To think the UK is in terminal decline

I've been wondering about this too.

Another thought is...prisoners. There are approximately 95,000 prisoners in the UK and each prison place costs around £51K per year. That adds up to nearly £5 billion per year, which is about 10% of what we spend on defence. I do wonder if somebody will decide that savings can be made by reintroducing the death penalty, in years to come.

It all feels rather dystopian.

I disagree. When I compare my quality of life to that of my mother at the same age mine is 100 times better, and she would agree. Example - My premature twins are finishing University this year, that would never have happened 50 years ago. They would have been lucky to survive, let alone thrive.

There is a huge negativity bias here. I feel very hopeful.

But if you check the figures, the number of asylum seekers (who are presumably who you mean as people from 'the backwards third world') in the past year was under 100,000. So that's not a million? Assuming we have a 'constant stream' of them, it would take 10 years before there were a million, let alone millions, plural.

The press are whipping up hatred without furnishing people with the actual facts.

Me and DH were talking about this just last night. We don't think we will ever get to fully retire not able to save anywhere near enough for a decent retirement even though compared to many we have a high income (although we get thrashed again and again with both personal and corporation tax). We just came to the decision that instead of putting away for ourselves we just have to understand our old age will be crap and to invest as much as we can into our kids to give them as much of a headstart in adulthood as we can as we know it will be even worse for them. We've also resigned ourselves to the fact it's now probably too late for us to move to another country and start again although we do have qualifications that could transfer. We know our kids will probably have to leave us and move in order to improve their chances of a better life. The UK is an absolute dump now and I worry about my kids having to struggle in the future.

The "employer" was the municipality... litter picking, street-sweeping, etc. The supervisors were city employees.

🙄

Do you think it's sustainable to have a constant stream of random.people from oversras being put up in hotels before ushered into government funded permanent accommodation, many of them then bringing over extended family? Nonenkf whom have any skills, many including even basic language skills? Personally I'd say it wasn't..

I thought "underclass" meant that you're only income was state benefits, unless you're retired.

"Underclass" doesn't mean working class. It means feckless, criminal, no intention of working, etc etc. Sounds like you come from a hard working working class background. Nothing at all wrong with that. Most people do.

This is a disgusting comment!

I probably was bought up in what you’d define an “underclass” environment - single family, benefits, free school meals….I’ve done well for myself, got GCSEs, A Levels and a first class degree from a middle class uni….

Now earning more than my family combined, about to buy a home with my partner who works on a lower wage….without no family help.

Other male relatives in my family were born poor but they have worked in trades…

Class isn’t a determinant of how well a child can do, I know plenty of people who were born in MC families and work on minimum wage. Plus what if a child who came from an affluent family but has severe SEN needs which requires 24/7 care?

But they made choices, to work part time and retire young. If they had made different choices there could be some inheritance for you. Not saying they were wrong but that's the outcome.

And why would employers pay a wage when they could get someone for free

I'm pretty sure that "workfare" was tried as a substitute for welfare. Only for "employment-ready" people, of course. It was not successful. The same issues that make it difficult for some people to hold a job. Absenteeism, lateness, long breaks, all kinds of reasons for getting time off.. medical appointment, job search/interview, family problems. As far as I remember, the program was abandoned after a few months.

letting in the backwards third world in the millions

😂'the backwards third world' - who exactly is that?

'in their millions'? Where's the source for that?

If we continue pandering to the super rich and letting in the backwards third world in the millions then yes, the current government are trying to turn it around but it's now the equivalent of backpeddling a swanboat that's hurtling towards the edge of a huge waterfall

Idk whether I’d be for it I haven’t given it much thought. I’m sure there are downsides as you say.

I do wish the litter issue was resolved even if another way.

Isnt that also used as punishment for minor crimes here (UK ) though The danger is "well ive done the punishment so now im going to commit the crime"

And would this include parents or just the child free unemployed

For the first time in my almost 60 years of life, I was on a very busy street and unwanted, the thought popped into my mind that we humans are vermin. I'm not using that word as an insult, but as a description. We are breeding unchecked and consuming and destroying everything. That's how it seems to me.

I doubt we’d do the same but I’d say litter rather than leaves and snow. We have way too much and it’s depressing to see.

Where I come from (small town, EU country) the unemployed are gathered at 7 am on the road, given brooms and gloves, and told to clear up the leaves/the snow from the pavement.You don't show up - you are crossed out from the list (the unemployment benefit, free access to health services, etc.)

@Crapola25 you wrote 10,000 francs a month! That's a lot of unemployment benefit

Im 51 Im childfree by choice. In the 1990s i could see where things were going. Women being told we could have it all Not all of us fell for it. Some of us could see that having it all really meant DOING it all and acted accordingly

I don't support assisted dying, but sadly, I fear it will be introduced through economic necessity, dressed up as respecting people's autonomy

I agree

If state pension is amalgamated with private pension you won't need a fixed retirement age. It will be up to a person to take it when they have sufficient funds. I.e taking personal responsibility for their own financial situation.

Wages need to rise and wages vs house prices need to be more in line as people don't have enough left over to save for a decent retirement.

I don't support assisted dying, but sadly, I fear it will be introduced through economic necessity, dressed up as respecting people's autonomy

And then expanded more widely, as happened with abortion. Legislation only allows termination in very limited circumstances www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1967/87/section/1 In practice, it's become the woman's right to choose. This may be a good thing and I know that no one goes down this route lightly. But the legislation is not rigorously applied

If / when they start "assisted dying" older people in poor health, then the economy will improve. It terrifies me, frankly