Its also practical reality - we have to stop kidding ourselves into believing we can afford the same benefits for all pensioners when we are living on average to 85 (rather than 70) and only have 2 working taxpayers for every retired pensioner instead of 6.
People are free to vote for parties that bribe them with their grandkids money using funds borrowed from China etc - but methinks many pensioners would rather their grandkids were looked after too.
The more delay - the worse the future will be for future pensioners. But any party that took the tough decisions needed would not get re-elected - until we end up like Greece or Spain and its forced on us.
of course. all true.
and voters will reject the truth and carry along regardless. exactly as they are doing in Greece. We are bigger, but heading the same way.
I thought it was clear that those I was talking about are the ones who left school at leaving age and have never worked.
How many able people do you imagine spend their lives never working?
At the bottom of society it does not look likely to be a large number. The number of long term JSA 5+ years claimants Jan 2011 was 4,220.
With the average rent for a one bedroom flat , today, standing at £400 a month, before youve heated it, paid the council tax on it, and fed yourself, and given the ever rising disparity between housing cost and wages, the likelyhood is very high percentages of renters in the 'next generation' of pensioners , most of whom couldnt keep a roof over their heads with £155 a week.
Then we have inflation higher than interest rates, meaning savings are actually falling in value rather than gaining, even for the minority that actually have money left at the end of the month to save in the first place, and you have a disaster waiting to happen.
Politicians talking and going on whilst actually ignoring the big red warning sign that we are heading for a very big problem when generation x hits retirement age.
The Baby Boomers are currently in charge, and will quite happily throw Generation X and Y and the bus to save their own asses.
With the average rent for a one bedroom flat , today, standing at £400 a month, before youve heated it, paid the council tax on it, and fed yourself, and given the ever rising disparity between housing cost and wages, the likelyhood is very high percentages of renters in the 'next generation' of pensioners , most of whom couldnt keep a roof over their heads with £155 a week.
Then we have inflation higher than interest rates, meaning savings are actually falling in value rather than gaining, even for the minority that actually have money left at the end of the month to save in the first place, and you have a disaster waiting to happen.
Politicians talking and going on whilst actually ignoring the big red warning sign that we are heading for a very big problem when generation x hits retirement age.
I think we have to be thankful that the vast majority of folk in the UK are home owners so they won’t have a problem with rent, the obvious solution is to increase home ownership.
The only way to reduce housing costs is to stop uncontrolled immigration and build lots of new council houses.
If immigration is not controlled then you will never be able to build enough new housing to keep up with demand and you will end up with slumlords lining their pockets whilst thousands suffer in expensive sub standard accommodation..
If immigration IS capped who is going to pay the tax revenue and fuel economic growth needed to support baby boomer pensioners. ? The problem is decades in the making, the BB generation has had more wealth and consumed more resources than any generation ever has or probably ever will. They have had the opportunity to line their own pockets, why should generation X work into their 70's to support the most self preserving gen that ever existed?
I thought it was clear that those I was talking about are the ones who left school at leaving age and have never worked.
That's what happens when you allow parents to make all the decisions even up to teenage years. Schools should have the power to haul incompetent/neglectful/controlling parents over the coals. Even parents who are known to be inept are allowed to do as they please with almost total impunity. I know because mine were.
Work Experience should be compulsory and parents should not be allowed to force their kids into opting out of it.
Parents should no longer be eligible as referees for Student Bank Accounts (why are they allowed that privilege when they can so easily abuse it?) Dentists, Doctors, Teachers, and other respectable figures should be the referees, not parents.
We need a drastic reduction in the living costs of this country, I keep saying that housing cost is unsustainable, and this is one of the reasons why, it goes far beyond simply affordability or personal debt, the burden on the tax payer runs into billions a year right now, and can only grow as time goes on.
The problem coming is an obvious one, IDS offers no solution but a silly soundbite, and its not just him.
There are no politicians who will be facing retirement in rented accomodation and relying on state pensions, he and his peers probably cannot even see it coming, because its a problem that would never enter their world in the first place.
This is the problem in a nutshell. It isn't just the cost of housing benefits that is the problem, it's the cost of housing, which is kept artificially high. Vast amounts of public AND private money is going to landlords and lenders.
Now the investors are trying to get regulations weakened for the rented property market, see the Montague review, so they can realise the returns they would like.
Let's just say all the groundwork is being prepared for another potential banking crisis type situation all over again, and of course NO-ONE will have ever seen it coming. Pull the other one.
Comments
of course. all true.
and voters will reject the truth and carry along regardless. exactly as they are doing in Greece. We are bigger, but heading the same way.
At the bottom of society it does not look likely to be a large number. The number of long term JSA 5+ years claimants Jan 2011 was 4,220.
The Baby Boomers are currently in charge, and will quite happily throw Generation X and Y and the bus to save their own asses.
I think we have to be thankful that the vast majority of folk in the UK are home owners so they won’t have a problem with rent, the obvious solution is to increase home ownership.
If immigration IS capped who is going to pay the tax revenue and fuel economic growth needed to support baby boomer pensioners. ? The problem is decades in the making, the BB generation has had more wealth and consumed more resources than any generation ever has or probably ever will. They have had the opportunity to line their own pockets, why should generation X work into their 70's to support the most self preserving gen that ever existed?
That's what happens when you allow parents to make all the decisions even up to teenage years. Schools should have the power to haul incompetent/neglectful/controlling parents over the coals. Even parents who are known to be inept are allowed to do as they please with almost total impunity. I know because mine were.
Work Experience should be compulsory and parents should not be allowed to force their kids into opting out of it.
Parents should no longer be eligible as referees for Student Bank Accounts (why are they allowed that privilege when they can so easily abuse it?) Dentists, Doctors, Teachers, and other respectable figures should be the referees, not parents.
This is the problem in a nutshell. It isn't just the cost of housing benefits that is the problem, it's the cost of housing, which is kept artificially high. Vast amounts of public AND private money is going to landlords and lenders.
Now the investors are trying to get regulations weakened for the rented property market, see the Montague review, so they can realise the returns they would like.
Let's just say all the groundwork is being prepared for another potential banking crisis type situation all over again, and of course NO-ONE will have ever seen it coming. Pull the other one.