I had written this on SM sometime back. I realized it is applicable to other nations as well and not just Brits (like French)
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UK's situation is akin to someone who used to be rich and but that wealth has been steadily eroded. But that person still insists on having the same standard of living.
There is a generation of Brits who do not know what true sustained shortage is or what rationing is. They have never experienced blackouts or lawlessness. (What is being experienced right now is just a trailer)
So there are only two options really:
1. Insist on maintaining the standard of living
2. Willfully accept to lower the standard of living
Brits want (1) but the govt doesn't have the money and yet they don't want to pay for it.
This results into govt looking for every opportunity to tax. This results into passionate discussions on whether this is fair or not.
These debates even though understandable at times loses the sight of fact that this is a result of choice (1).
As for taxes, the govt will squeeze anything which resembles a pot of money which was untouched so far. Also the expenses (due to choosing (1)) are going to rise every year.
What will be left for the govt to tax next year or 5 years from now? The govt will run out of things to tax eventually. This is clearly not sustainable.
I think also the law of averages is catching up with Brits i.e. after so many generations (since the colonial era) there will be come a few generations which will be worse off.
__What is the way forward?__
This is not a solution to the problems but to accept the hard reality that there are going to be few generations of people who will have to make peace with a lower standard of living, work hard without getting much in return, so that their grand children will enjoy a much better life.
In other words, the current generation (and maybe next) has to swallow the hard pill.
These sacrifices on families come in multiple forms like:
1. Low wages, increased work hours
2. Prepare to go abroad for work to earn a little extra, just like skilled migrants from less developed countries do.
3. Make the best with what you have
4. Living within means.
5. Become less materialistic
6. Prepared to do work which Brits did not like and passed on to the immigrants
7. Pay for healthcare
8. Substantial reduction in benefit amounts.
9. Everyone in family has to work
(This does not talk about what govt should do, which should be a different post)
>This is not a solution to the problems but to accept the hard reality that there are going to be few generations of people who will have to make peace with a lower standard of living, work hard without getting much in return, so that their grand children will enjoy a much better life.
The problem is that that often isn't what happens. The one who works hard for little in return, rather than catching up, is behind forever. One works for compensation only.
Accepting low wages isn't a 'sacrifice' that is eventually repaid. A sacrifice rather takes the form of working for high wages while saving.
> is behind forever.
This completely depends on the policies of the future govt. There are many examples (like South Korea, China, India) where the current generation is much better off than previous.
Another example is cliched "American Dream". There is/was some element of truth that if you are sincere and ready to work hard you can still make it in the life. However, I will agree that this can become much harder now.
Ah. I don't see competition as being between generations to any major degree, but between people with generations, so I find the framing very strange, and I think, if you see competition as between people, you will see that allowing yourself to end up behind others will not end with you getting somehow repaid.
Instead, getting a high salary now is used as negotiation for getting a high salary tomorrow, so it is critical to ensure it. You do not gain by accepting a lower salary.
If consumption must be reduced, that may be so, but if it is done by reducing salaries, and your salary is part of it, then you will lose and you will never be repaid for it.
> Accepting low wages isn't a 'sacrifice' that is eventually repaid
It is not a question of being eventually repaid. It is to survive to fight another day. There are countless examples of how first generation immigrants (across all ethnicities) have to struggle and sacrifice so that they can provide the foundation for the next generation to thrive.
This is the mode Brits will have to enter into unfortunately.
If they sacrifice, they sacrifice by not consuming, surely, not by accepting lower wages. This is perfectly consistent with the picture of putting all your money into tutoring for your children etc., because that is in fact not consumption in the ordinary sense but something investment-adjacent.
But when (2) is what "my" country has to offer, why should I stay? This isn't even the typical tax evasion debate, because retirement is also an issue for average Joe. It's not like the other European countries are any better off, but the first country going to defect on this, is going to loose labour to the other countries, which then might even be able to cash in on their promises.
I am not sure I understood but the above is written from average Joe pov.
> It's not like the other European countries are any better off
Agree. As I said at the start this is applicable to other rich nations as well like the France.
In short, the UK will go down from 1st world to 2nd world (if one does not like the term: 3rd world).
Maybe I should have written "average maybe university educated Joe". They of course don't want to move most of the time, but moving in the country and moving between Europeen countries is not that much different due to the EU. (Yes, Brexit, but they are still treated specially. Fellow British exchange student described is as annoying, but reasonable.)
My point was that some part of the issue is labor supply, so one country giving up, might actually fix it for the other countries in the short term. This is why no one wants to defect.
Also doing anything to improve things or move in your proposed direction means acknowledging that we did huge mistakes in the past 20-30 years, and accepting that we are actually globalization losers. However most politicians are still the same or in the same party, that still promotes more globalization will fix everything. Also in university the mere idea, that maybe sending all IP to and training China, is maybe not the best idea and that we are now not the more powerful side any more, gets immediately shouted down as "xenophobia".
The points I had written are from an individual p.o.v.
I agree with what your implying, but my take is that Brits cannot (and should not) wait for Govt to come to its senses.
I am saying take inspiration from Brits of few generations back who ventured out, took calculated risks and endured sea travel for months to reach far out places to find opportunities. I mean do the modern equivalent of this. They did the grind so that the next few generation benefited.
Also, industrial revolution happened because of individual brilliance and not some govt policy. The only thing govt did was not get in the way.
Not everyone will be able to do this but sometimes it takes few people to inspire millions.
yes very valid and good points,I think much of what you say is now in process.