Work No Longer Pays.

 How can it be that a joint household income of £40,000 before tax isn't enough to pay rent and bills? 

Between us, that's what myself and the wife earn. But between us, it seems it's not enough to rent a house, pay the bills and run a car. Right now we both don't have any spare cash, our disposable income has dried up. 

So much so that it looks like it's baked beans on toast for tea on a regular basis from now on. It's not a life, it's subsistence.

Right now I'm dreading the energy increases in the Autumn, because if it's anything like this spring's increase, then I won't earn enough to pay the bills. I have at most about £50 spare cash to spend on non-essentials.

It does make you wonder if work pays. Would we be better on benefit? 

There used to be a time when the Tories were the party of low taxes, of making work pay. But these days they've joined the homogenised morass of Social Democrat MPs in Parliament. Literally we do not have any choice in how we vote. Every party is bent on increasing taxes and environmental levies and stiffing the poor. 

Just what do you do if working no longer pays the bills? 

More importantly, why is this government policy? Why is it policy to add levies to energy? Surely renewables have had a decade of development and by now the technology should be mature and able to be installed and generate energy without subsidies? Or are we just spaffing money to big corporations for the sake of it? 

Fuel: why are we importing refined Diesel from abroad? Why are the refineries at Stanlow, Fawley, et al not back refining crude oil? 

Why are we paying more money to Government for less in the way of services? 

Why are we putting up with all of this shit?