From The Evening Standard:
David Cameron was today challenged by rising star Tory MPs to tackle “lazy” Britain — and bring in tough new work reforms. The “young guns” from the new Right of the party called for a culture of “graft, risk and effort” to propel Britain into the “superleague” of nations.
They branded Britons among "the worst idlers" in the world and said the country should emulate the hard work ethic of Asia..
Yadda yadda blah blah blah, say what you like about the unemployed, they didn't cause the recession, did they? They've more or less nothing to do with it. This sort of ring wing bilge is just grist to the mill of the Home-Owner-Ists, isn't it?
But then there's this bit:
They also launch a stinging attack on the baby boom generation for backing high taxes on younger generations so they can keep their pensions and live in comfortable homes.
Sweet.
Like Dan Hannan (see my post of yesterday), they are blindly stumbling towards the truth. Fact is, our economic misère is caused 90% by the baby boomers (the foot soldiers of Home-Owner-Ism) and 10% by the unemployed rather than the other way round as this article implies.
Friday, 17 August 2012
Now there's a pleasant surprise
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9 comments:
Surely the 10% is more "Welfarism" than the unemployed themselves...
This sort of ring wing bilge is just grist to the mill of the Home-Owner-Ists, isn't it?
LOL - wondered how you'd bring Homeownerists into it. Love it.
The “young guns” have a point you know. If more people put in an honest day's graft instead of sitting on their arses all day collecting a fat salary as an non-executive director or head of a quango or living off land rents, then the country would be a lot better off. Mind you, I am not sure that was exactly what they meant.
C, it is quite true that there are people on welfare who take the piss. Conversely, the tax system (taxing output and employment not land rents) and the welfare system itself (complications and means testing) are designed to create and sustain large numbers of unemployed. So I personally don't have any grudge against the bulk of the unemployed, they're making the best of a bad job.
JH, it's typical Daily Mail rant though - "All the young people are unemployed and are whining that they can't afford a house. It's all their fault."
Fact is, the number of young people in work is the same as it ever was - about 75% - 80%, it's just that
a) In olden times women married younger and stayed at home with kids for longer and nowadays there are fewer of them and more officially unemployed
b) Houses are really f-ing expensive.
B, I was intending to spoof the article along those lines but I thought it fairer to give them credit for the little bit that actually made sense.
The entire continent of Europe will eventually erupt into a political generational war. Given the demographics, there will be fewer and fewer workers to support the pensions of more and more aging baby boomers. Even in the States, the Paul Ryan VP pick seems to have struck a chord with some of the 18-29 set due to Ryan's desire to reform entitlements.
alternative investment
GreenWorld, it's a pleasure to have you, but I really think you're barking up the wrong tree with those ads. What's your CTR anway? Mind you, I almost clicked on it myself, then I realised that would make me part of the problem.
Mark, as for unemployment being a feature rather than a bug, that's spot on. The reason for it is to move the quantity of labour supplied closer to the monopolist's output, ie. that which maximises labourers' welfare. Owners don't mind because it raises costs for new entrants.
RA, funnily enough, Greenworld sells land speculation type 'assets'. In other words he is our enemy.
As to unemployment, correct. I can only assume that 'they' want to have unemployment because somebody somewhere must have designed the whole 'poverty trap' in order to keep people away from looking for work.
Yes, this all costs money, but it gives 'them' a useful hate figure - i.e. don't hate us bankers and council CEO's, at least we are working for our money, the people who are really to blame are the unemployed.
MW. The people really in benefits in the mad world of the UB40 are those behind the counter doling out the, dole. Or perhaps they are just as much on the dole as the dolees (dolors?) on the other side of the counter.
L, agreed and yes.
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