Workers on the breadline.

[Anna B]

It sounds good, but how do you make people accountable?

Tax goes up to pay for this then?

You realise that a) electronics is a branch of engineering, and engineering degrees are required to be an engineer and very well established and taught in the UK... They are also highly academic subjects, you don't learn to be an electronic, mechanical or civil engineer by learning on the job.

Wow, that's pretty fascist.

How does the government cause the last bit to happen? Tax breaks maybe?

Watch all multi national companies leave immediately to be run from elsewhere.

Watch all the highly paid leave to work elsewhere.

Watch our foreign markets dry up, foreign trade suffer, income go down and cost of doing business go up.

Easy to say isn't it.

Giving away?

It's not an official system, so how do you 'get rid'?

 

Some of the earlier bits have potential, but it gets stranger from the point you start talking about citizenship I think.

 

Yes, lots of problems to be solved. Like I said these haven't been thought through, properly costed etc. Just ideas. Some of them require quite radical thinking.

 

I'm a big fan of social peer pressure to change behaviour and make people accountable. Plus lots of information and awareness raising, (via public information TV campaigns perhaps?)

 

Money is always going to be a problem, no matter what you do. But we seem to throw good money after bad in loads of areas, and savings can and should be made in the right areas. We need to collect more tax from the big hitters who go to extraordinary lengths to avoid it.

 

I really don't like being held to ransome by these big multi-national companies. They ruin home grown businesses, and already use tax havens all over the world to avoid tax. They have no conscience and no loyalty to anyone and will always go to the lowest bidder. They are causing a race to the bottom that will impoverish everyone but themselves in the long run. They need to be stopped and governments should be working together to do it.

 

I think if you've had a free university education you should have to spend some time using those skills to the benefit of this country before you can cash in by working abroad.

 

You're right that it's very easy to say, but I also believe problems can be solved with properly co-ordinated, long term thinking. I think part of the problems we have is short-termism, piecemeal, non joined up thinking, and that stems to a large extent from our outdated methods of government, which hasn't really changed for centuries, is way too big, is unresponsive, moves at a glacial pace and fails to keep up with the modern world. It is no longer fit for purpose.

Edited October 13, 2014 by Anna B

[Cyclone]

The electoral system also encourages short term (5 year) thinking. Because the only thought most politicians have is how to get re-elected.

[Anna B]

The electoral system also encourages short term (5 year) thinking. Because the only thought most politicians have is how to get re-elected.

 

I agree.

 

We need a long term, cross party plan, that goes ahead whoever is in power.

 

We need to get a modern infrastructure up and running. That's going to take a lot longer than 5 years. And it's going to cost a lot of money. But can we afford not to do it?

Look how the politicians have screwed up over the energy debacle because nobody was prepared to grasp the nettle. There'll probably be power cuts next year.

Edited October 13, 2014 by Anna B

[tinfoilhat]

I agree.

 

We need a long term, cross party plan, that goes ahead whoever is in power.

 

We need to get a modern infrastructure up and running. That's going to take a lot longer than 5 years. And it's going to cost a lot of money. But can we afford not to do it?

Look how the politicians have screwed up over the energy debacle because nobody was prepared to grasp the nettle. There'll probably be power cuts next year.

 

Of course they won't as that will mean either big taxes increases for most or some massive changes in corporation tax laws. No party will do either.

[phantom309]

There was a report last week that UNISON was attempting to get care workers paid for the time they have to travel between houses as they are only paid for the time that they are attending to the patient and not for the time going from one to the next and as they are only paid just above the NMW they end up doing a shift for a lot less than the NMW and it said only around 6% who actually are paid for the travel time in the UK.

[Mister M]

There was a report last week that UNISON was attempting to get care workers paid for the time they have to travel between houses as they are only paid for the time that they are attending to the patient and not for the time going from one to the next and as they are only paid just above the NMW they end up doing a shift for a lot less than the NMW and it said only around 6% who actually are paid for the travel time in the UK.

 

It's a disgrace. I watched a Newsnight report about this only a couple of months ago. Many of the care workers are only afforded 15 minutes with their clients, so often many of their client's most basic needs are not being met.

Unfortunately there are some on here who couldn't give a stuff about the fact that vulnerable elderly people in this country, today, are not getting their needs met; and care even less that the low paid workers doing the vital job of trying to meet their client's needs are not even paid for doing the job.

Perhaps when the self same posters on here are faced with the choice of either laying in their own soiled bed sheets, or having their only meal for the day, then they will care.

[tinfoilhat]

It's a disgrace. I watched a Newsnight report about this only a couple of months ago. Many of the care workers are only afforded 15 minutes with their clients, so often many of their client's most basic needs are not being met.

Unfortunately there are some on here who couldn't give a stuff about the fact that vulnerable elderly people in this country, today, are not getting their needs met; and care even less that the low paid workers doing the vital job of trying to meet their client's needs are not even paid for doing the job.

Perhaps when the self same posters on here are faced with the choice of either laying in their own soiled bed sheets, or having their only meal for the day, then they will care.

 

It's a national disgrace. I think the current lot have started to make the right noises with care for the elderly ie try and get some joined up thinking with Nhs and social services but paying care workers when they are travelling would be a very good place to start.

[Anna B]

It's a national disgrace. I think the current lot have started to make the right noises with care for the elderly ie try and get some joined up thinking with Nhs and social services but paying care workers when they are travelling would be a very good place to start.

 

A housebound elderly aquaintance of mine gets visits twice a day. She is lucky if they last 10 minutes.

 

She is neither washed nor dressed and basically lives in a chair in her bedclothes. She gets a sandwich and a cup of tea. This is not a criticism of the carers who are kind and work hard, but of the system. They are always in a rush to get to the next client.

 

For this 'service' she pays £160 per week.

[Harleyman]

My friend, you have my sympathy. I think the majority of people are beginning to realise how hard life is for most unemployed.

 

What they perhaps don't realise is the dire straits many of those in work find themseves in. Even some of those in work are starting to go hungry.

 

Even less do they realise that even they could be in a similar position a few years from now unless something is done. Trouble is, nobody seems to know what.

 

Explain to me why the UK allows immigrants in to fill jobs that cannot be filled within. Maybe it's come to the state that unemployment benefits pay more than some jobs do and I've heard that unemployment benefits in the UK last for years which does not exactly encourage those living on unemployment to go out in search of work. I'm sure there's rental assistance included for council housing also.

 

Do you deny that there are many cases of young single women getting pregnant so that they qualify for a low rental council flat and a whole lot of other benefits along with it? Even better they don't have to go to work half the time either.

[tinfoilhat]

A housebound elderly aquaintance of mine gets visits twice a day. She is lucky if they last 10 minutes.

 

She is neither washed nor dressed and basically lives in a chair in her bedclothes. She gets a sandwich and a cup of tea. This is not a criticism of the carers who are kind and work hard, but of the system. They are always in a rush to get to the next client.

 

For this 'service' she pays £160 per week.

 

She'd be better off in residential care Anna. And whilst some carers (both visiting and in care homes) aren't worth sod all - a lot care and should get paid more.