After lockdown...the sh*t will hit the fan

[Desperado40]

My biggest fear is not covid or if life will be ever back to normal. I know this will pass and we will be able to socialise, travel etc. at some point.
What’s keeping me awake at night, literally, is the state of affairs when we are out of the immediate covid crisis. There will be high unemployment, lots of businesses will go bust after support tap is off, mental health and general health crisis (think of the huge backlog of surgeries and treatments postponed!). But most of all, I ma fearingthe day when the government starts clawing billions spent back from us. I feel that our quality of life will be much worse (as a nation) than we realise. There is also brexit to add to it all. Has anyone got any positive views on this to share (and make me feel better?). Need some optimism desperately.

The economists are not as gloomy as you, good growth forecasts and many predicting great things for the next few years, people will want to live their lives and enjoy their freedoms. Things will bounce back, they always do. I am not worried about that actually.

Most people will recover naturally once we are out of lockdown, there will be a core percentage that will need extra help.

Perhaps we will come out of this more appreciative of our countries, our lives, our liberties and our friends. I certainly think so!

I can't wait to go shopping, go out for dinner with my friends and family, buy a beautiful dress and shoes and live my life in full.

Totally agree with you, OP, and it's good to see some attention on the future as well as the current headlines

Good luck expecting a "roaring twenties" thing among those who've lost jobs, businesses, savings, homes and even health - good luck too with employment rights (especially for working mums and the vulnerable) when employers are scrambling to build back from the ruins, or in expecting many to listen to "because Covid" when some youngsters lack qualifications

Oh and all the best with hoping "the rich" will pay for it all; many will have seen the signs and made suitable arrangements, so that'll be the rest picking up the tab and those crying "I don't earn enough to pay more tax" will have little choice in the matter

And possibly one of the hardest things of all will be noticing that those complaining loudest were the very folk who backed the manic measures in the first place

Of course, taxation will be the sticking point because we never are prepared to pay for it.

Taxation is the sticking point because it's not possible to fund a universal health system that meets contemporary needs through taxation alone which is why no other universal health system in the world tries to and also why they're all better than ours.

But that's an argument for another day.

[quote Sleepthief]@knittingaddict well there should be plenty of house clearances and repossession sales to boost the antiques fairs...[/quote]
Apologies, did I sound too middle class there.

I'm just not sure it's helpful to start a thread about how awful it's going to be in a few months time when it's bloody awful now. What can we actually do about it? A natural disaster happened and we all had to make some impossible choices. It might be great or it might be terrible. None of us know and I've mislaid my crystal ball.

Can't believe I'm writing this. My family think I'm the original "glass half empty", but on MN I'm positively a ray of sunshine. My family will be shocked.

There needs to be a global approach to taxing corporations so they can’t just threaten to up and leave. Amazon have made a killing off this period it’s only right that they should pay their fair share of tax. Many people have saved money and are ready to spend it so there will be a boost, but it’s likely to be temporary and then settle down. We have Brexit and a mass exodus from London but we have people from all over the world desperate to enter the U.K. Hopefully we will invest more into public services not less as we need them. And tax big corporations so they pay their fair share. But who knows I don’t really have the energy to worry about anything beyond what I’m cooking for dinner tonight

Taxation could start with the likes of Amazon and Apple since they have made trillions out of the lockdown worldwide. They need to pay something back to the people.

@addicted2spaniels this is exactly my worry. I think that some people think all the billions on furlough and grants will just be forgotten and debt written off? Wait until we have start paying it all back.

I’m worried about the level of unemployment when furlough finally ends.

I’m pleased to say that DH and I have lots of plans to spend when we can - especially on travel. DH is newly retired & this isn’t what he planned!

The thing is it’s like the virus , very hard to predict and very hard to control .

And this will be worldwide . A lot of countries will be in the same position .

I personally am trying not to think too far ahead , because the mutations could go either way .But it’s a bit like the war , we may have to become more insular as a country and more self supporting.

This has affected all sorts of industries and some may never recover .

I am sure things will change and finances are going to be difficult for all because those lucky enough to be earning will be paying more tax and NI.

That’s a certainty.

I think the full affects of Brexit will kick in and life will be awful for many.

@TheyIsMyFamily

I think the full affects of Brexit will kick in and life will be awful for many.

Well that’s cheery.

I saw a report that the process of Brexit has cost more than COVID.

But

It can be paid off over decades. Apparently we have only just finished paying for WW2.

@forinborin

Yes - and the NHS queue for "not covid, not cancer" that is currently at all-times long will probably cost many, many more lives and livelihoods.

There's still a "cancer" queue - not everyone is getting the tests/treatment they need.

Me too! I’m not worried about covid neither sorry but people are dying of so many other things nor do I buy the 1.5 million would have died of it if we had not locked down! The lockdowns are designed fo the biggest killers of all physically, mentally and economically.

I agree. Lockdowns will cost more money than it saves.

Look at Sweden - open less deaths than the U.K. California versus Florida - one locked down and one open. Florida has less deaths. Same with North Dakota versus South Dakota. One lockdown was understandable. Repeatedly locking down is insanity. I am amazed people can’t see this.

It’s our children who are going to face the brunt of this in years to come. To claw back the money paid out during the virus, raising the pension age is definitely on the cards. I reckon they’ll raise it to 75. I know people are living longer, but couldn’t imagine having to work til that age.

Yep. The government are keeping dead silent about the legacy of lockdown, aren't they, preferring to distract us with "VIRUS! VARIANT! VACCINE!" I expect that Saint Boris and most of his merry men will quietly shuffle off into the sunset just before this shit hits the fan. And his successor will tax us to death, 'cos Covid.

And yes, I think this is more a massive power grab by the government, more than about health. If riots do happen (and I think they should have happened ages ago), that can only be a good thing. I expect there will be lots of them this summer.

As long as the UK comes out of Covid in the same timescale as other countries, things won't be that bad. The whole ethos of "money" is what it represents, not it's actual physical value, i.e. the underlying wealth of the country - it's all relative - if one country loses value another will gain. The problem will be if countries come out at different speeds/stages, as the stragglers will lose and the forerunners will gain. If we're in a good position, we have the potential to come out strong and actually do better than other countries which will mean we need to borrow less, at lower interest rates, and maybe even able to start paying the debt off sooner. It's all about confidence, and our comparative position against other economies, etc.

@ItsIgginningtolooklikelockdown

Ah so kids can go and do the jobs that notoriously adults in this country won’t do for love nor money? (Hence migrant workers)

Sounds fair.

I'm 100% expecting the Tories to use the Covid crisis to do what they've always wanted to do - fully privatise the NHS.

I genuinely think we'll all be paying for health insurance in the next few years and they'll be rubbing their gleeful little greedy hands together like the bastards they are.

Well the gallows humour quote on this topic is:

"Enjoy Covid and lockdown because the future is going to be hell "

Well we wouldn't want British teens doing a job that is beneath them would we?
I am old enough to also remember fruit picking as a source of casual income. The really sought-after one was grape picking abroad though.

Yeah we’re fucked. Financially. Because there is a big bill to pay and our names’ on the tab. But before we settle, they’ll be a raucous few years at the “bar of life,” where we’ll all party & shop ‘til we drop. That’s happening first, after the pandemic eases off.

@sleeptheif.
The good news is that some small buisnesses have had to expand . I know its not the genral picture but it is not just large supermarkets etc that have had profits
. Small mercies.

@ItsIgginningtolooklikelockdown

Who said it’s beneath them? I certainly don’t think it is- but agriculture has been notoriously considered “beneath” people for the last three generations at least.

Anyway/ surely we should get all of those business owners who have lost their businesses, out of work middle managers axed in money saving restructures, office managers and the like out strawberry picking first- since they’re the ones with the least time left in their “strong backs” and the most need of work?