to all the workers, a message from the bosses

[ophic]

Well it's like a game of chess but you buy the pieces. And the board. And pay to get the rules changed if somehow you still can't win.

[littleoldman2]

Originally Posted by ophic

The pay gap is so large, he can work for one year and retire, if he so chose. He doesn't have to work at all after this. He won't be in the dole queue or struggling to feed his family in a sh*tehole flat somewhere.

So far this thread is really all about relative richness. All these economic migrants are using their life savings and risking their lives for a chance to live in that "sh*tehole flat". Our poorest are much richer than the middle class only a few generations ago and compared to many in south & central america, Africa, Asia et al.

Just to put it into perspective a little. Over the last few years there has been a take over battle for control of Syria Ltd, a well known family run business in the middle east. The message from the boss there was delivered by fighter jet.

The problem we have is one of expectation and inequality.

[Red ones]

Perspective.

Consider the top 1% of earners or the global top 1% of people by net wealth.

What does your income or your net wealth have to be to qualify you for this sinking rich, uncaring, capitalist elite?

[ophic]

Originally Posted by littleoldman2

Our poorest are much richer than the middle class only a few generations ago...

Not sure people who can't afford to feed themselves have ever been considered middle class in any generation.

Perspective... just because things could be worse, doesn't mean they're great as they are. Or right. Or can't be improved. But yes, things could be a lot worse. No dispute there.

[littleoldman2]

Originally Posted by ophic

Not sure people who can't afford to feed themselves have ever been considered middle class in any generation.

Do you know anyone who cannot afford to eat? I don't.
I have worked in some of the poorest areas of Newcastle and not met anyone who cannot afford to eat. I have met a fair few who have a TV in every room and hence high electric bills so struggle and also people who go to the food back one week then fly off to holiday the next (one of my daughters runs a clothing scheme for the poor { https://www.facebook.com/groups/Comm...lothingScheme/ } and recently gave a load of children's clothes and school uniforms to a family who then sold them on Facebook, almost broke her kind heart).

I do not see real malnutrition in the UK with severely thin people like we did in the 50's. I do see people who are malnourished and fat at the same time through poor diet.

Yet at the same time the streets of our poorest areas are littered with cars check out https://goo.gl/maps/SUtiKpZ6jwx. This is an area with the biggest problems and "poverty" in N upon T just move the little chap around and see that all the streets have cars.

On the subject of cars, we moved house in 1962 there was only one car on the street, a demonstrator driven by the garage salesman, nobody on the street owned a car, this is it now https://goo.gl/maps/bm1C7NdYEfE2

I think our biggest problem (well apart from China and the rest) is that automation promised us the opportunity to work 4 hours a week for the same productivity. Instead we have increased productivity (and moved it offshore) without reducing the working week, leading to less people in productive work. By productive I mean adding real value to something and selling it, preferably abroad, not teaching everyone how to write a better CV and similar.

[Bibio]

Originally Posted by littleoldman2

Stuff

at one time there were the "have and have nots". now there are just the "must haves".

i'm with LOM in that when my family came back from Africa to Edinburgh there were maybe 3 cars in our street and that was in the middle of the city across from the Queens Hall.

people "must have" so they will sell their soul and work all the hours they can as they cant manage money so get themselves into debt. poor misguided idiots.

yes this is the "must have" generation.

now i'm all for equality but it goes both ways so why should a person earning billions have to pay higher tax than someone earning min wage. if your earning billions you are automatically paying millions in tax. most people on min wage dont pay much tax but expect a lot more and take a lot more. those with the real money pay their own way and get ridiculed for doing it.

[littleoldman2]

Just as an aside here. My daughter started the scheme because of the high cost of school uniforms. The cost is so high because the school give a monopoly or duopoly to a shop in return for a donation. The shops then charge what they like. Low income working families suffer. This is made much worse at our local high school who have a different coloured logo for each year so you cannot pass a school top down to a younger sibling or friends child.
At one local school if your child wears the wrong brand of trousers they are excluded, so perfectly good trousers from the supermarket are not allowed.

What really gets my goat is that the local council are very supportive of her in a non financial way whilst doing nothing about the schools that they fund. Boils my pee.

[Bibio]

our local school would be empty if they done that...
dont they have a PA at the school?

[littleoldman2]

Yes and they seem happy with that.

[Talking Heads]

Originally Posted by littleoldman2

Do you know anyone who cannot afford to eat? I don't.

Just because you don't know them, doesn't mean they don't exist.

When the UN send a rapporteur to investigate extreme poverty things have to be pretty bad.

The findings of Mr Alston's visit are shocking.

https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/...23881&LangID=E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XeV_CTIh3c