the only way we sill solve our economic problems is if we get the black death back

and about 1/2 our population die...the survivors will be a lot better off

brutal I know...but sadly true

it's what the illuminati would like to do by the sound of it Gery

but we only have those in charge to blame

I was born English , smart guy , never had a decent job/opportunity in my Life

there was GOLD there - until chancellor sold it!

there is no community , you find that out when you're homeless , of course if you have no money they'll house you , but if you have a bit then run for the rest of your miserable life !!

Most over the top thread title ever ?

Family/clan.  Observe how our Pakistani community illustrate the strength of this institution.  And to a slightly lesser extent our other Asian neighbours.

Agree with the opening poster.

When is the last time you ever saw anyone on eastenders, coronation street or emerdale signing on the dole? Its like being on the dole is a bad thing instead of a very natural and normal thing when you cant get a job.

The unemployable should be given rented allotments to be self sufficient and tokens to make up the rest.

another interesting China experiment, Capitalism within a Communist society, worth a look

Uncontrolled Capitalism led to the Credit Crunch, which has left the world in recession, with no immediate

hopes of getting out of it, we need to find a way of preventing this from happening again

A difficult one I accept but we must find a way

When the Tories had their latest political love-in rally, I was immediately struck by the mantra of their conference: 'Hard working people', which was repeated over and over again - and how similar it was to the Nazi's 'Arbeit macht frei' above the gates of concentration camps.

Goebbels would be proud of them.

Yesterday (I think) Jonathon Aiteken was interviewed on News24 at around half past 5 about his new book.
Remember; he was a Thatcher adorer, but even he gave some surprising information of just how hard and nasty she really was.

To accompany the interview they showed some old footage of Thatcher in her final years when suffering Alzheimer's disease and her having to be helped to walk and be steadied (as she was in such a poor state) from which ever doorway she was coming from to wave to her adoring supporters.

I then recalled that in her final years neither of her multi-millionaire children 'took her in' to give her one-to-one care - and even on her death Carol didn't even return from abroad until some time later.

The ethos Thatcher lived by: "One For One and One At All Times - And Sod The Rest" - had come back to bite her in her final years.
Would she have been sorry about it if she even knew what was going on?
I doubt it, such was the evilness of the woman.

Which is probably why her kids couldn't give a stuff too.

Unfortunately, Thatcher's poison has spread across this land like some kind of noxious gas.
That gas needs to be capped.

ebulGery you have not seen the economy decline every year since you were born.
The population was much smaller and even working families didn't have 2/3 cars, 9000 inch TV screens in every room in the house, or holiday apartments in Barcalona, Miami & the island of Mystic.

I disagree Northern Lad

because not everybody has 2/3 cars and the latest monster tellie do they,

look at our public debt, our balance of payments...it used to in the black, our unemployment

a time was when everybody who left school could get a job..there was also hope then, we had manufacturing industries

and as I have posted previously, we were better off when we had a smaller population

..all I see now is a desert

i belive we are better off now as we export more high end products and foreign investment in the UK , but not all the riches get filtered down .

obviously thats bad news for the man in the street who used to work in say, heavy industry .


as somebody as already noted ,the average lifestyle nowadays is twice as expensive as the 1970s equivalent (car or cars ,phone or phones ,cable,holidays,,better homes to live in ,better leisure facilities,better quality food,advanced technology,designer clothes etc,etc) but folk wouldn't  want to work twice the hours of course

the downside is there are many more unemployed or those in low paid work who get caught up in the 'other half boom' who arent entitled to help

high prices is an obvious example

it's a problem that needs addressing

rent should never cost more than 20% of a net salary imo  ,so maybe housing help to those on a low wage regardless of their age/savings etc

you have a point Northern lad....we do indeed have better products and services

that has always been strong point of Capitalism, but at a cost, our quality of life has deteriorated

we have created more inequalities, a vicious society, so a few have gained, but not all, a lot have suffered

people would work twice the hours, but for that they need a job to start with, otherwise it is difficult

I suppose I am older, the 60s and 70s were good for me, so I accept I am biased

but I notice a few realities, where is the wealth of the World going, the far East, not to us

it was a lot cheaper to drink and smoke in the past, the health service was a lot better, we could get to see a doctor

travel was heaper, I had holidays abroad, everything was cheaper, I had my own bungalow, my needs were satisfied

so what we have gained, is it really what we need, or is it what we are supposed to need

video recorders were not invented until the 80's, nor mobile phones...so it would have been difficult for people to

have them....what we did not have , we did not miss

we do have better goods now, I have admitted that, but not everybody can afford them...also houses were as good then as now

and affordable... I am poorer, but the nobody would ever employ me. I am too old

we need a lot less people and a lot more jobs in this country, increasing our population is bonkers....we are headed for Armegeddon

'video recorders were not invented until the 80's' -  err, wrong

I didn't say anything about cell phones    i just said 'phones'

houses then were awful lol  - you can't compare the two - A 70s standard house today (i went to view one last week) would be best described  as needing 'TLC'
- thats estate agent speak for around £20,000 to bring up to todays living standards 

CB - generally speaking, besides the internet, I'd say average homes haven't changed since the 80's... the main transition was from  70's - 80's as central heating, double glazing, fancy kitchens & cheaper cars became the norm.

well Navel , you can still buy a 70s  standard house today ,one i looked at was selling for around 70% of the normal price   

even taking this into account ,i would have to agree that houses are still 50 % more than they should be in most areas - and that's not good


having said that, interest rates in the 70s and 80s were atrocious - so you were paying a lot more for your house in real terms -it would have made sense to consider renting back then for a time imo

we export a lot of high end goods  ,we just don't make a lot of clothing  or grow spuds

but that can be produced cheaper abroad