To overthrow our government

[DahliaRose3]

Another pay day, and another depressing financial month ahead. I’m fuming that our nursery costs are so high! No, I don’t want to have to cut back everything because I work a stressful job at 40+ hours a week and I want to enjoy my life at 40+ years old & the coffee & occasional weekend brunch I buy. I don’t have the option to cut back hours in my job.

My partner and I earn well on paper (for the first time in our lives we were getting ahead financially), but have next to nothing to show for it. No new clothing, nor fancy trips, nor fancy dates out. We aren’t flash. I genuinely worry about my pension, this deficit is contributing to the fact that I don’t own a home, or have decent savings.

How are we the British public standing for this extortion! We are being exploited as women, families, and the general public.

AIBU? We need to all stand together, and walk out. Strike! The parents, the grandparents filling in as free childcare, the nursery workers.

Don't even bother replying if you’re not in agreement at the absolute sh*t show of a set up!

This has nothing to do with being grateful, it’s an horrid potion that they’ve forced families into. Having a baby is for the wealthy, as many can’t even afford children.

I've never joined a party, unsync but yes to all of the others. I worked in local government for 20 years before getting out because the time and money-wasting was too exasperating.

if you look around the world at countries where the government has been overthrown or where power has changed hands by means other than the ballot box, you won’t find any great exemplars of robust public services and stable financial environments.

0sm0nthus, you're probably right but I'm sure there's a substantial element of monied/daddy-high-in-power/industry students who are destined for/end up, in politics. It's a long game. The people with money and power want to keep it - and increase it, managing what the rest of us have by whatever levers they choose.

That is also very true, GHSP.

OP 'Don't even bother replying if you’re not in agreement at the absolute sht show of a set up!*

Yeah, good luck with that 😁
'

I agree that childcare costs are too expensive. But it’s always been expensive, it’s not new information. People have always had to make sacrifices during the nursery years, you can’t expect to have the same level of income during these years. You’re 40+ and earning well. You must have know what childcare costs before you ttc, and you’ve had years to save for it. I’d rather not pay what we are currently paying for nursery, but we costed it up before we had DCs.

We need a rule that nobody is allowed to enter Parliament unless they have worked in a customer facing role, preferably low paid, at some point in their life. Too many politicians are born into wealth -> posh school -> oxbridge -> Parliament, never dipping a toe into the world the rest of us live in.

I don't know how to break this to you kindly @DahliaRose3 but for most of the people, most of the time, life is "nasty, brutish and short". It always has been; there was never a golden age. The bad bits have changed through history, but the last 60 years (which are the bits I have known) have mostly been uncertain and often precarious.

I’m really sorry to hear that, it is unfair. My heart genuinely breaks that we have elderly people (that don’t want to work) being forced to work, when they should be relaxing. It’s about taking people’s choices away.

I agree child care has always been expensive and back in 2000 when I used a nursery I was paying 600 per month, no funding. It was really tough as I think I only earned 900 but it got easier.

Just to be clear, do you want to overthrow the government, or lead a general strike?

If the former, you'll need the British Army, Police and MI5 on your side, and you must be quick to seize the ports, airports and to seize control of all forms of public communication.

If the latter, as you know there's no legal mechanism for a general strike, so your best bet is to persuade the TUC to ask all of its 48 member unions to ballot a strike simultaneously. My experience of my own union suggests this will take around 18 - 24 months or organise if you start now although I warn you it will be an uphill struggle with a number of competing interests.

Good luck, I shall follow your progress with interest and I look forward to reading of your successes!

The people with money and power want to keep it - and increase it, managing what the rest of us have by whatever levers they choose
I agree, it's a normal part of human nature to defend whatever assets territory resources you consider to be yours. The more power and money you have the greater your ability to do that. This is how power works, we need ways to mitigate the destructive effects of these things.

Me, and it's exhausting. Also depressing because politics at EVERY level is full of self-serving narcissistic twats.

I actually do think (OK, wish) the Tories could be banned from passing any new legislation now until they leave office - all they're doing is setting 'traps' for Labour which they think is hilarious and so clever, what a wizard wheeze! But unfortunately it's us poor mugs who'll be the ones paying the price, literally and metaphorically.

I started earning well the month before I went out on mat leave. Prior to that, life happened and without going into the details my finances took a serious hit, Covid happened…if I hadn’t had a raise I imagine I would be a stay at home mum rn.

No, I didn’t nor have I ever had a spare £36,000 lying around for childcare.

Actually, most of us were better off under Labour. The NHS functioned better for a start with waiting lists a tiny fraction of what they are now.

I’m not a fan of the current leader of the Labour Party but we tried a proper leftie (who’s opinions are rather centre left by European standards) and it didn’t work so we have to try something else. The current government are the most shambolic in (my) living memory and are screwing us over to benefit the 0.1%.

My brother works and lives abroad teaching. He has said that he's coming back in 2025 and wants to buy a house and settle down with the money he's made. He can't understand why I keep replying NO in massive capital letters on every message. He would get a much better standard of living in many countries of the world that's not the shit show of the UK at the moment.

Well why don't you become an MP and change things rather than just complaining?

I really don’t want to live in a country where governments are overthrown. Theres an election soon.

But is one of the reasons we are in this mess.

We have too many old people who were living into their 90s and hundreds with no quality of life and are being kept alive for no reason.

It is costing us a fortune and younger people are dying because they can't get hospital beds.

When people have no quality of life and bed bound they should not be kept alive.

I agree. We are in the same situation- on paper it looks like we should be on luxury holidays and fancy date nights. Alas, we are not! bills
keep going up and up. Public services getting worse and worse.
Strike action has been proposed for my dept in civil service, but I can’t afford to not get paid and to strike. And I think from seeing all the other strikes, the govt doesn’t give a shit anyway.

So do something about it and become an MP rather than just complaining.

Thank you for the both serious, and amusing responses - you’ve truly made my day 😊

Perhaps it is indeed time to start the “not eating seagulls but still grateful” party!

I guess this is what spending £450B on Covid and energy support will do to a nation..

I’m not comfortable with overthrowing the government. People like Trump try this move. I’m more of a fan of democracy, myself.