Peedee

iTrader: (4)

Anybody watching / watched this?

I'd like to know your thoughts on the programme and the housing system in general.

taylor85

iTrader: (5)

Yeah I saw a couple of them , few people really struggle then some are just lazy

ad.2589

There is a big housing problem in this country, alot of people cannot afford to pay the astronomically high rents and with it extremely difficult to save the huge desposit needed for a mortgage these days, people will turn to social housing schemes as a way out. More affordable houses need to be built and sold at reasonable rates to entice people out of the benefits world and stop wealthy people profiting from the poor

Turbohot

Yes, capitalism stinks, and when they laugh at the poor for being on benefits or being dishonest etc., they need to have a long look in the mirror! Insatiable greed of empire builders has killed the humanity.

warrenm2

Try living in Cuba or Venezuela, where a small jar of coffee now costs $232, 3kg of dog food is $288, a pair of jeans $392. Thats what happens when Gvmts try running markets....

Turbohot

I'm not comparing or saying that other places are far better. It can't be disputed that capitalism/capitalistic greed, may it be anywhere in this world, is a disease!

dpb

Wouldn't be as much a problem if certain govs hadn't lured/bought people into buying their own council house. And then not reinvesting the money

dpb

Together with our ridiculous house price inflation society

warrenm2

Of course it can, and your statement shows a lack of understanding of the subject, but we would be going off topic. Back to council houses....

Turbohot

Ok, thank you.

urban

iTrader: (1)

That can't be true.

legb4rsk

If you privitise everything and all the money goes to individuals there is no wealth left for the Government.There's plenty of money but not in the system.

If you really want to know where all our money has gone,the richest people in UK have doubled their wealth in the last 10 years:

http://www.theguardian.com/business/...th-in-10-years

markjmd

iTrader: (11)

An oft-quoted statistic, but is it the same people now who are the richest in the country as it was 10 years ago?

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

I am of the view that council houses need to be earnt; if it's the feckless thattreat it like a dump, cause social unrest wherever they reside (or their kids) waste money on ****, pets, alcohol and pop out another child every year then that person/family does not deserve anything but a cardboard box.

I'm also against people relying on council housing for their entire life; unless they pay a rent that is truely reflective of its continued upkeep, repair and any renovation required. A council house should be an aid to Independant living and personal betterment on a limited basis and not a means to sustain it indefinetly

I also think councils need to stop relying on bed and breakfasts and private landlords for accommodation; why not build some capsule/pod hotels? Bare basics for emergency accommodation? Some people in Japan stay in them by choice! Why can't they be put to use here? Employ strict policies; any trouble and they are out on the street, no second chances.

legb4rsk

The point I am making is that there is plenty of money around and it is that it is now in the hands of a privileged few rather than in the public domain.

With massive corporate power & globalisation the wealth is being channeled upwards to fewer & fewer people.

markjmd

iTrader: (11)

Yes, but what does privileged actually mean? Unless you're a card-carrying member of some fringe ultra-left party or movement, you can't possibly be of the opinion that everyone should earn or have exactly the same. It then becomes a question of how you measure whether the large amounts of money one person has were earnt more or less fairly than the smaller amounts of money another person has, which is a pretty complex and subjective thing to do. Going back to the example of your Guardian article, if you knew that the richest 1% in the country 10 years ago had all inherited their money and done pretty much nothing off their own back to become as rich as they were, and that the richest 1% in the country now was a whole new set of people who'd all made their money by starting and expanding businesses they'd started up from scratch, which would you say was fairer? I'm not saying that this is definitely true btw, I'm simply pointing out that it's impossible to tell from the article, since the research behind it wasn't actually trying to figure that out.

madscoob

iTrader: (3)

what boils my p1ss the most, is people living in a council house when both adults are working and getting good money. the rent is like a third of what the mortage would be to buy the same house, mind you down here a £188000 pound house is considered affordable lmfao. the main problem is wages haven't kept up with house prices, when my parents bought my place it was £3500 in 1968 and was 3times my fathers salary its now worth so im'e told £269'950 now that's 17.4 times my salary

taylor85

iTrader: (5)

they are trying to change it now, if your household income is more than £30k then you need to pay market rate. Dont know if thats RICS independent valuation though