http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/ar...-sympathy.html


This bit really pulled on my heart strings. I mean the humanity!

At one part of the article there is a couple on a joint income of £69000 who are delaying their wedding until 2013 in order to save up for a deposit on a house.

WHAT HAS THE WORLD COME TOO!

I think it's to do with that earnings no-man's land where you are too rich to take advantage of any state assistance but you are at the start of the higher-earners' tax bracket.

The same thing happens here; a section of people are too rich for subsidised housing, healthcare, nurseries and other benefits so have to pay the same rates as the rich AND get whacked for tax.

Lol at the daily mail bitching about people who think they don't make enough money, they're entire snotty rag is for people who think life is a struggle if they can't afford a second home or pay for the staff.

But the housing costs are no joke, it was something that gave me a little nudge to come here, rents and house price rises have far exceeded wage inflation. Fine if you're a home owning DM reader, you can point and laugh and ask why they didn't buy a house when they were cheap.

Of course, if the couple weren't saving for the deposit, the Daily Mail would be bitching at them for taking out loans they couldn't afford.

I think at the end it of the article Dr Rowe hits the nail on the head. There seems to be a stigma surrounding renting rather than owning in the UK. People think that buying is always the best option...when clearly it isn't.

Are there statistics to see how many houses are in negative equity in the UK due to the economic meltdown?

You can, of course, replace UK by US in the above, with no other changes

*Put flame suit on*

I'm a firm believer that the UK is culturally closer to the US than it is to mainland Europe.

[provocative mode "on"]

true, they share the same cultural void.

[provocative mode "off"]

Ahh Daily fail.

If the national average is 26000 for ONE person then TWO people earning 60000 between them are not really earning "twice the national average". They're earning just a bit more than a national average. And yes, people earning an average salary usually cannot afford private schools for their kids and 4 bedroom houses in smart areas etc, but would have to be a bit more modest with their expenses.

Why the flame suit

This story and

it's too much for me. I'm out of tears.

I wonder if these are the same people who would post on www.Schweizerdeutsch.co.uk telling people they need at LEAST £80k per year per parents or they will be well below the poverty line.