Right to a Fair Life

So it seems more and more we’re fast approaching that tipping point between being rich or poor, not much middle ground. This was how it use to be just a Century ago. You either had money, or you didn’t. There was no real middle class. Just rich Kings, Queens, Lords, Ladies and Earls etc on one side, peasants on the other. Over the course of evolution the middle ground broadened and the contrast between rich and the breadline became more nuanced. I myself am from a middle class family, although my Grandparents weren’t, never having owned their own house, always had one provided by the Council. My Dad, as previously shared made some good money during the boom of the 80’s but that was due to being rewarded from his hard graft, not from some cushy “management position” where ‘cuts’ were taken from his teams efforts. My Dad inherited his strong work ethic from his Dad who came from an era when you had multiple jobs to make ends meet. If you ever needed to know hard graft, my Grandfather's primary job was working on the railways either side of doing his National Service.

My Dad, always good with money, always waiting for the inevitable rainy day, was careful with his money but no matter what the weather, there was always food on the table, heating and shelter. Life’s minimum necessities were always provided and my childhood was much easier for it. I’d never known the flip side of having to choose between food or heating, so I would’ve taken them for granted, but I knew there were certainly kids in my school who went through this and sadly having been left school 24-years this year, it’s a shame those times are still occurring during the UK’s ‘Winter of Discontent.’

This brings us to the present day with the energy and endless ‘cost of living’ crisis, which is a term that just gets thrown around now but if you let it land it’s actually terrifying. ‘Cost of living’. The cost of living is a CRISIS! This isn’t the time to maybe cut back on holidays, maybe vacation at home this year instead of going abroad. No, we’re way past that. This is the time good honest, hardworking people are having to choose between eating or heating. Parents having to choose between heating the house for an hour a day when their children get home from school or themselves eating that day or in some cases longer. Such workers, as you’ll know are the rail workers, Nurses and Teachers who are being forced to strike by their Unions (and quite rightly) in an effort to make the UK Government listen.

I actually left the UK a long time ago back in 2011. It was the post 2008 crash, salaries were cut, jobs were few and far between and my company offered me a chance to work abroad, which at the start was one big chaotic mess (a story for another time). Things eventually worked out well but I’d go through all that turmoil again to avoid still being in the UK right now. Of course this isn’t an issue exclusive to the UK, but a good example of where the World over is at right now.

Not living in amongst all that chaos is a relief but speaking to my Dad each week and listening to the news and podcasts, it is heartbreaking to listen to some of the stories from Nurses and Teachers who are now eating from food banks, missing meals and not turning the heat on. This of course leads to other issues, such as mould and illness. There are some people who can’t even afford to pay their energy bill any longer due to the rise in costs, resulting in their energy provider being legally granted permission (by Judges) to enter the property and install a ‘prepay meter’, which actually cost more than the orthodox post-pay system…what a way to kick the poor sod when they’re down.

Although cliche, I think it’s fair to say this is what happens when the Tories run the Country. No fitter example than the ‘Iron Lady’ herself - Maggie Thatcher, subsequently followed in recent times by Boris/Truss and now Sunaks; individuals very experienced in bringing the UK to its knees and into the gutter. The issue with Tories is they don’t know real poverty. All their members and followers are the rich folks. Born from wealth. They don’t know what it means to have to decide between food and warmth. Never walked around a Supermarket with a calculator to make sure you’re not embarrassed at the till. They also have a habit of doubling down on their richness by expensing everything they can and not divulging true earnings to avoid paying tax…yes Mr Zahawi! Like they’re not rich enough, they have to see how they take full advantage of their entitled positions to see what additional freebies they can get for good measure.

In the past few weeks Rishi Sunak is actually trying to pass a bill to make it harder for Union workers to strike to avoid the disruption it causes the ‘British Public’ and the Country. The dumb idiot can’t even comprehend the intent of the strike. Of course it’s meant to disrupt the Country. Would they strike if no-one noticed? That would only highlight their irrelevance.

During the pandemic the entire Country really witnessed just how important the Teachers and Nurses are. Parents having to home school and Nurses and many other ‘key workers’ putting their lives on the line on a daily basis, in hugely overcrowded hospitals, working tirelessly to save lives. We publicly applauded them every week at 5pm in recognition of our heroes efforts. They did an incredible job while all the ‘white collars’ stayed safely at home making more money due to saving on the daily commutes to their office.

Fast forward 3-years and how are those workers being repaid? By not getting a pay-rise. This isn’t a pay-rise to enable them to go to the Bahamas this year or buy that Aston Martin they do actually deserve. No, just a pay-rise that’s aligned with inflation, which over the years has cumulatively reached a point where when a pay-rise is given actually creates a pay-cut due it not reconciling with inflation. Ultimately they need a pay-rise to afford them the ‘luxury’ or being able to feed themselves and families and turn the heating on. As a rough percentage, to reconcile their wages with something you can actually live off, then they need somewhere between an 11-15% rise. They’re told they can have more but it still has to come from ‘the budget’, which means you rob Peter to pay Paul. This translates to taking more home, but the kids you teach or patients you treat will now become the victim by not having the appropriate level of education or care each of them deserves. Wow Mr Sunak? Really? That’s your ultimatum?

The other downside to this is Nurses and Teachers are actually changing their careers to work in a job they can actually live off. Apparently KFC workers are paid more than Junior Ambulance Nurses. Can you imagine the ethical trade-off of changing your job from saving lives to frying chicken?

Children are now being left in overcrowded classrooms being taught by supply Teachers meaning we’ll end up with a generation of kids with missed opportunities. Of course most Tories wouldn’t get that. I’m sure they all went private or boarding schools, never saw their Parents from one Summer to the next, creating a generation of silver spooned morons with no empathy.

I’m not quite sure where this will end but as mentioned previously one or two of those £800m donors to the Ukraine would solve part of this. I understand the need for security and stopping that sociopath at the Kremlin but what a complete waste of money it all it is. Putin is nothing more than that spoilt child in a toy shop who can’t have what he wants and didn’t get enough attention off his parents so throws a tantrum. However, since Putin is an old man and President of a resourceful global powerhouse, his tantrums don’t result in tossed sweets but tossed missile strikes, at his next door neighbour, who the rest of the world are sending huge financial aid to assist at the cost of their own houses. A fitting lyric from Linkin Parks track ‘Hands held high’, “When the rich wage War it’s the poor who die”.

It’s sad that we seem to be heading closer to the start of the cycle. The rich get richer and the poor poorer. What is the end game for the Tories and the rich? To kill off the poor, as malnutrition or illness caused by their current circumstances will do that. Also, how we will we treat our ill or educate our children? It’s time to liberate the poor from poverty and restore balance, as if nothing else in life, everyone has the right to a fair life!