When will things go back to being not shit?

[Intheclub]

In 2019, everything seemed happier. We were prosperous (on the whole and certainly more than compared to now) and because of that the economy grew. Putting the heating on when it was cold or going out for a meal once in a while was something that was totally normal for the majority. Of course, that isn’t to say there was no poverty and everything was perfect in 2019 - far from it- but it was significantly better than what we have now. There seemed to be far more joy in life, people seemed happier and less worried.

There has since then been two very traumatic crisis - the pandemic and the cost of living. I honestly dread to think the effect this will have on “Gen Z” teens as well as young kids with a worldwide disease meaning they can’t have natural childhood experiences and then (for many) their family struggling to afford even basic essentials.

I don’t know if this is everyone’s experience but I can certainly say that within my own group of friends it’s so depressing. Half of them never want to do anything, usually because of money or after covid they just can’t be bothered. Many of my friends are also struggling with their mental health.

It honestly feels like 2019 was the end of some kind of “golden age” and I honestly don’t see a way of getting back there any time soon. I suspect it will take another generation to come through before the impacts of this all stop having such a strain on the world.

Aibu to ask when, if ever, things will stop being so crap?

Do you think politicians drive most policies that come about? Especially as most are only "in post" for a few months these days.

I envisage that they turn up on Day 1 and the civil servants say "These are the policies etc for the next few years, you have to give a speech tonight on X, here it is."

The politician might want to tweak presentation or colours of logos and grab some soundbite headlines, but I wonder if they can do much to influence the direction of such a big machine.

No. Brexit was a symptom of a problem, not the problem. Prosperity has been declining per capita in the West for decades.

And will likely continue to do so as:

• Inverting population curve (more old vs less working)
• Higher energy prices - energy IS the economy and prosperity. Everything is a derivative of energy
• Other countries/everyone being less and less inclined to accept western currencies - given that we keep printing more, going into more debt and produce less and less that people can swap it for.

yes but things have declined pretty rapidly in the UK since leaving the EU. And the UK will continue to experience a quicker rate of decline if things stay as they are.

This. Your attitude and approach to life have a major impact on your dcs.

Being all gloomy, rather than enjoying every day that the sun rises and you are together, is down to you, not to the general situation.

There is nothing stopping you from going for a Christmas walk with friends, or holding a film night together. The dcs are off school, now is the time to have some fun, even if that fun is the less expensive kind.

Well there are politicians who do drive their own agenda. Like Boris pushed net zero a lot because Carrie is a big supporter of it. i agree with net zero but it was also remarkable how the next PM, Liz Truss would have backtracked on a lot of it if she had kept her job. Rishi Sunak is definitely more lukewarm about net zero compared to Boris.

Gove was quite good on the cladding scandal for example.

Personally I think things are going to get much worse next year to the extent that we'll be looking back on these past few years with envy.

The Ukraine war can only escalate and Climate change is having an increasingly disastrous impact.

Happy New Year indeed.

I keep up to date with world affairs but I consciously don't let them consume me. I concentrate on simple joys like a picture my child has drawn or an unexpectedly delicious hot chocolate on a cold day. I make sure we are warm, fed and loved and anything extra is a bonus. I know I am lucky to be able to manage those three things.

I once heard something like "The aim is to live a perfect life in an imperfect world"

I don't believe that 'life is what you make it.' There are too many external factors that influence our lives. Strikes, the cost of living, especially energy bills, a failing NHS, the effects of Brexit. None of us can ignore these and they all have a negative impact on us.

They certainly were. In fact they started being shit in 2010.

First to industrialise, first to fall. Everyone else is just a little further back on the curve. Brexit just made a lot of things that were already apparent in the northern towns I grew up in, more obvious to those in the more prosperous areas. Yay egalitarianism.

Jacob rees mogg says in about 30 years but that assumed that we are not overcome by climate change, the capitalist system still works and UK investors can still make money from (exploiting) poorer nations. It is also likely that he means the UK GDP will recover but not that the wealth will be redistributed so it is unlikely he means there will be a good standard of living for ordinary people.

Walk requires warm coats and sturdy shoes. Also requires food for energy and not working too long hours. Film night requires electricity for the TV and video or dvd player or internet and money to pay for dvd netflix etc subscription or BBC licence and to make it really pleasant snacks and heating for the living room

This sounds so sad. that even simple pleasures are denied to so many.

I'd agree with you there.

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Stop wallowing and take action to make yourself happy.

I can make the most of every day and be positive for my children but also think that life in the UK has got harder generally - even if we personally have had upturns.

I think many things will be even harder for our kids - getting on property ladder - finding permeant work and climbing up to higher paid jobs as ladder - having education debts and I'm not sure NHs will be there throughout their lifetimes.

My parents and IL face touch times in their lives - but it was much easier to get on housing ladder and at younger ages I found it bloody annoying older relatives who dismissed this and ignore huge deposits needed now or high rents making it harder to save.

I think things started to decline in 2008. We bailed out the banks, they got away with fraud scot free, and since then corruption has run rampant and the gap between rich and poor has widened considerably. This was exacerbated greatly in the last two years which saw the greatest transfer of wealth in history.

That's not my experience in my friendship circle. We rarely talk about the cost of living or covid and we are working class families. I'm surprised when the gas runs out so quickly or I notice a big jump in price at the supermarket but that's about the height of it for me. My husband worries about money more that I do but we have had different upbringings so I think that's probably why.

24th July 2024

Yours
Nostradamus

Humanity as a species as a whole has been living far beyond the means of the planet for a long time. We have had it very very good for the last couple of centuries (as a whole species, not on an individual level). And we can't keep doing that forever, it is literally not sustainable. We've had the party, now we're starting to realise the bill is coming due.

Yes. God I wish I could go back to the 80s!

Watching some cheesy 80s movies the other day and the backdrop, the freedom of thought and expression, the interaction.

Miss it seriously. I don't see things improving in terms that matter:

In the 80's we had 3 choices of social housing. My parents actually had looked at 5 when they needed to move. Now you wait years and years for 1.

In the 80s I could turn up to my GP and wait as much as 2 hours. But I'd see one. And it wasn't impossible to get a home visit. The GP knew my family and my medical history intimately.....Now I have a series of rotating doctors who don't know me at all except fleetingly and I have serious allergies, need an epi-pen and can't even get a telephone appointment despite trying for 2 months. And a hospital appointment is 9 months wait.

Politicians had more ethics and were still relatable. You didn't leave university burdened with huge debt. You didn't pay your whole wage for a private one room flat share solely to help someone pay their mortgage.

Gas, electricity, water and transport were affordable

In the 80s people still knew what a woman was.

Things are crap and getting crappier. Technology improves but our lives don't improve at the same rate. Not in the ways that matter. Maybe it is for those in lower economic developing countries though. That might be better admittedly.

i'm in my mid 50's things were rubbish in early 70's strikes price rises no electric some nights , then things improved then there was a housing collapse in about 1993 and then things got better again there was another crash 2008-9 then the economy improved again
the markets and economy have cycled up and down for centuries it will get better but don't thing it will be next year
we have a few things at once, lockdown which had people being paid to not work so no productivity but money going out, an enormous amount of money was spent and there was nowhere near as much coming in, apparently the cost of lockdowns is something like 70,000 -100,000 or even more when you add on subsequent harms per person add on price rises world wide post pandemic ie cost of steel timber etc, prices have not dropped ( why would you sell 20 items for £10 when you could sell 10 items for £20 by reducing production)
add in a war and a fuel crisis which makes the cost of producing everything go up and then the cost of moving the goods go up ( there is no cap for energy prices in business)

add in post brexit the drive for net zero carbon etc and it's a triple quadruple storm