The Struggle Is Real

In a former life I was Conservative voter. (I know shame on me.) Now, that seems very unlikely, but it was the 80's ('greed is good') mentality.

However, my former-self has an annoying habit of popping up at the most inappropriate moments. Often when I'm feeling old and cranky. As a nearly 50-year-old, I seem to get more and more of them.

My latest annoyance is all these austerity cuts:

Breadline Britain: Photo credits Orb Dark

Do those in power believe Breadline Britain is a thing of the past? Do we not have food banks in all British cities these days? Have they learned so little in the last few months, of their vote-winning spree, about the average electorate?


Or do they choose to ignore us? (Now they have our vote - it's sod the lot of them time!) It definitely feels like a 'stuff the electorate vibe'.

I'd like to say that, if Labour, or the Lib Dems (or even the racist/not-really-racist Ukip) had gotten power any of them might have done something to relieve the Austerity; but the truth is none would.

They all seem to have an except-it-and-shut-up view of benefit Britain. Its the silent (unless you live near them) majority that can be ignored.

Fat Cats fund political parties, not the average Joe who works two jobs just to put bread on the table and shoes on his or her kids feet.

We the people of Britain (and most of the civilised world) are under-paid, overworked and under-appreciated by our employers. We have become a commodity. Shelf life one year! Replaceable at will. Recycled or dumped on the scrapheap.

Those in work can't afford to change jobs (if there were any with decent hour - over 23 would be nice) due to debt encouraged by banks, credit cards, pay-day loan services, and sharks. And Bankrupt Britain's not far away. (As one of the many thousands now bankrupt, I can tell you it's not a solution to debt problems - its another restriction to a happy and productive future.)

Those on benefits are even portrayed on TV as lower than dog-shit. No-hopers without the will to work or the gumption to think their way out of the poverty trap. I've been on benefit, and unless you are supper skilled at milking the system (and its designed against it), then you are on bare minimum to a workhouse horse.

The reality of this country is not that it isn't working ... (Its that those in employment are crushed and those looking for employment are ignored.) It can't work!

There's no real infrastructure any more. Where are the jobs of the past? Manual labour has become a dirty word. (Technology rules.) But still, someone has to mine coal, someone has to work steel, someone has to fix the railway, the roads, build houses. Where are these jobs?

Apprenticeships? Where!

There are more people with degrees than there are jobs for them. They are over-qualified before they have any experience.

That doesn't mean there should be less smart people ... on the contrary. They just don't have the work-smarts that employment delivers. A degree alone won't get you a job any more. Employers are looking for life skills too. (And a great Facebook / Twitter / Google+ /Instagram showing isn't proof of life skills - whatever your followers think.)

Social media is great. (If you don't know what Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Instagram can do for you -or you're not in these virtual communities- then your a dinosaur who's out of the loop.)

Social Media Revolution @ YouTube

As I said, social media is 'now'; but if you can't interact with 'real people in the real world' too, then your pretty screwed.

In short the changes on the one hand may be good for reaching out to the world, but on the other hand, the broadband costs are debt-defying. (You might be on the breadline, but life without the net is unprecedented. Unbelievable. And unthinkable.)

More of our lives these days are lived on-line than in the traditional pub. (But when was the last time you saw someone over 30 on-line on a soap opera??)

Lets get Britain working once more!

(End of Rant.)