The post you are reporting:
A most amusing thread this.
Apathy does indeed exist and it is for many reasons. But what really made me laugh out loud were many aspects of GaryC's post. The 70's language about 'workers' for one thing in which many employees failed to see how their future and interest were closely tied to the prosperity and success of the company they work for to such a degree they destroyed those very companies through their strike action and militancy.
What else....let me see....
First of all posting as if all 'pre-Thatcher' was wonderful. That could not be further from the truth. I, in the spirit of that post, will also refer to 'all Parties', who allowed the economy to decay after the war failing the deal with the out-of-control monster of Trade Unions that set about the destruction of many British companies. They followed the Keynesan economic theory that stoked up inflation while the more successful economies based themselves on the Austrian school of economics. Our big industries were nationalised and subsidised in an illconsidered attempt to shield them from competition that just resulted in them stagnating while producing second rate shoddy goods.
Mrs T of course changed that crazy and unsustainable model. She did far more for the people of this country than any government before or since. She gave the Union to their members, curbing the excesses of the Trade Union Barons and Shop Steward bullies, ending the tyranny of the closed shop and the destructive restictive practises. She opened up home ownership to the masses. She enabled millions of employees to buy shares in their companies and, in some case, full scale employee buy-outs. She was the best friend pensioners and employees had.
I note the idyllic life GaryC suggests people want. But, of course, for people to have such a life we need the thrusters, the risk takers the business people to build and run businesses to provide the wealth and jobs required for that idyll.
Reducing our over blown and expensive benefits is all about reducing the level of deficit.
Reducing the out of control benefit system is all about ensuring it is worthwhile for those out of work to get back into work.
Ensuring a priority for de-risking employing people is all about getting more jobs, more sustainable jobs and economic growth that can fund better pensions and help to those genuinely unable to help themselves.
Apathy is a problem and politicians of all parties are at fault. Getting us out of the economic hole must be a priority, to get growth and to increase tax revenues is vital.
Punishing the rich, high taxes and more interference by those guilty politicians is the opposite to what we need.
To do this we need lower taxes for everyone. No-one on the minimum wage should be paying tax or NI and no-one should be paying more than 37p in tax and NI. We need more jobs, we need business people to invest and to take risk in developing new products and businesses, To do that we also need to reduce the costs and risks they face when employing people.
More protectionism, more tax, more controls, more protectionism, more interfering politicians - that will just drive us deeper into the mess.
