To think the country is b*gg*r*d, and life as we once knew it is over?

[RejectedFleece]

Just that really.

The market will completely change in this respect, because labour will gain more leverage given the dwindling automation prospects and the need to have what few workers we have look after the population that needs such care.

No more middle managers earning six figures or influencers and bankers getting massive money and prestige. It will have to shift, by necessity, to the roles actually needed.

Yes (now live in London).

Actually that is because I left school 5 minutes before things got better and staying was an option!

This

Liebig you are quite wondrously naive.

I think part of this is because of what work has become. In the 25 years I've been in the workforce, lots has changed.

Being expected to work significant unpaid overtime used to be (relatively) confined to senior jobs; that's not the case any more. Expectations of employees have increased enormously in most industries.

20-30 years ago, if you were working full time in a skilled or professional role, you could expect a good standard of living; that's not the case any more.

People aren't sick of working, they are sick or being worked to the bone, treated like shit, and still not earning enough to live comfortably. People are utterly ground down by how they are treated by this neoliberal/capitalist society.

Most people just want to do work that interests them, clock off at a reasonable hour, and earn enough for a few luxuries as well as their basic needs.

Indulge me. How so?

We as a country have been here before and life goes on. We willbe be here again in the future too. Get over yourself or take a chill pill. Such a non problem when you look at the rest of the world!

The rest of the world is going the Sri Lanka route sooner than we are, sure.

But if you think the UK's economy will survive when we primarily based it on services no one will soon afford and importing a chunk of resources we need, then we won't be too far behind.

Yes what @Octomore said

But those problems elsewhere have a knock on effect here as well. As the climate catastrophe hits, the mass movement of people from the worst affected areas will affect all of us in Northern Europe. And we won't be immune from direct negative effects either.

Also, I don't think it's valid to compare the UK to the worst places in the world. We should aspire to more than that, and it isn't unreasonable not to want the UK to go backwards.

The available workforce will either be worked to the bone or 'encouraged' to do the jobs that were previously done by immigrants and seasonal workers.

We need nurses, CSWs, HCAs, baggage handlers, food processors, crop pickers, carers, domestic cleaners and hundreds of other essential roles.

Technologically, we're backwards, with any electronic parts having to be imported, mainly from China

We are almost entirely dependent on imports for manufacturing, retail and food.

We are facing shortages of food, fuel and raw materials, lack the capacity to deal with those shortages and yet, we're churning out debt loaded graduates who expect good jobs and a certain standard of living and we're expecting to get pay rises and promotions because we're working so hard.

We are sleep-walking into a crisis we have never known the like of before.

Yeah, let's all take a chill pill while the planet burns 😫

All of this, plus the climate crisis, is exactly why the OP is correct. Things aren't going to be the same again, because some of these changes are irreversible.

For all the technology we now have, all the riches in the world, I feel bitter that I am worse off today than I was 20 years ago. Granted, I could go back to working in the city, could command a bigger wage, and maybe spending less time with my family will eventually become inevitable but at my age, I didn’t think I’d be in this position. I don’t care about foreign holidays or new cars, and haven’t for a long time, but I worry about my children, about eating good food because the longer term health consequences will otherwise be dire. But I look around and I feel the country is already bankrupt, local councils can dress up the overgrown verges and parks as ‘rewilding’ but I don’t see bees and/or insects inhabiting these areas, I look at the deteriorating road surfaces all around and feel sad, the relentless closure of local services that once relied on council funding, the growing number of people experiencing mental health crisis, the level of homelessnesses, the growing mental health crisis amongst young children… all I hear from the government is that they need to get on with the job, but what is the f*cking job? Do they even know? Levelling up is a farce, IMHO it’s simply an excuse to make those living north of Watford pay as much as those living south of Watford. Meanwhile the South East is apparently running out of drinking water, but house building on every inch of green space continues in that same area! More houses mean more school places are required… yet, take a look at the recruitment situation in schools, and that too is dire. I don’t even know how we start to unpick this, but I would start with decreasing the amount of duty on petrol and diesel and increasing income tax so that it’s much more proportionate - it’s insane that someone earning £100k a year is paying the same rate of fuel duty as someone earning £18k a year

Just been reading about the windrush immigration policy who helped to rebuild Britain post war and were not treated well by their hosts.

We forget what a mess we were in after the war. We manufactured back then

Or on some serious drugs, thats the only conclusion I can come to

@Liebig your post on page 6 was spot on

Climate change is the scariest to me, we are going to be one of the last generations of humans to live on earth, which is an incredible thought. It also frightens me that nothing seems to have been learned from the pandemic in terms of how humans interact with nature, so another is inevitable at some point, just got to hope it's less transmissible or not more deadly.

What a zinger.

Anything you want to actually add?

this makes me feel better, in in my first 'economic turmoil period' as an adult and I'm just about ready to quit and revert back to being a child again.

The UK is in permanent decline. We have the lowest growth rate in the G7 and this will continue for quite some time.

It is without question that we will all be considerably poorer in the years to come.

Not in UK, but Aus is in a similar position. I wouldn't call it buggered, but when I look at the situation, it is more difficult..... for some. The wealth gap is widening.

The high income earners, those in in-demand roles who are getting huge incentives, or who own in premium property locations are doing just fine. The interest rate rises just annoy them. Those who earn less & have property less valuable are struggling more each week.

Life will never be the same though. We love to travel. It's costing us almost the same for a basic drive to the beach for a week trip in September (not highest peak) as two weeks flying interstate with car hire, etc. in 2019. Accomodation cost is eye-watering now. Savvy travel bargains just don't exist anymore & attractions are just too expensive. The overseas holiday cancelled due to the pandemic will never get taken.

Luckily I'm returning to work after a chronic illness shortly. Except most of my wage will go in after school & holiday care, which has also increased.

There have been civilisation collapses before. Most have involved or been caused by local ecological collapses. Some humans survived and started the whole damn mess over again without learning anything.

We will not be the last generation of humans, although there will no doubt be a population collapse.

The people who would express grief about Brexit are not the same people who want things to continue as they are.

Totally disagree.

Nothing would piss of the remoaners more than things turning around and people deciding Brexit wasn't such a bad move after all.

Quite. This isn't an extinction level event unless we get hothouse in a way that makes the place go full on Venus.

But it does mean the end of large, technological civilisation. In fact, given the agrarian requirement for any civilisation and the impact losing fossil fuels and mechanisation means, along with global weirding for growing seasons, then the writing is on the wall for all civs.