To think wales is a huge problem that no one ever talks about?

[Cocklodger]

Right now Theresa May is cracking down on no win no fee solicitors
Mainly south Wales, in particular the valleys.
Back years ago when the mines were shut down rightfully there was nothing left to replace it. Nothing at all, it killed thousands of jobs, which was to be expected, but in exchange there was no new businesses, no back ups, nothing. And it's only gotten worse since, poverty is high, benefit claimants are quite common
Public transport is awful to say the least and if you can't commute to Cardiff by some means, you're screwed, most can't afford cars and if you're in a public transport black spot then you're severely limited to warehouse operative positions which have over 100 applicants in one to three days. Meanwhile house prices in Cardiff are rising, I think in 40 years we will have a new London.
In the valleys most looks grey, worn out and pretty dead to be honest. Where I live there are a few car dealerships and a train station, which is more like a bus stop with tracks next to it than an actual station and the nearest station with people actually manning the booths is pontypridd (45mins away by train) I spent years working as a volunteer for an agency that helps people with problems (poverty related) such as MH issues, finding work, food bank referrals and the like. I saw it every single day, people wanting to work but seldom getting anywhere.
There are articles and documentaries about it, but I never see them talked bout on here or elsewhere really, aibu to think that Wales is a big problem that no one really talks about?

Not sure hoe relevant this is but on the deprivation calculator on Wales online my area is 189th most deprived out of 1909 areas. My friend who lives not 15 mins away, her area is 1499th so much less deprived. I'm shocked - amazing to think theres such a big contrast between the Two especially when we use the same shops, schools, gyms etc. Not sure what my point is, just that it's shocking things Can be so different when they're so close. The biggest difference was education - my area much lower than hers. But we all go to the same schools really so it goes to show how much a postcode influences your future - especially when there's such a vast difference between two places so close. Sad to think my friends brother is statistically more likely to do better in school than my cousin the same age based purely on where they live.

The Sutton Trust has data on the wages of graduates from different courses and different university types.

If you are from a state school, average wages are higher for media studies graduates than English and History graduates.

Red rag to a bull... I'm delurking on this thread just to support classics and history education. And I suppose English as well (always been a bit dubious about that one).

These are art-and-culture degrees which used to lead directly into art, culture, educational type jobs - libraries, museums, schools, publishing, journalism and so on. Interestingly it is art, culture, education which define a civilization more than anything else, and art, culture and education is where technology cannot replace humans. Odd then that they are all under attack. On the one hand it is recognised that we need more creative types as technology takes over, so why destroy the structures on which they depend?

There is an unfortunate side effect of classical education, which is that it teaches you to think. They depend on critical analysis. In the current world with dominant big business interests are apparently trying (doesn't matter whether it is deliberate or not, the effect is there) to turn us all into unthinking blindly consuming mouths we need such things more than ever. We urgently need to grapple with questions around control of resources and their distribution, freedom, and equality - all issues that the classical Greeks knew very well. Sticking your head in the sand and pretending these issues do not affect you or will go away is the kind of behaviour that is leading to the breakup of our country and encouraging instability throughout our world at the moment.

Economically these areas used to make a huge contribution to the economy collectively, far more than they cost. Their reduction is a huge financial loss and one reason why our economy is breaking and shrinking.

3 reasons for a start. It is Monday morning or I would hopefully be more articulate about it.

Perhaps I need an English degree . Sorry for derail.

In reality you are asking for permanent and massive subsidy to allow people to live in a place which hasn't got the means to support them. That might be preferable to towns and villages emptying like they did in Norfolk from the 1790s, in California and Vancouver after the gold ran out, in rural Sicily from the 1960s, in Texas as oil has run out, Detroit in the 1990s, in central Spain since the late 1970s, in Buffalo NY, New Orleans and East Poland now. But what that handful of examples shows is that the norm is for populations to move on. If we want to do it differently, richer parts of the country will have to accept that they are going to have to pay for it.

I think this point is key, and why the citizen's wage has been discussed (and even had a referendum on in Switzerland) in certain quarters. In a post-industrial economy there will not be jobs for everyone. Even lower-ranking professional jobs (legal work, accountancy) will become obsolete apparently.

There was an enthusiastic article in The New Yorker about the citizen's wage, but failed to address one big problem - the jobs no one wants to do. If I had a citizen's wage there is no way on earth I'd shift my arse to go and work in a care home, or drive round people's houses to do care work. Fil is in a care home in a town of high unemployment. Can they find staff? Oh, no. They offer good conditions and pay a very good hourly rate, but still can't find staff. In fact most of the staff are older women (past retirement age) and some Eastern Europeans. The matron was telling me that nothing will induce working age people in the town to take a care job.

The solution for physical jobs no one wants to do is to recreate the notion of compulsory service. In the medieval period it was service to lords, in the post-war period we had national service. You might be able to find people who want the more social/ emotional angles of, eg care work, once we ditch the current approach of work harder and harder for less and less reward and give people more space and time free of stress. Education is key too.

The solution to the problem is to elect a conservative assembly in Cardiff, they are great at creating jobs. Having Labour in control for twenty years is decimating the country.

that's an interesting idea. Perhaps everyone has to work one/two years in a care home as a citizen of a country. It used to be the destination of conscientious objectors, after all. Incidentally a high security home for the mentally ill has had to close nearby for lack of any staff.

mathsthe tories have never done fuck all for Wales at any period

I'm not sure that the Tories even know where Wales is.

Only its not the Tories that run the wales assembly.

Maths are you just trying to goad? The thatcher and major governments caused massive problems in Wales.

I personally am glad the Tories aren't popular in Wales. Look how they fucked us over in the 80s, were still suffering the repercussions. There's plenty of people still around now who suffered through the miners strike, my family included, and I'd hate to have an entirely conservative Welsh assembly. It's bad enough that they rule the country without them ruining Wales again.

Having Labour in control for twenty years is decimating the country.
Am heartily amused that someone with Maths in their user name uses the word 'decimate' i.e. to decrease by a tenth or 10%, where 'destroy' would probably have done better. It's a pleasingly mathematical approach!

National service would be tantamount to forcing people into care jobs against their will.

The traditional solution to attract potential employees is to offer higher wages...

I confess if i was welsh and had spent many years (albeit not much money, sorry it still erks that my kids pay 9k a year) getting a degree to do a professional job, i'd be pretty pissed off if i was made to work in a care home for a few years as part of some government scheme. I think the old people would be too, as i can't imagine anyone likely to be worse at the job than me.

This would only work if we re-introduced National Service, and gave COs the option of Community Service. I must admit, I am surprised that the Tories haven't got this policy on their list of things to do - because they are trying to go back to the golden days of the 1950s.

I would feel very sorry for the elderly people being subjected to that 'care' from people conscripted into it

Care for elderly people now is extremely hit and miss.

Caring is one of those jobs where you need to like doing it, it's not just for the money good job as they're paid peanuts. I dread to think what the standard of care would be like if people were forced into doing it; it's not like a checkout job, people rely on carers for their everyday needs. My mother's a carer and the ones who go into it because they just want money never last very long. It's not a job you do for the sake of having a job, like McDonalds or Tesco could be. It wouldn't be fair on anyone, the elderly people being looked after and the young people forced to do a job they hated for 'the experience'

"The solution for physical jobs no one wants to do is to recreate the notion of compulsory service."

Hell no, the solution is to pay more money for them.

Its easy to blame Thatcher for problems in Wales but unless you think we should be sending men down mines is a good thing in the 21st century then it had to happen. Wales gets more money per head than England does so its wrong to say 'nothing has been done for wales'.

I don't disagree with closing the miners as such, more that the main earner here was taken away and nothing really put back in it's place. Life down the mines was tough definitely and had there been an alternative great, but at least then people were able to get work when they left school, it's not the same now. It's not jst a problem unique to Wales though.

Uh? Can you name a place in "The Valleys" that has no public transport to Cardiff?? I live at the very top of the Rhondda Valley and can catch a train or bus to Cardiff every half hour. I'm not sure what your OP is about??

Purple-
Fair few anecdotes on this thread, of course 8/10 (ime) some kind of service will run, doesn't mean it's reliable, easy to get to or more frequent than every few hours, so you spend ££££ on trains to get to Cardiff or a similar city (Swansea for example), or you use your car. But if you're unemployed sometimes you don't have the £££ to get there by bus or train, so you're fucked. And if by chance you have a good JC advisor that helps you get there for the first month, you may find it a struggle to get anywhere with jobs for even a 9-5 job let alone rota'd shifts or nights. Lots of hurdles and that's without the "you'll never deserve better than a menial job" mentality.