Current Affairs Coronavirus Thread - Serious stuff !!!

[BlueToff]

Yet still not stopping non essential construction work, thousands of people going to work just waiting to catch or unintentionally spread it around

Not sure on your job obviously but the company I've been doing a bit of freelancing for this week have been told to stop.

My cousins have both been stopped too.

Seems most companies are.

 

[Joey66]

Yeah that’ll be why they’ve just handed an order for 10,000 ventilators to Dyson - in Singapore. Who’ve never made a ventilator.

The unit I seen is in a invention yet if successful, and it's looking positive the UK government are very interested as it a revolutionary easy to make and easy to use and the computer operating it will be the size of a modem with a pipe to pump air into the lungs nothing like the old equipment Dyson will produce......

 

[Barnfred 55]

Theres the 3 figure number I was hoping we wouldnt see.

If you read the twitter feed it explains that they have changed the counting of the daily death figure to the period of 5pm to 5pm for the previous day. This is so they can get the figures out to us by 2pm.

I'm assuming from that they were previously working a 12am to 12am basis. So yesterdays low figure was down to the reduced number of hours it represented. Conversely, todays higher figures reflects an increased number of hours covered. So tomorrow, we'll be back to seeing a straight 24 hour period.

I think the 2 day total shows an average daily increase over Tuesday's daily count, but not quite at the 3 figure number yet. Not far off it though sadly.

At least it explains why yesterday's death figure was a lot lower than expected.

 

[BlueToff]

On top of their wages? Instead of their wages? As a top up to their wages? Not quite as easy as it sounds. Think they have done ok myself. Not brilliant, but ok.

Yeh the calls for UBI – it just wouldn't work, would it?

Look, I'm nervous as hell now as to what I'm going to get. Not because I haven't been paying my tax (I have) but because that doesn't include a huge increase in my earnings from what in the last year has gone from a part-time job to a full-time one.

But I can't see UBI as being fair. I don't know how you could possibly just say - here's £1.5k to live off (for example).

It also sets a dangerous precedent. The government paying everyone a set wage? Not for me. That's not socialism in my book, either...

 

[Brennan]

I ask cos I cant seem to find their figures from 2 weeks ago and how they rose.

Italy COVID - Coronavirus Statistics - Worldometer

Italy Coronavirus update with statistics and graphs: total and new cases, deaths per day, mortality and recovery rates, current active cases, recoveries, trends and timeline.

www.worldometers.info

It’s annoying to compare but this site has deaths by day and if you click on the line on the graph it will show you the total deaths at that time.

 

[SpongeBob brown shoes]

Not sure on your job obviously but the company I've been doing a bit of freelancing for this week have been told to stop.

My cousins have both been stopped too.

Seems most companies are.

I work for a civils firm in Liverpool who have been told to close there sites (street works schemes for LCC) tomorrow, but apparently are sending everyone to a different job as it'll be classed as key workers (still for LCC) some firms are just finding little loopholes

 

[roydo]

Yeh the calls for UBI – it just wouldn't work, would it?

Look, I'm nervous as hell now as to what I'm going to get. Not because I haven't been paying my tax (I have) but because that doesn't include a huge increase in my earnings from what in the last year has gone from a part-time job to a full-time one.

But I can't see UBI as being fair. I don't know how you could possibly just say - here's £1.5k to live off (for example).

It also sets a dangerous precedent. The government paying everyone a set wage? Not for me. That's not socialism in my book, either...

I think the benefit levels for many should be higher, but thats just me. And like you, a UBI whilst seemingly an attractive idea just has so many flaws in its logic that it defeats the point of it.

Exhibit A being the minimum wage. Great idea, but probably keeps pay for many at, well, the minimum.

 

[ToffeeTim]

Yep I think he did say profits.

Also a bit confused as to this: 'When it comes to people who have only just begun working as self-employed, Rishi Sunak says they will look at whatever accounts they have to work out their entitlement'

I'm really confused.

As I've said, I've been filing my returns for the last few years but the majority was as part-time self-employed - basically I kept freelancing while working my other job. Paid PAYE for that and then self-assessment for the freelancing.

I've been freelancing full time for a year and am going from a healthy wage to nothing overnight through no fault of my own (as a lot of people have).

I'm trying my best to look for work and don't expect the gov to fund me forever but my wage now is not comparable to the wage I had before when I also had another, main source of income.

I just don't get it and am now extremely worried as to what I'm going to have by the end of it.

Not being funny, I think I'll be lucky to even be hitting the 'have to pay tax at all' bracket (is that about £11k?) this year as things stand. It's horrid and I'm not sure it can be considered 'fair' that a person loses out because they haven't been self-employed for three years.

I'd say the first bit means that if someone only has 2 years of self assessment, they'll be happy to take average of two years. Or maybe they'll ask for some figures this tax year as its basically over. To be honest the finer points probably haven't been ironed out yet and the revenue will get some input into the practicalities.

You only pay income tax (20%) on earnings over 12.5k. NIC threshold for self employed (9%) is about 9k but cant remember exact amount. So you could end up getting a lump sum with not much deducted based on what you're saying.

It's hard to know at this stage because this was always gonna be a very complex thing to put in place and its needed quickly. Hopefully they publish clearer guidance soon. But in theory the self employed who have been paying Income Tax and NIC under self assessment should be getting some sort of payment backdated to beginning of march.

 

[BlueToff]

I think the benefit levels for many should be higher, but thats just me. And like you, a UBI whilst seemingly an attractive idea just has so many flaws in its logic that it defeats the point of it.

Exhibit A being the minimum wage. Great idea, but probably keeps pay for many at, well, the minimum.

I agree. UC is pitiful for many (though if you have a family to provide for the new measures will help - albeit they're ridiculously long-winded).

 

[edge]

On top of their wages? Instead of their wages? As a top up to their wages? Not quite as easy as it sounds. Think they have done ok myself. Not brilliant, but ok.

On top mate , just to make it easy to do, and people will just spend it anyway.
So it would help the economy once it's ok to be out and about.

 

[Deleted member 48881]

most right winger folks I know think all this is way overrated by media and powerful lobbies, I hope it is just a coincidence.

 

[BlueToff]

I'd say the first bit means that if someone only has 2 years of self assessment, they'll be happy to take average of two years. Or maybe they'll ask for some figures this tax year as its basically over. To be honest the finer points probably haven't been ironed out yet and the revenue will get some input into the practicalities.

You only pay income tax (20%) on earnings over 12.5k. NIC threshold for self employed (9%) is about 9k but cant remember exact amount. So you could end up getting a lump sum with not much deducted based on what you're saying.

It's hard to know at this stage because this was always gonna be a very complex thing to put in place and its needed quickly. Hopefully they publish clearer guidance soon. But in theory the self employed who have been paying Income Tax and NIC under self assessment should be getting some sort of payment backdated to beginning of march.

Thanks mate, appreciate the advice.

I'll just have to wait and see. Very worried but I am confident I am at least entitled to something, which will help. But obviously it's a big difference between a part-time job and a full-time one in terms of income/profit.

 

[GwladysBlue]

The amount of bellends recording videos of themselves to attention seek is unbearable lately.

 

[roydo]

I agree. UC is pitiful for many (though if you have a family to provide for the new measures will help - albeit they're ridiculously long-winded).

We had a brush with UC a while back, and it took me 5 minutes to realise that earning the massive (sic) amount I did rendered it pointless. How on earth folk who need it survive god only knows.

 

[roydo]

On top mate , just to make it easy to do, and people will just spend it anyway.
So it would help the economy once it's ok to be out and about.

So a bloke on £60000 gets it?