Britain is living through the best time ever

Moby

Mistermeaner wrote: »

Yes it's not perfect - show me somewhere better, present or past

Health service is a state but life expectancy continues to rise?

Prisoners are not treated well boo hoo hoo

Housing provision for the poor and benefit claimants in London is poor? Then move out of London, free up the housing the working commuters and come and live in a northern council estate. The working owners will then improve their own houses and estates.

We have some of the best FREE cancer treatment in the world and I speak from personal experience - where is better and FREE?

The high street is suffering true - that's because peoples shopping habits have changed in pursuit of cheaper goods: should we subsidise town centre retailers?

I'm sorry your losing your job. I've had to reapply for my own job 3 times in my 10 year career to date - they kept me each time cos im good, others weren't so lucky. That's life - should all jobs be guaranteed for life?

Some Kid's will always if I bad role models - what on earth is that to do with anything? Maybe if prison wasn't so nice it would put more wannabe gangsters off

You seem detached from reality, not me. Have you ever been to India, or Africa? Or USA for that matter? Or France? Or eastern Europe? Or Russia, or south America?

If you think it's bad here you really have no idea

Aside from all that what is your plan to deal with all this - I can guess it involves lots of public money? Where should this money come from?

Since you asked........IMO France, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, Australia, Canada. I personally think Costa Rica is a really special place to live as well. ....but direct comparisons are pointless. No I'm not losing my job....but colleagues are and I was thinking of them. Yes I've been all over the world including Africa and India.....I wouldn't view comparisons as valid of course. Regarding the role models point I was talking about life chances and how the lack of opportunity affects social mobility. We are generally a class ridden highly stratified country IMO. I view the way we treat prisoners as a sign of civilisation and decency. 'Boo hoo hoo' as a social policy is hard to respond to but perhaps that was your intention. Of course right thinking people would agree that the increasing suicide rate is a serious concern. Likewise NHS services are deteriorating badly recently and that is something which matters to me a lot. You may have had a good experience but sadly many don't and I was thinking of them.
I simply don't recognise the picture painted by the article and got the impression the person writing it was also slightly muddled becase they finished it by saying.......... 'Our industrial production could improve, our dependence on imports to be weakened but one thing is for certain, it isn't all that bad'....well it ain't all that good either IMO and that's accepting her terms of reference! I wouldn't tend to define value in such simplistic terms anyway!

Thrugelmir

antrobus wrote: »

When all else fails; copy and paste.:rotfl:

Timely reminder of all Brown's (and Blair's) failed policies that now need sorting out.

Moby

CLAPTON wrote: »

so basically the worst thing about the UK is that we don't treat convicted criminals to large handouts (is that a thank for robbing some old lady and ruining her last few year?).


you need to get some perspective both by comparison with the rest of the world and 20-30 years ago.

Thoughtful precis of my views as always from Clapton our own resident Scots basher. Nothing new there. By the way part of my job has been protecting that 'old lady' as you so eloquently put it.

CLAPTON

Moby wrote: »

Thoughtful precis of my views as always from Clapton our own resident Scots basher. Nothing new there. By the way part of my job has been protecting that 'old lady' as you so eloquently put it.

your view are 100% predicated on your mindless dislike of the tories and have nothing to do with the daily reality in this country.

ess0two

Moby wrote: »

The health service is in a right state, especially mental health/drug/alcohol services. Did you look at the latest start of treatment after cancer diagnosis figures....how poor they are? I saw a man yesterday released from prison with nothing and nowhere to go. I said where is your bag and he said I don't have one. All I have is what I'm wearing! This happens most weeks. Our prisons are an absolute disgrace, (you been inside one recently?). I go most weeks 'cause of my job.....so I know! Housing provision in London for those on benefits or low pay is very very poor. I visited my home town where I come from originally. It's full of boarded up shops and pound shops....very depressing! Regarding my job ....we have been told we are losing our employment, education support because of cutbacks and 600 of my colleagues in different parts of the country are being made redundant.
It's always the same....the well heeled and the insulated from reality types see the world differently....until misfortune hits that is. They think 'cause I'm alright jack' everything is fine and if it isn't it's because you need to get of your backside and work for it.....same old simplistic tosh. Things happen to people that they have no power over like serious illness, like abuse. Not everybody is born with well adjusted role model parents....so should they just get off their backs anyway....what if the only role models they have is the local gang leader and the only way of making their dosh is by being a runner for him? An article written for a business mag. by someone who looks about 12 does not represent reality in the UK today. It's puerile to think otherwise.

Perhaps we could put prisoners up in hotels, heaven forbid they come across some hardship inside.

Running_Horse

I lost my job a few years back. It was unnerving, upsetting, and a real challenge while entering middle age. What did I do? I went out and found a better one. It was not easy and possibly unfair, but who ever said life was easy and fair? A hundred years ago you would have been put in the workhouse. Today you are looked after by the welfare state. Why do you think so many risk their lives to move to this country?

Sapphire

Running_Horse wrote: »

Why do you think so many risk their lives to move to this country?

I was just going to say the same thing. Many people living in Britain seem to be oblivious to the poverty and deprivation both of our (quite recent) past, and that of the majority of the world, like Africa. The latter is a key region involved in mass attempts to migrate from poor countries to Western Europe, and particularly to the most affluent countries like Britain. The ability to view how people live in northern Europe via the Internet, which wasn't possible until quite recently, has contributed greatly to migrants' conceptions of how we live. (In passing, I think this is an issue which needs tackling urgently and decisively, at UN level, instead of the sleepwalking, head-in-the-sand way it is being not dealt with at the moment – and the answer is certainly not to spread around an unending number of migrants throughout Europe, in my view.)

BobQ

mayonnaise wrote: »

http://uk.businessinsider.com/why-britain-is-living-through-the-best-era-ever-uk-economy-jobs-housing-2015-8

Have a great weekend, fellow MSE'ers. Enjoy the good times. :beer:

I think the point that is not made clear is that SOME of us are living this dream but many are not. But if your a rich journalist what do you care about those who are not living in your world.

Moby

BobQ wrote: »

I think the point that is not made clear is that SOME of us are living this dream but many are not. But if your a rich journalist what do you care about those who are not living in your world.

I thought I had quite eloquently...... but those who think with their wallets, which I fully accept make up the majority on here, see things differently. Here's Owen Jones take on many of the issues:-
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/aug/14/right-to-buy-scheme-disaster-housing

Moby

Running_Horse wrote: »

I lost my job a few years back. It was unnerving, upsetting, and a real challenge while entering middle age. What did I do? I went out and found a better one. It was not easy and possibly unfair, but who ever said life was easy and fair? A hundred years ago you would have been put in the workhouse. Today you are looked after by the welfare state. Why do you think so many risk their lives to move to this country?

Totally accept what you say but do you think because you could do it..... everybody could/should/ is in a position to? Is it really that simple for you? Besides I think the move from the workhouse to the welfare state was a great achievement of the left ...don't you......... and we should protect it wouldn't you agree?
Surely people come here looking for a better life and to escape places like Syria. Are you saying I should be grateful for the fact that I don't live in Syria?