"I've managed and I did badly at school"

The sad fact is that the vast majority of individuals and families in the UK are entire reliant on the state. If you pay a marginal tax of about GBP 20,000 pa you still likely receive more than that in direct value of services. I think the value is much higher, both of services delivered to those in lower tax brackets or lower net tax payers, and the rate of earnings required to net contribute in taxes is much higher also. It's entirely possible that the only net contributors are the maligned "one percenters".

The numbers are subject to wild variation, how you calculate them. But you can pick out anecdotal evidence that is significant. In much of central London, family homes are housing association (QUANGO) or local authority owned, and rents are typically below GBP 100 pwk, I hear 70 or 80 wish, commonly, and less. Whereas the market rental for equivalent homes, is approaching four times that. That's one massive distortion in housing supply. In the extreme, I know of one person who was "forcibly downsized" to a slightly smaller home, still with more bedrooms than they, a single man, needs, caused by need to structurally refurbish the building where he lived, where he was relocated around the corner into a newly refurbished and appointed home, paid GBP 5000 for inconvenience, cost and arrangement of moving all provided, an the market rental value of this man's 78 pound a week hone is over six hundred a week.

It's true, also, there are some really appalling failures in social systems for housing and support, but I live and grew up in a "deprived" area, where I enormous resources are almost thrown at those eligible for public support.

The problem is, that not nay in many cases, is there no viable exist from public support, because low wage earners are able to claim top ups for low or i'd argue illegally poor pay, and many can legally stay īn subsidized housing all their lives, whilst earning market salaries, but I believe the situation is so politicized as to permit no rational debate or discussion. I have been verbally threatened for the very fact I live in a private dwelling, by complete strangers, visitors to neighbors in the same building, such is the actually false politicization of "have and have not" "society".

When I was at prep school, about nine, we had a support math teacher, who regaled us mainly with stories of his time n the Military Police. That was actually good education, but we were flunking any math we didn't study n our own, that year. This teacher also told us of his time in teaching for the ILEA, he Inner London Education Authority, in the mid seventies, not long before he was teaching us. We laughed in disbelief how exams or exam results were banned, for "creating hostility towards the children of the better off families", who, one might surmise, did put a value on their children's education.

Like most so called socialist systems, there has been a enforcement of the lowest common denominator, not a enforcement of what the LCD should be. In result: no self respect, c.f. the quote which spurred my reply here today. That result, no self respect, is the death knell of civilization and yet the panacea to becalm nervous politicians queasy their unsupportable, inept, uneducated, policies risk challenge.