Personal Responsibility - Alien Concept??

[Mytwopenceworth]

Am I alone in this? So many news stories about how the government should ban this and that, how people should be stopped from doing this and that - example, we shouldn't have longer pub opening hours because people will drink more and it will cause trouble. Credit cards should not be allowed because people will get into debt. No gambling because people will develop an addiction.

It seems to me that people need to take responsibility for themselves. People complain about all the ways that they can get into trouble and demand the government 'stops' it yet at the same time, complain about regulation of everything because it is a nanny state. Either we want the government to treat us like children who can't make their own choices, or deal with the fallout of their bad decisions, or we want the government to say you made your bed, you lie in it!

Surely what is needed is information, not regulation. Make damn sure people are well informed about the possible repercussions of their actions - eg credit cards leading to huge debts and then let them make their own choices.

We are adults, not children, why do we want to cry that it was somebody elses fault when we screw up?

I have messed up totally - especially in the financial side of things - I don't blame anyone but myself!

Obviously we need to protect vulnerable members of society from abuse, but imo the rest of the population should face up to their own responsibilities and grow up!! If you screw up you screw up and maybe, just maybe, it is YOUR OWN FAULT!

Sorry for the rant, it just seems like everyone has rights and nobody has responsibilities.

Layabouts should have been in inverted commas there.....

Swizzle I think you are talking about a very poorly run SureStart scheme and it would be unfair to generalize.

I am not a New Labour fan but I di think one of the things they can be congrtulated upon is the Sure Start initiative. I have seen it first hand change and even save lives.

Blimey, even the education consultant in the DT this week said that people should stop slagging off Surestart and start thinking about what a difference it has made!

No that is amazing-Torygraph reluctantly conceding that Blair et all have done something right.

That is amazing, moondog.

Very interesting thread, this. Am watching from the sidelines!

Hope you're not taking the proverbial hocuspocus???

No, no. I'm a diehard Guardian reader but read the Times and the Torygraph once or twice a week, so I know that it is amazing for the DT to big up a Labour initiative!

Right you are!
It was that John Clare bloke (who speaks alot of sense actually).He also referred to sopme other scheme aimed at teenagers setting their sights higher....
Bugger,the papers have gone to be recycled or I'd dig it out.

There are certainly faults with Sure Start and many intitiatives linked with it, for one the endless number of new initiatives! But I do admire a government who invests in early years as the benefits may not be seen for many years, so it is not a quick fix headline grabber that New Labour are so fond of.

Of course a cynic would point out that one of the roles of SureStart has been to get mothers back to work so they are paying tax and the government can talk about creating "hard working families" and the numbers of people they have helped back into work. It may also be handy to provide state sponsored child care rather than paying private nurseries.