40 years ago I entered the job market and by the time I was 22 I was working in a library and with my husband (who was a barber) we earned enough to have a mortgage that was 3 times our combined salary.
Just did a search and the same jobs now would earn almost exactly the same money, but to buy a house you’d need over 9 times salary and the bills are roughly 4 times what we paid. It sure as hell ain’t Netflix and avocado on toast that’s keeping young folk off the property ladder
Public sector wages have barely risen in 30 years. I found my old payslips from my first library and school jobs and compared them to today and the jobs being advertised are just a couple of k more than they were almost 30 years ago.
If you were always on a low income, 1% pay rise means nothing. The UK house prices are rising by around 12% a year. If your £17k income rises by 1% it doesn’t take a mathematician to work out that you’ll never catch up with 12% increases on average £280k house prices.
Here’s the sources. Stop telling young people and low earners how they should fix this. They didn’t break it.
gov.uk/government/new…
gov.uk/government/new…
Yesterday I saw an advert for a full time library assistant job in Herts. The start salary was £19k and tops out at £22k. The average cost of a flat in the same area is £244k, houses £400k. Rents for 1 bed - £900pcm. How is anyone supposed to afford that?
Just doing the sums on that. Assuming that library assistant is getting the £22k and paying rent in a one bedroom flat close to where they work. After rent, fuel bills and council tax they’re living on £60 a week. That’s assuming they live close enough to walk to work.
With banks expecting 25 - 30% mortgage deposit that means to buy a one bed flat near to where they work that library assistant will need a (brace yourselves) £60 - £70k deposit. Saved while living on £60 a week? Impossible
Even if they miraculously managed to save £100 a month that would take almost 60 years to save. With parents now struggling to pay bills too anyone hoping for a pot in the will? That’s gone too.
So, if younger people and folk on low incomes appear fatalistic with their money, can you blame them? They can’t fix this hideous situation and know that no amount of petty pennypinching will do it. The system needs fixing, not the people.
While you’re here, a link to a few of my longer articles on libraries, paying the creator, authors’ falling incomes, and the dangers of placing too much weight on the shoulders of volunteers
neepsandco.com/dawnmclachlan-…
neepsandco.com/dawnmclachlan-…
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