This country as gone into terminal decline

[Carmes]

I have 2 young children in school.

I am becoming more and more anxious about what sort of jobs / careers they will have open to them.

I work for very large company with 10,000s of employees.

20 years ago whe I started work here there would be 100s of entry level jobs at any given time. These are jobs that don't require experience or a degree, ideal for a school leaver, and I know dozens of people who started their career this way.

Now there are maybe 10 jobs that would fit the same criteria.so. All the jobs have been offshored.
Now are the vacancies are for very specific technical skill set or experience.

This doesn't bode well for someone who has left school at 18'or even university.

It would be amazing how many people would find a job doing something if the benefits weren't a comfortable alternative. Too many not working because they can't do their ideal job of being a ballet dancer or poet. Just like a child riding a bike at some point you just have to take off the stablisers to let them succeed.

I’m not sure where you got the information that world population is rising. The pattern seems to be in many countries it is falling and that this is catastrophic and difficult to reverse

This 💯

I didn't say that there was no point in an English degree but it is a fact that the financial return on investment on an English degree is significantly lower overall than many other degrees. That is significant one when you look at the level of student debt that young people are coming out of university with now. You don't need an English degree to write well and understand documents. It is also possible to appreciate the arts without having read English at university.

@MyPithyPoster it wasn't irrelevant though was it? There is no cure for cystic fibrosis so my son was having treatment that in your view was pointless because where do we draw the line or is it ok to waste all that money every year when there is no chance of it ever being cured because he hadn't reached the age of 60 lol.
Surely that's an even bigger drain than a 60 year old needing life prolonging treatment every 10 years isn't it?

The only way for us to have low tax high growth is for us to be willing to find out what an unsubsidised life really looks like. And given some of the reactions to some of the latest government policies, we really aren't ready to find out

Exactly. We could try some radical reforms but it would be met with howls of outrage and you can’t do that’s. Like say you are unemployed with no health issues preventing you working and you’re not a student or carer then job seekers allowance should stop after 6 months or you have to volunteer to continue receiving the benefits (ideally some kind of community work that benefits society). There would be people that would argue to the death that this couldn’t be done etc when in reality we could do it and yes it would be tough and harsh but that’s what’s needed.

We have been a declining country that thinks it’s rich for a long time, but now credit isn’t cheap anymore we’re realising there is no money. I do blame politicians as well for not being brutally honest with the electorate about the choices we need to make. But the reason why they don’t is the country will just vote for whoever lies and pretends they will spend more money to make everything better.

You do realise they would just rob you don’t you? And eat the rich?
And then we’d probably have to bring back Public hanging because of the sheer numbers of people committing offences.

Why is the number of kids she's had relevant? You realise means tested benefits for having children has been capped at 2 kids for almost a decade now.
I do agree that deadbeats should be chased up for maintenance though.

Btw I doubt she'll be unemployed for long it's 2024 not 2004 and the job centre will pretty much force her into getting a job as soon as the youngest kid is 2 or 3.

I always laugh at people who think mass immigration is the answer to everything if "diversity and multiculturalism" is so great why don't you go live in Bradford? I guarantee you and most of the people advocating mass immigration live in very undiverse areas.

Everyone says this until they meet someone who makes them change their mind

The offshoring of jobs is a huge issue. I'm surprised that it doesn't get more political attention

It's another of those things some prefer not to address, @wokcommuter - often those who insist how much more productive they are when working from home, who'll insist the obvious alternative of offshoring "will never happen"

Except that it is happening, and by the time they've realised the consequences it's too late

@Justforfun123 I always laugh at people who think mass immigration is the answer to everything if "diversity and multiculturalism" is so great why don't you go live in Bradford? I guarantee you and most of the people advocating mass immigration live in very undiverse areas.

I live in London, never been to Bradford but it's quite diverse over here too which I really really love, hence the reason I live here.

No because there are lots of jobs available. It is just it isn't their dream. Jobs like harvesting are seen as beneath brits. Unemployment is very low.

Sure 🤔 I believe you although definitions vary and someone's definition of "diverse" on this site on another thread was having a couple of Indian doctors and some Swedish people on their street.
Try living somewhere where YOU are the only British person on your street.

Not that I'd put much weight on the opinion of someone moaning about girls with loads of kids being a waste of taxpaying money when there's been a 2 child cap since 2017. At least keep your moans up to date.

but if they don’t want to do them for minimum wage, they still won’t want to do them for no wage and then they’ll just rob your house. If you’re lucky, if you’re unlucky, they’ll rob you.

you’re looking at this from a logical perspective not the perspective of somebody who can earn £500 a week running drugs around the country.

From the ONS
22 Feb 2024 — There were an estimated 559,000 young people in the UK who were NEET and economically inactive22 Feb 2024 —

Agri work is extremely hard, its simply not possible for anyone who isn't used to it, to do this type of work, they would just get injured, they are slow, need frequent breaks.
We have become a pasty, weak, indoor nation - next time you re in Tesco, take note of the vast majority of people who waddle round at a glacial pace....

Care work.... do you want a loved relative to be looked after by someone who really doesn't want to do it?
Not everyone has the empathy and patience to look after the frail and demented.

The numbers of long term unemployed are actually very low, about 350k, the rest, around 1m, are churn, people moving between jobs.
Of the 350k, many will be, for want of a better word, unemployable, no work history, terrible educational levels, addictions, MH issues.

@lifeonmars100 I already saw that but as I said how does that compare to other age groups? Presumably economically inactive but not sick or disabled means no access to benefits? Most people in that age group live at home too so it’s likely parents are supporting them.

According to Statista:

The number of young people not in education, employment, or training (NEET) in the United Kingdom was 946,000 in the third quarter of 2024, compared with 872,000 in the previous quarter

But it also has to be remembered that many people will between jobs, between Uni and work, taking time out, travelling or volunteering, even doing sport, in other words, its not the same 900k people classed as NEETs

I'm an immigrant from Spain. My landlord is from Pakistan, the coffeeshop next to me is own/run by turks, the Italian restaurant across the street by Italians, my building is own by an Albanian man, the hairdresser close to the coffee shop is polish, my clients are American and my boss is Irish, my friends are from all countries and I have some English friends too. As I type this I'm eating a kebab from the Arab guys in the corner. I feel comfortable saying I live in "diversity". I like it.

That sounds like a fabulous community to live in.

As long as young people are "educated" into thinking they do need to be informed and work hard, the country has no hope

I don’t understand how the above impacts the fact we didn’t recover from the 08 crash, wages have stagnated for years & we have an ageing population?

It is.

but now credit isn’t cheap anymore we’re realising there is no money

yep, low rates disguised it for years & people thought because their house went up in value they were getting richer.

How about we cull people who in your opinion would just turn to crime if benefits were taken away from them, or is it just the over 60s you have a problem with.

I blame a lot of this on our education system. We have had years of teachers telling children they cannot fail, that they are as good as anyone else and to follow their dreams / find their "passion" career-wise.

Also young people being told ‘you can be anything you want if you set your mind to it’
This is simply not true and sets people up for disappointment. Dd and I have both played the piano since we were children and it’s a hobby we both enjoy a lot. However, we couldn’t be concert pianists even with Lang Lang hours of practice as we’re simply not musical enough.