To think the UK is in terminal decline

[ThisOchreBiscuit]

Jobs Civil service to cut thousands of jobs

Nothing positive is happening in this country. It’s just cuts, cuts and tax increases but these arent doing anything to scratch the surface.

The whole country is being propelled up by a massive Ponzi scheme: house prices and immigration. House prices make all home owners feel richer and immigration makes the GDP figures look better.

I suppose I shouldn’t complain as I am a child of immigrants. My parents came here in the 70s from India. They were virtually penniless but they have now been retired for 15 years, earning a state pension from 65 and still getting their final salary pension. They own their home in London and have thousands in savings. They were able to achieve this whilst working in low skilled factory jobs.

Now, professionals with university degrees would struggle to achieve their life style.

I think we are heading to a social mobility and quality of life that is closer to India and than the traditional western view, with wealth in the hands of a small number of landlords.

A has just purchased a completely nice family home near me for £500k and added a back and loft extension and turned it into a 6 bed HMO charging £800 per room.

They will make a 15% return on their £250k investment.

Apologise your quote includes the statement that the population would need to be halved but it’s not clear who it’s from.

I agree with this. Simple demographics tells us as much. The average age of a European citizen is over 40. As we move towards having a top heavy elder population, countries with a preponderance of young people are overtaking us - India, for example, already has.

Although, it's not as though our politicians are doing nothing entirely - witness how many western nations are introducing assisted dying legislation.

Of course a cynic would argue that this is the ultimate admission of failure to deal with the entirely predictable challenges posed by an ageing population.

I’m always surprised when people say this. The current older generation are the ones known mainly for their unhappiness and bitterness at everyone and everything. They’re the ones protesting when their pension age was increased because they expect tax payer funded retirement, who complain about the nhs delays dominated by their age group because they expect tax payer funded healthcare, and complain when they have to pay council tax the large properties they own (to the point of imprisonment in notorious cases) because they think they shouldn’t have to.

i think boomers are undoubtedly the most entitled generation we have never seen, and ever will see

Although, it's not as though our politicians are doing nothing entirely - witness how many western nations are introducing assisted dying legislation.

I don't think it's a coincidence

No, me neither. Much as they like to flap their lips about quality of life, there's a clear economic benefit to assisted dying. If they were primarily concerned about elder quality of life, they wouldn't be, as a matter of fiscal and societal policy, distinguishing care required for dementia from care required for patients with other diseases.

A Diary of CEO podcast this week covers this. It's called an emergency debate. It's quite interesting.

I think there are major problems ahead. The children you receive inheritance will be the lucky ones and it is going to be so hard for others.

When I'm older I don't want to be so ill that I need a high level of care. I would rather due earlier from flu or covid. I won't be getting any vaccines after age 75.

Well let's see how you feel about it all at age 75, eh.

I read an interesting article by Ezekiel Emanual about refusing medical interventions post 75 and alot of made sense to me.

Hardly in the East. Youngsters in the likes of Japan & South Korea are so stressed economically that no one wants to have kids.India is still third world while China albeit economically better off is afflicted with issues that makes the West’s problems child’s play comparatively.

I agree with this. It’s many countries in Africa that will provide the growth. China will provide some of the money and India some of the educated workforce. It’s already happening

Sky high immigration isn’t for shits and giggles. Its because we need them to keep the economy and public services afloat because the British have elected useless politicians for the last 50+ years who have always chosen the short term easy solution to every issue rather than dig in and make the necessary proper long term investments.

Totally agree. The only way to halt the decline us to stop most immigration and to kick out all those who are not citizens and who contribute nothing. There are 1 million foreigners in the UK in receipt of benefits and millions of others who have disappeared into the black economy. Why am I and other UK citizen taxpayers paying to support foreigners??

Brexit caused a 5% decline in GDP and has cost us billions, so yes our country is in a far worse position than it would have been if we hadn’t done it. Plus we’ve had 14 years of the Tory Shit Show. The country is in decline and will take at least a decade to get it back on track.

No, Brexit and a Tory shit show is why this country is a mess.

What does foreigners in reciept of benefits mean? Not born here or not British citisezn? Surely that includes ie all the Irish/ wind rush/ south East Asian pensioners claiming their state pension?

I assume you'd also kick out all the people born here that claim benefits and don't contribute towards the economy?

Even around 2000 or so, it was calculated that those born in 1948 were likely to be the luckiest cohort. No war, in at the start of the NHS and an upwards trajectory of growth and personal prosperity until diseases of old age kick in.
Growth covered many weaknesses in an economy/society and in many cases allowed the pain of deindustrialisation to be relatively short lived.
A successful economy will be one that manages decline and redistributes what wealth there is as equitably as possible. Governments reaching for growth as a panacea are being shown to be offering empty promises.
In some ways, Biden’s green new deal was good as it was about creating growth by attempting to pivot in a different direction but when people hope and believe they can mostly accumulate wealth and hand it to their children then they are going to be disappointed. We can either conserve what we have, live within our means or go on a blame frenzy like Trump/Farage/AfD

Not to mention not enough prison places, high numbers of children not in school. Lots of stabbings.

The thing is they'll 'save' money by cutting all these civil service jobs and then complain they can't afford to pay them unemployment benefits because the benefits bill is too high. All while they have to compete against the millions we keep importing from around the world, for what few jobs there are. Added to the impact of AI in the future.

It's a very bleak future unless you have inherited wealth or come into money somehow.

There's no middle class in Britain anymore, at least with Millenials and Gen Z. you're either rich or poor and living pay cheque to pay cheque.

From speaking to my sister who is a community mental health nurse (57 now) about her experiences, and those of her friend who is head teacher of a primary school, I’d say the country is fucked. My son has dual nationality and I’m urging him to use his red passport.

This is just the beginning.
The UK decided to commit suicide with the Brexit referendum in 2016.
We warned this would happen. They called us fearmongers.
Now, people suffer the consequences. The anger that younger generations feel towards their incompetent parents and grandparents is palpable.
We are heading towards a generational schism.

Yanbu

Importing?

How does it progress and thrive when it's massively over populated?

I agree that this country is in terminal decline but for more reasons than you’ve outlaid. Seems pretty ludicrous that blue collar workers now in their sixties and seventies with just about one brain cell to rub together own significant assets in property, are able to buy new cars, have savings and a good pension, and can holiday multiple times per year while we chumps have to struggle to pay a mortgage on a house that we can barely afford but have degrees, decent jobs, skills aplenty.

The education system is unfit for purpose. The NHS has always been in decline since the day it was founded but now its joke level with services being rather pointless when wait times are months - years long, and the when you do get to the front of the line the service is inadequate. Basic things like food are unaffordable for working families. Childcare… I could go fucking on.