them) and they are not.
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Whatās wrong with a minimum, a tv and access to freeview?
As for cars, thatās a decision we make as a society. If we insist on cats as primary transport then it defacto becomes a minimum.
Other countries have working public transport which incident comprehensive tram systems in major towns and all cities. We really are woefully behind.
I could get behind that
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