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06-11-10, 01:48 PM
A very good point very well made BladeTriple, and a point I've long agreed with. In our society the principle of 'looking after number one' to the detriment of others fostered in the Thatcher years lives on. (Particularly amongst many ballot paper waiving tory MP's.)
But in defence of younger (non aged) generations, the pride of the older generation in our society is probably a part of the problem too.
06-11-10, 02:02 PM
The whole benefits/social welfare system needs a complete re-think and overhaul with an emphasis on having less benefit 'categories' to make administration and availability much less like finding your way thru a maze.
Trouble is anything to do with gummint is always extraordinarily and unnecessarily so complex that even the public servants are bewildered by it all let alone prospective claimants :
06-11-10, 06:50 PM
I agree with you BladeTriple, my own Father moved in with my daughter because he could not afford the upkeep of his own home. You are right, as a society we can learn alot from our Asian counterparts. I do believe however, that if an elderly person wishes to stay independent and stay in their own home they should not have to make a choice between eating or keeping warm. We must not forget that most of our pensioners have paid in to the state through out their working lives. Not much point paying for the state if you can't rely on it when you relly need it.
07-11-10, 09:54 AM
It's very different in Germany, in a lot of towns the houses are mansion like, with 3 different generations living over 3 different floors. The houses get handed down from generation to generation, negating the need for crippling mortgages, hence why they all drive flash motors, they take out mortgages on them.
07-11-10, 12:48 PM
Mitch 'dass stimmt doch nicht' not all german families are like that , after 12 years based over there, my brother being married to a German lass and I have a lot of german civvy friends I can tell you that its not at all like that in the more rural areas maybe in the bigger built up cities like Berlin.
Not sure how long you were out there for and how good your German was at the time, as Bde/Sqn interpretor I got really involved with the locals and their customs etc and I promise you it wasn't all like that at all. They simply have a better understanding of family and taking care of their own over there.
Ken I understand theres a level of pride however when you're freezing your backside off and find yourself unable to climb the stairs a little bit of pride has to take a back seat to practicality , another problem with being British, we're far too stubborn to take help from others and would rather freeze/starve to death than accept help from those we love.
07-11-10, 02:14 PM
Sure i concede it's not every family, my experience was it was more widespread in the wealthy rural areas. I saw it in Korbecke and the surrounding villages and towns, but it was an affluent area, less so in Herford a less wealthy area. I also think the UK's attitude to elderly relatives is also pretty unique in the world, in that we don't care for them within the family unit. Symptoms of a selfish society perhaps?
09-11-10, 10:36 AM
It is of interest to note that the beginning of modern state welfare was brought about by a royalist bureaucrat who was anti socialist...Bismarck the Iron Chancellor.
Think Dunc-Smith has some good ideas on reform but this community work is very slippery ground and you'd have to say that if long term unemployeds are asked to paint, garden, clean stuff then by definition there is actually a job available. It could lead to a cost assessment by cash wasting councils that many jobs could be filled by lower paid employees recruited thru these schemes.
09-11-10, 06:00 PM
William Wilberforce must be turning in his graveOriginally Posted by Col
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