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Topic: poverty
Posted By: scarletpimp
Subject: poverty
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 3:28am
In general, I try my best to steer clear of topics which don't involve Scarlets.
Recent events however have been so serious that, I feel almost obliged to share my feelings on matters close to me here in Llanelli.
In western European standards, we are talking of poverty here, and the situation has been bad for a while. Now however, the cost-of-living crisis means, it's a whole lot worse.

I live near Myrtle house food bank and have been donating to it for several years.
What we notice now however, is not just the elderly and those on benefit coming, its a host of others.
Its dreadfully worrying to see this, particularly young family's dependant on handouts.

I would like to tell a story of an elderly lady called Joan, living not too far away from me.
She struggled one week coming up our street carrying shopping bags, containing nothing but the cheapest tins etc. 
I offered to carry the bags, she wasn't happy, but I insisted. When I got to her little flat. I was shocked to see no carpet on the floor and very basic furnishings, and very little if any food there.
Joan had always worked as a cleaner (sometimes three jobs a day), but chronic arthritis meant she had to give up. At that time, she was on basic universal credit
Even before the energy crisis was anywhere near the horizon, this lady told me that she had to make a choice of eating or heating.
She wanted no hand-outs, but my wife insisted, that when we made Sunday lunch etc, that we took a plate. She was grateful for that.
I felt humble to think that this dignified, hardworking woman, was living like this.
Since then, she has had her pension, so things have eased slightly, but not much!

Up and down the country we have tales that mirror this one! Good people, who have worked hard, struggling. Some unsure that they can pay their bills let alone feed their families.

Let's cast our minds back to the architects of our misery, starting with David Cameron, and his mate George Oborne.
Both these guys, very wealthy millionaires, with no conception on how it is for ordinary working people to survive, let alone prosper.
Of course, these are public schoolboys, like Johnson representing leafy, plush constituencies, alien to places like Llanelli,
They introduced that wonderful word "AUSTERITY".
This was meant to be tightening our belts collectively and lowering the national debt.
Fine i thought, let's all pull together!
It didn't work out like that, and instead of sharing the load, our friend George decided to punish those least able to defend themselves, by a benefit squeeze.
Would he bring in a mansion tax for the rich. Of course not!
People like Joan began to suffer then, and it felt no-one was listening!

We then had Brexit and Theresa May. Pretty soon we realised Brexit wasn't going to work
particularly as the Tories had no plan or no intention of a deal with EU.
Who gets hurt, when prices rise. People like Joan, who cannot defend themselves!

Then of course, we had Boris, a man who couldn't tell the truth, if it slapped him in the face.
Here was a man of such appalling arrogance, but little attention to the detail of governance.
He had a grand idea of "levelling up", and appointed Michael Gove to administer it.
This was meant to ensure the inward investment came to places in the country which were struggling, particularly in the north.
Some felt that this was purely a cynical attempt to hang on to Red Wall seats, previously held by Labour.
A survey published the other day of local authorities in these allegedly "Red Wall" seats, showed that that there had been talk, but no real inward investment by the government!
So much for "levelling up", leaving the poorest to fend for themselves
We all know that lying and partying caught up with our friend Boris.
Breaking his own rules during Covid, while the rest of us stayed at home.
We all know that he was lucky to get away with just ONE police fine!
The most galling thing is that the Tories were quite happy to keep him there, until he obviously became an electoral liability.
He was then kicked out.

This of course brings us neatly to the present incumbent of no10.
Truss is a woman, who has ticked so many boxes and made Houdini style swivels in her positioning, on so many things, she has been able to climb the greasy Tory pole.
Unfortunately, too late, the Tories, and the country find, she is totally and utterly out of her depth, looking like a schoolgirl at a public speaking contest, when asked to address the country on the most serious pressing matters of the day!
She and her crazed "kamikaze Kwarteng" former chancellor, cook up a mini budget which puts the whole of British financial stability at risk.
Big Tax cuts for the wealthy and a drip down economy. The IMF and even joe Biden, comment on the madness happening at Downing St., regarding borrowing huge amounts of money for tax cuts, pushing up inflation
Would tax cuts helped the majority of Llanelli residents, very little.
What will affect them however is the higher Morgage rates, higher inflation, now a record (in recent times) of 10%, pushing up food prices and the cost of everyday living.
This pushes people like Joan, even nearer the poverty line and they face a real battle to survive this winter.

It's good to hear that pensions will rise in line with inflation, but no such guarantees for those people on benefits, and consequently, many people in Llanelli (and across the country), will struggle.
On top of this the new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt (loved by so many in the health service after his stint as health secretary) announces that help with energy bills will only now last until next April, not 2 years as was originally planned.
The future is so uncertain, for so many people.

It is clear that if the Tories kick out Truss, that will be 4 PM's in 6 years, and three removed.
The mandate, they won, partly on the back of Brexit, and partly on the back of Corbyn's unpopularity has evaporated. 
Senior conservative backbencher Charles Walker described the bullying by Tory whips in the chamber as "inexcusable ", and a "disgrace", as they attempted to force backbench MPs into the division lobbies prior to the vote on fracking and confidence in the government.
he also said that "he expects the PM to resign soon, as she is not up for the job"

The key thing now, is that we need an election.
Tories, MOST not all (as there are some fair minded, decent MP's who will put country before party) will not want one, as turkeys don't vote for Xma's.
We could find slippery Sunak returning or more middle of the road Penny Mordant.

The key issue is this, we cannot wait for another 2yrs or 18 months to see the back of this rabble.
I look around Llanelli and see stagnation, I see despair and see suffering.
WE OWE IT TO PEOPLE LIKE JOAN, SHE RAISED A FAMILY, WORKED ALL HER LIFE, LIVING DECENTLY, QUIETLY, NOW HER REWARD IS THIS!
Community matters, people matter, caring matters.
If it doesn't what are we, a group of assorted induvial flung together?
I dispute that, even in a town where anonymity is sometimes easy.

We ALL need to stand together boldly now, shoulder to shoulder and speak with one voice for change.
Maybe then, we can move a little closer to a better, fairer, more caring society we all deserve and crave!







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I stood yer on tanner bank



Replies:
Posted By: sreve19
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 6:51am
I'm sure you can find some political forum to air this, this is a rugby forum šŸ¤·šŸ¼ā€ā™‚ļø


Posted By: GPR - Rochester
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 7:34am
Originally posted by sreve19 sreve19 wrote:

I'm sure you can find some political forum to air this, this is a rugby forum šŸ¤·šŸ¼ā€ā™‚ļø

Technically pimp should have posted this under chat board or random but he is well within our rules, I believe, in posting such a topic. In my experience this forum is not confined to rugby related matters & in my opinion that makes it far more interesting. 


Posted By: scarletabroad
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 8:44am
I agree wholeheartedly with Pimps statement however let's not pretend that Labour would be much better. Tony Blair was more Tory than the Tories, he privatised prisons parts of the health service etc he took us to an illegal war and was also privately educated, the current Labour leader is also privately educated and part of the same tory gang/club. My worry is that there isn't a person in that pretentious cesspit of self-effacing oxygen thieves that I would want to represent me in parliament.


Posted By: GPR - Rochester
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 8:57am
Originally posted by scarletabroad scarletabroad wrote:

I agree wholeheartedly with Pimps statement however let's not pretend that Labour would be much better. Tony Blair was more Tory than the Tories, he privatised prisons parts of the health service etc he took us to an illegal war and was also privately educated, the current Labour leader is also privately educated and part of the same tory gang/club. My worry is that there isn't a person in that pretentious cesspit of self-effacing oxygen thieves that I would want to represent me in parliament.

That has to be one of the best descriptions of the house of Commons I have ever read.ClapHow about Andy Burnham???


Posted By: scarletnut
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 8:59am
Originally posted by scarletabroad scarletabroad wrote:

I agree wholeheartedly with Pimps statement however let's not pretend that Labour would be much better. Tony Blair was more Tory than the Tories, he privatised prisons parts of the health service etc he took us to an illegal war and was also privately educated, the current Labour leader is also privately educated and part of the same tory gang/club. My worry is that there isn't a person in that pretentious cesspit of self-effacing oxygen thieves that I would want to represent me in parliament.
Labour would be less worse..

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I still wake up late at night and think of what might have been when tim stimpson hit that jammy penalty1


Posted By: reesytheexile
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 9:40am
Originally posted by scarletabroad scarletabroad wrote:

I agree wholeheartedly with Pimps statement however let's not pretend that Labour would be much better. Tony Blair was more Tory than the Tories, he privatised prisons parts of the health service etc he took us to an illegal war and was also privately educated, the current Labour leader is also privately educated and part of the same tory gang/club. My worry is that there isn't a person in that pretentious cesspit of self-effacing oxygen thieves that I would want to represent me in parliament.
Itā€™s all about winning. Corbyn failed appallingly. Blair was a winner - because he won 3 General Elections. The Middle East war was clearly a mistake based on bad information and American obsession on freeing the world ( apart from themselves!!).Blairā€™s government at home did well . Labour must win next time šŸ™


Posted By: GPR - Rochester
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 9:53am
Originally posted by reesytheexile reesytheexile wrote:

Originally posted by scarletabroad scarletabroad wrote:

I agree wholeheartedly with Pimps statement however let's not pretend that Labour would be much better. Tony Blair was more Tory than the Tories, he privatised prisons parts of the health service etc he took us to an illegal war and was also privately educated, the current Labour leader is also privately educated and part of the same tory gang/club. My worry is that there isn't a person in that pretentious cesspit of self-effacing oxygen thieves that I would want to represent me in parliament.
Itā€™s all about winning. Corbyn failed appallingly. Blair was a winner - because he won 3 General Elections. The Middle East war was clearly a mistake based on bad information and American obsession on freeing the world ( apart from themselves!!).Blairā€™s government at home did well . Labour must win next time šŸ™

Yes reesy I totally agree. Lets face it if they don't win the next time against this party with their abysmal record then they are going to be in the political wilderness for many years. However winning is only the first step - they then have to govern responsibly. Surely their priority has to be the NHS/Social care and raising people out of the poverty trap. As usual, of course, there will no easy fixes as World class health & social care costs money which will have to come in the form of taxation. 

I have been a long time fan of some sort of salary levelling up for FTSE 250 companies based on the rewards offered to the CEO and the lowest paid employee. There should be a % mechanism which governs the disparity between the top and lowest earners which would end for good things like Bankers getting millions in bonuses while some in the organisation get minimum wage. 


Posted By: RR1972
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 10:29am
Does it matter if a person is privatley educated? As long as they are the best person for the job that smacks of reverse snobbery to me. Truss went to a state school she is hopeless. Blair was a great labour leader did loads of great things minimum wage, gay marriages, and good friday agreement give me hin over any pm in my life time


Posted By: SA14
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 11:40am
Isnā€™t wales Labour so not wholly innocent. 


Posted By: Oracle
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 11:49am
By the next election the only way a tory will be elected is by PR 


Posted By: RR1972
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 11:50am
Originally posted by Oracle Oracle wrote:

By the next election the only way a tory will be elected is by PR 
nailed on they still get over 100 seats


Posted By: Oracle
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 12:14pm
Yes unfortunately that could be true , but at least we will never see this fiasco again when they will have to learn to negotiate and act like adults


Posted By: dr_martinov
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 1:20pm
Originally posted by RR1972 RR1972 wrote:

Does it matter if a person is privatley educated? As long as they are the best person for the job that smacks of reverse snobbery to me. Truss went to a state school she is hopeless. Blair was a great labour leader did loads of great things minimum wage, gay marriages, and good friday agreement give me hin over any pm in my life time

It shouldn't do, no, but the actual issue is that of diversity. In 2020, 65% of Johnson's cabinet were privately educated compared to 7% of the population. So on a person by person basis of course should be the best for the job, however, this quoted stat says to me that something, somewhere is unfair in our society...

I found this for the 2017 election, can't find the equivalent for 2019. If it truly didn't matter for deciding MPs then you would expect a much closer distribution to overall public.

Over half of MPs went to comprehensives ā€“ but a career in politics is still  far from accessible | British Politics and Policy at LSE


Posted By: dr_martinov
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 1:30pm
Oh and how about this one, below.

So, I do think it's important and relates to the topic of poverty within our society as we have a system that is appears rigged.

But certainly being horrible to people because of their education is a bad trap to fall in to, completely agree this is not the way to go. There's loads of different types of "independent school" as well for a variety of reasons, e.g. religion. But nonetheless trends are clear and large scale reform is needed really.
Private school and Oxbridge take top jobs - BBC News


Posted By: scarletabroad
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 1:41pm
The point of being privately educated is that Labour have always made it an issue. You are correct it should be best person for the job. As for Saint Blair and the Good Friday agreement there are many who would contest that, admittedly there aren't main land bombings like the 80's and 90's however it hasn't gone away, and the divisions are still there. As for Andy Burnham seems to talk well but very regional based, he won't get anywhere near Starmers PC front bench though and he will be the first who probably look to stoke up issues.


Posted By: dr_martinov
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 1:46pm
Originally posted by scarletabroad scarletabroad wrote:

The point of being privately educated is that Labour have always made it an issue. You are correct it should be best person for the job. As for Saint Blair and the Good Friday agreement there are many who would contest that, admittedly there aren't main land bombings like the 80's and 90's however it hasn't gone away, and the divisions are still there. As for Andy Burnham seems to talk well but very regional based, he won't get anywhere near Starmers PC front bench though and he will be the first who probably look to stoke up issues.

It is a pretty clear example of something unfair in our society. If you argue that it should be the best person for the job, then the distribution of privately educated would be the same as for the general public for the above jobs. They're not, so either "better people for the job" happen to have gone to independent schools or there are aspects of their appointments that are unfair. I have no issues with a political party pointing this out and campaigning to address it.


Posted By: scarletabroad
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 1:50pm
My boy would fall into the privately educated group, but he is a sports scholarship yet would count as private as would I dare say the 5% of footballers above. It is despairing at what is available to lead us.


Posted By: dr_martinov
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 2:10pm
Originally posted by scarletabroad scarletabroad wrote:

My boy would fall into the privately educated group, but he is a sports scholarship yet would count as private as would I dare say the 5% of footballers above. It is despairing at what is available to lead us.

Yeah, and I know it can be a bit of a touchy subject as well - I think in part because your education is usually not something you yourself have chosen, but we are talking general trends, that sort of thing. I'd agree Labour types seeking to create these massive divides based on school type isn't that helpful, but highlighting unfairness is... can be a fine line.


Posted By: SA14
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 6:19pm
I personally donā€™t think the cost of living crisis is as big as the media portrays it. 


Posted By: greypower1
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 7:15pm
Originally posted by SA14 SA14 wrote:

I personally donā€™t think the cost of living crisis is as big as the media portrays it. 

The media are publishing actual data that demonstrates the cost of living is a crisis for many people,  if you don't  eat, heat your home or pay a mortgage then I guess things aren't  too bad.


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Keep the faith


Posted By: ladram
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 7:21pm
Originally posted by SA14 SA14 wrote:

I personally donā€™t think the cost of living crisis is as big as the media portrays it. 
Are you on a troll?my kids  mortgages are going to nearly double petrol is shooting up again and food is going up day by day not to mention gas and electric prices I think everyone else hoping for the crassest post of the year can forget it as you've won hands down.


Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 7:48pm
It's the austerity thing that gets to me. The UK currently has a Tax/GDP ratio of 34%. The average EU Countries Tax/GDP ratio is 41%. That equates to a £150 Billion difference. In Wales's context, given the 55/45 split between Welsh Govt budget & UK spending on behalf of Wales, it would amount to an additional £4 Billion for our public services. When people say there's no money, it's not true. What is lacking is the political will to raise taxes. If we want better services and to close the deficit we will have to raise taxes. The right will howl and wail over it, but it's classic Keynsian economics. That's money that will come back into the economy via public spending that at present, largely ends up in the bank accounts of the wealthy. 

Well, that's my opinion for what it's worth.


Posted By: Dic Penderyn
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 7:48pm
Originally posted by SA14 SA14 wrote:

I personally donā€™t think the cost of living crisis is as big as the media portrays it. 

You must be in jail.


Posted By: RR1972
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 8:57pm
If i could afford to send my kids to a fee paying school too right i would. As did corbyns parents did and  as did dianne abbott with her kids. We all want the best for our kids, labour mps bamg on about fee paying schools but they choose them for their kids. Letā€™s be honest both major parties are dominated by university graduate ex civil servants, solicitors and career politicians there are next to no working class heros who have raised themselves from the shop floor to a position of power in either party. Rayner has in fairness but she can barely strimg a sentence together 


Posted By: scarletpimp
Date Posted: 20 October 2022 at 10:55pm
Originally posted by totallybiasedscarlet totallybiasedscarlet wrote:

It's the austerity thing that gets to me. The UK currently has a Tax/GDP ratio of 34%. The average EU Countries Tax/GDP ratio is 41%. That equates to a £150 Billion difference. In Wales's context, given the 55/45 split between Welsh Govt budget & UK spending on behalf of Wales, it would amount to an additional £4 Billion for our public services. When people say there's no money, it's not true. What is lacking is the political will to raise taxes. If we want better services and to close the deficit we will have to raise taxes. The right will howl and wail over it, but it's classic Keynsian economics. That's money that will come back into the economy via public spending that at present, largely ends up in the bank accounts of the wealthy. 

Well, that's my opinion for what it's worth.

Thank you totallybiasedscarlet, for that excellent post, getting to the heart of why I instigated the post in the first place.

Truss attempted to pull a stunt that would see huge gains (tax cuts) made by the wealthiest, while the rest of us languished, with little reward, and the majority in Llanelli, none at all.
All this was done by borrowing huge of amounts of money, causing markets to crash.
She has now paid the price, is totally humiliated, and rightly so.

I wonder how truss and kwarteng thought they were going to plug the gaps in NHS funding. God knows!
The NHS is broken, staffed by dedicated, overworked individuals.
Ambulance waiting times, are shocking, putting people's lives at risk.
My wife has dementia and suffers with serious thyroid issues and calcium deficiency, which can lead to organ failure.
We waited all day for an ambulance 6 months ago when my wife was quite ill, and then waited ages outside Glangwili.
Staff, both ambulance and at hospital were amazing.

The issue as we know is bed blocking, due to funding issues for care in the community, (regarding patient release) and the closing of community hospitals, like Myndd Mawr,in Tumble, where my wife once worked. There is some extra capacity at PPH now, to cover this but not adequately so. Really poor decision, and this is replicated throughout the country
A friend of mine was a bed manager a local hospital and had the awful task of having to tell patients, or their relatives that their operation had been cancelled, due to lack of beds.
Its dreadful and so sad, as and some of those patients had cancer and other serious ailments.

Was Sunak's Nat insurance rise targeted to raise funds for NHs, not sure, but with the backlog after Covid still apparent, something has to be done.
This takes us back neatly totallybiasedscarlets point on tax.
If we want an NHS, free to the point of delivery, someone one has to paye venif its through tax
It's not just the sick, the elderly, the vulnerable, it could be any of us, or our families that could be desperately in need at any given time

The overriding theme of this thread was POVERTY, with which Health issues are interlinked, (as above) as many poor people, due to inadequate diet etc, have ongoing health issues
Tories from Cameron to Truss have not dealt with any of these things including reorganisation of the health boards.
In Wales the devolved administration has to accept some responsibility for failings as do the health boards such as Betsi Cadwaladr, where there have been huge failings.
If, however national government is not committed and will not, in real terms, either pay its NHS staff what they deserve, OR underpin the finances settlements for all UK devolved administrations regarding health, then we are real trouble.

This is just one of the many reasons, as indicated in my leader post, for this thread,
why we need an AN ELECTION.
We need clarity, a new vision and a fresh approach to these crucial issues, affecting our lives.

Finally, can I say when I finished teaching, I did supply for a while, but by that stage I had enough of the classroom, as much as I enjoyed it.
for the next seven years, I worked as a cleaner, in an around the Llanelli area, in Supermarkets, pubs, shops. I did this to support my daughter in higher education then further education, as she had left home 
As a cleaner you were not always treated well, and I know how difficult it could have been, if I had to actually LIVE off the minimum wage, I earned. Many have to (like Joan)
These are people who are now going to be struggling, and whose voices need to be heard. These are the people, with the crisis deepening who will be facing the poverty trap



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I stood yer on tanner bank


Posted By: GPR - Rochester
Date Posted: 21 October 2022 at 7:47am
Good posts TBS & pimp. The tax issue is fundamental to the future prosperity of the country. Of course selling the idea of tax increases is a tough one with voters but a good serious politician can surely make the case for increases in order to improve the NHS & care for the less well off and those who need help. 

Our next door neighbour, recently widowed, is 85 and suffers with alzheimers. She has no children. She cannot make her own breakfast or indeed remember her daily medication. Social services understand what she needs to carry on living at home but do not have the people to give the care so their only suggestion was to sell her home and move into a nursing home. 

My wife & I were not happy with this solution so my wife now provides her with care morning & evening. It only takes her 1.5 hours a day but it sets our neighbour up for the day, gives her good nutrition and she gets her medication. It is heartbreaking to see someone who once made a real contribution to society - paying her taxes, working for 40+ years being neglected. There are millions of similar stories throughout the country. When are the government going to realise that providing care for elderly, vulnerable people is not a burden which should be done by underpaid carers but a service which we should pride ourselves on giving to those who have contributed throughout their lives. 


Posted By: SA14
Date Posted: 21 October 2022 at 8:36am
Originally posted by ladram ladram wrote:

Originally posted by SA14 SA14 wrote:

I personally donā€™t think the cost of living crisis is as big as the media portrays it. 
Are you on a troll?my kids  mortgages are going to nearly double petrol is shooting up again and food is going up day by day not to mention gas and electric prices I think everyone else hoping for the crassest post of the year can forget it as you've won hands down.

No Iā€™m not. Of course it affects people, and a lot of people, obviously my personal observations in general life and my job are totally different. 


Posted By: GPR - Rochester
Date Posted: 21 October 2022 at 8:57am
Originally posted by SA14 SA14 wrote:

Originally posted by ladram ladram wrote:

Originally posted by SA14 SA14 wrote:

I personally donā€™t think the cost of living crisis is as big as the media portrays it. 
Are you on a troll?my kids  mortgages are going to nearly double petrol is shooting up again and food is going up day by day not to mention gas and electric prices I think everyone else hoping for the crassest post of the year can forget it as you've won hands down.

No Iā€™m not. Of course it affects people, and a lot of people, obviously my personal observations in general life and my job are totally different. 

How does that explain your comment that you consider the cost of living crisis not to be as large as the media portray it?????? If you personally are not being overly affected by a 10% increase in inflation & you don't have a mortgage or are fortunate that your mortgage deal still has some time to run or indeed you do not consider a fourfold increase in energy costs with winter on its way to be a problem then you are one of the fortunate few.

I would suggest that perhaps in future you spare a thought for those not as well off as you clearly are. 


Posted By: Kentexile
Date Posted: 21 October 2022 at 9:09am
Agree GPR. My wife is a manager at an organisation which provides care to clients with what are described as challenging needs. An issue  is retaining care staff when they can earn more at the local Tesco for more straight forward less responsible and in some cases less dangerous work. Increasing pay isnā€™t straight forward  a lot of the funding comes from public bodies whose budgets are being cuts and who are looking to reduce what they pay to support clients so creating a viscous circle .


Posted By: GPR - Rochester
Date Posted: 21 October 2022 at 9:18am
Originally posted by Kentexile Kentexile wrote:

Agree GPR. My wife is a manager at an organisation which provides care to clients with what are described as challenging needs. An issue  is retaining care staff when they can earn more at the local Tesco for more straight forward less responsible and in some cases less dangerous work. Increasing pay isnā€™t straight forward  a lot of the funding comes from public bodies whose budgets are being cuts and who are looking to reduce what they pay to support clients so creating a viscous circle .

Spot on. My wife & I have been dealing with the care system on behalf of my neighbour for some months now. It is not the fault of the individual social workers who are well qualified to understand a person's needs but the overall budget and importance it is given in wider society. Knowing someone needs two 45 minute visits a day is one thing but finding the staff is another ball game all together. 


Posted By: ladram
Date Posted: 21 October 2022 at 10:30am
Originally posted by GPR - Rochester GPR - Rochester wrote:

Originally posted by Kentexile Kentexile wrote:

Agree GPR. My wife is a manager at an organisation which provides care to clients with what are described as challenging needs. An issue  is retaining care staff when they can earn more at the local Tesco for more straight forward less responsible and in some cases less dangerous work. Increasing pay isnā€™t straight forward  a lot of the funding comes from public bodies whose budgets are being cuts and who are looking to reduce what they pay to support clients so creating a viscous circle .

Spot on. My wife & I have been dealing with the care system on behalf of my neighbour for some months now. It is not the fault of the individual social workers who are well qualified to understand a person's needs but the overall budget and importance it is given in wider society. Knowing someone needs two 45 minute visits a day is one thing but finding the staff is another ball game all together. 
Experienced the same with mother in law regarding carers in the end we found a girl who was starting a business giving private care which was £15 an hour or more if it was personal care which was worth to take the pressure off my 65 yr old wife and her 70 yr old sister but mum fell and broke her femur 7 weeks ago today and is still in hospital having had 2 chest infections and pneumonia and weighing around 4 stone at 95 years old.


Posted By: RR1972
Date Posted: 21 October 2022 at 11:56am
Care work is mentlally and physically hard and pay is rubbish, a real tough gig tbh, a lot of non uk nationals Are key in this industry a fact the ā€œforeigners outā€ brigade would do well to rember


Posted By: reesytheexile
Date Posted: 21 October 2022 at 12:02pm
Originally posted by Dic Penderyn Dic Penderyn wrote:

Originally posted by SA14 SA14 wrote:

I personally donā€™t think the cost of living crisis is as big as the media portrays it. 

You must be in jail.
 

I bet even in the nick the price of Snout and drugs is going up šŸ˜¬


Posted By: GPR - Rochester
Date Posted: 21 October 2022 at 12:07pm
Originally posted by RR1972 RR1972 wrote:

Care work is mentlally and physically hard and pay is rubbish, a real tough gig tbh, a lot of non uk nationals Are key in this industry a fact the ā€œforeigners outā€ brigade would do well to rember

I assume you are referring to the right wing brigade Suella's mob. Lets not mix up the facts here - paying non UK nationals minimum wage or below to do certain jobs is not an answer it is part of the problem. Pay carers a decent wage regardless of what nationality they are.


Posted By: scarletpimp
Date Posted: 21 October 2022 at 12:50pm
Originally posted by GPR - Rochester GPR - Rochester wrote:

Good posts TBS & pimp. The tax issue is fundamental to the future prosperity of the country. Of course selling the idea of tax increases is a tough one with voters but a good serious politician can surely make the case for increases in order to improve the NHS & care for the less well off and those who need help. 

Our next door neighbour, recently widowed, is 85 and suffers with alzheimers. She has no children. She cannot make her own breakfast or indeed remember her daily medication. Social services understand what she needs to carry on living at home but do not have the people to give the care so their only suggestion was to sell her home and move into a nursing home. 

My wife & I were not happy with this solution so my wife now provides her with care morning & evening. It only takes her 1.5 hours a day but it sets our neighbour up for the day, gives her good nutrition and she gets her medication. It is heartbreaking to see someone who once made a real contribution to society - paying her taxes, working for 40+ years being neglected. There are millions of similar stories throughout the country. When are the government going to realise that providing care for elderly, vulnerable people is not a burden which should be done by underpaid carers but a service which we should pride ourselves on giving to those who have contributed throughout their lives. 

That is a remarkable post. A fine example of everything I have tried to explain in setting up this thread.
Community is important, people matter, caring matters.
WELL, DONE GPR & Mrs GPR, you're an example to us all.

With regard to RR. post on care homes, yes correct.
It a very hard life working in a care home.
Both my wife's nieces were carers in a local home.
the care was wonderful, and it is a place where my sister-in-law died, sadly.
these cares could well be in the poverty trap themselves, with the wage they are paid, so GPR Rochester is correct to flag that up.

Finally, and in complete contrast, SA!4, .is in a word of his own!
Did he actually READ what I said in the leader post regarding the lad, Joan who lives near me.
She is not just an isolated case, both here in Llaneli, but up and down the country.
Hasn't there been enough coverage recently about people struggling out there. for u SA!4??

Truss wasn't listening. Tories weren't listening, there needs to be an ELECTION


-------------
I stood yer on tanner bank


Posted By: RR1972
Date Posted: 21 October 2022 at 1:08pm
Originally posted by GPR - Rochester GPR - Rochester wrote:

Originally posted by RR1972 RR1972 wrote:

Care work is mentlally and physically hard and pay is rubbish, a real tough gig tbh, a lot of non uk nationals Are key in this industry a fact the ā€œforeigners outā€ brigade would do well to rember

I assume you are referring to the right wing brigade Suella's mob. Lets not mix up the facts here - paying non UK nationals minimum wage or below to do certain jobs is not an answer it is part of the problem. Pay carers a decent wage regardless of what nationality they are.
yes spot on


Posted By: GPR - Rochester
Date Posted: 21 October 2022 at 1:10pm
Originally posted by RR1972 RR1972 wrote:

Originally posted by GPR - Rochester GPR - Rochester wrote:

Originally posted by RR1972 RR1972 wrote:

Care work is mentlally and physically hard and pay is rubbish, a real tough gig tbh, a lot of non uk nationals Are key in this industry a fact the ā€œforeigners outā€ brigade would do well to rember

I assume you are referring to the right wing brigade Suella's mob. Lets not mix up the facts here - paying non UK nationals minimum wage or below to do certain jobs is not an answer it is part of the problem. Pay carers a decent wage regardless of what nationality they are.
yes spot on

Bloody evil bunch and they are widespread throughout Europe which is even more disturbing. 


Posted By: dr_martinov
Date Posted: 21 October 2022 at 2:26pm
Originally posted by GPR - Rochester GPR - Rochester wrote:

Originally posted by RR1972 RR1972 wrote:

Originally posted by GPR - Rochester GPR - Rochester wrote:

Originally posted by RR1972 RR1972 wrote:

Care work is mentlally and physically hard and pay is rubbish, a real tough gig tbh, a lot of non uk nationals Are key in this industry a fact the ā€œforeigners outā€ brigade would do well to rember

I assume you are referring to the right wing brigade Suella's mob. Lets not mix up the facts here - paying non UK nationals minimum wage or below to do certain jobs is not an answer it is part of the problem. Pay carers a decent wage regardless of what nationality they are.
yes spot on

Bloody evil bunch and they are widespread throughout Europe which is even more disturbing. 

Who, carers? LOL


Posted By: scarletabroad
Date Posted: 24 October 2022 at 4:20pm
Originally posted by reesytheexile reesytheexile wrote:

Originally posted by Dic Penderyn Dic Penderyn wrote:

Originally posted by SA14 SA14 wrote:

I personally donā€™t think the cost of living crisis is as big as the media portrays it.Ā 


You must be in jail.
Ā 

I bet even in the nick the price of Snout and drugs is going up šŸ˜¬
£130 an ounce apparently    but free meals and TV with a gym and on call 24hr door service


Posted By: lofty evans
Date Posted: 01 January 2023 at 6:25am
12 years of the Tories and the situation for anyone not loaded or comfortably well off your [beep]ed. To suggest otherwise is incredible.  The hardships I see on a daily basis, people struggling with mortgages going up over £300 and electricity costs tripling if you think that Joe average who can't afford holidays and lives month to month is not struggling your pissed.
Not everyone has savings and bank accounts that can absorb hikes in petrol, food and everything else. A minimum wage is ridiculous it should be higher, every person in the UK should have a decent standard of living ...why not, if you've been lucky in life to amass something of note, good for you, but don't look down at other people. I work with guys who put in 20 years at Ford's when it closed they had a substantial pay off some £250, 000 pay offs and final salary pension, set up for the rest of their lives, good for them, but they still work as they would be bored stiff retiring, but they can leave their role anytime because they don't need the financial stability just the working environment.  They are the exception not the rule though.
I know of a guy in the armed  services who when on leave works as a dishwasher in a restaurant to earn extra money, the sooner this corrupt vile and just evil bunch of cronies are booted out the better and for me ...No MP should have a second job, expenses or subsidised food etc so they live in the real World.....its not a democracy its a corrupticity and the yanks are even worse. 



-------------
In 1972, Roy Bergiers scored that try and said "that was for you lofty"

"All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us"


Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 01 January 2023 at 9:37am
There are factors in economics and politics that are within a government's contol and others which are not. In any case, what a government can do falls somewhere between making things worse or making it better. We all know what the Tories are, what they stand for and who they represent. They are one of the oldest political parties in the world and have been in and around power for centuries. They are the party of established money and those who want in on that. They represent around 35% of the electorate. Their policies are geared to conserving the interests of established wealth. By means of these they tend to their constituency which for the most part is the largest minority in England. Each election they look to top that up enough to get a majority via the vagaries of the FPTP system that has served them very well for some 170 years now. There is a diversity of thought and groups within the party, but these last fourty five years their hardest right wing came into the ascendency culminating in the Truss government and the utter disaster of the Kwarteng budget ... which reportedly has cost the UK taxpayer £70 Billion. 44 years since Thatcher became PM and the UK has one of the worst GINI ratings in the world (inequality index). Wales is the poorest country in Western Europe and the rate of child poverty here is heartbreaking. 

At this point I'm going to quote Adam Price - "There is nothing inevitable about poverty in Wales." It is plainly a consequence of the way our economy has been managed. But for too long we have sat back and said to ourselves that we're too poor, too small, not good enough to manage our own affairs and we have entrusted these matters to UK governance on our behalf. Unless we set the agenda here in Wales, we leave it to someone else to set it for us ... and that someone is usually the Tories.

The definition of madness is to keep doing the same thing and expect a different outcome. We can carry on as we are, vote Labour, get Tory, keep the UK as is. Nothing will change. What do we do? Accept our lot? Or do we say that the UK must reform? Build a new Union which empowers Wales to tackle its own needs? Do we get on with it or leave it to others?

The diagnosis is pretty straightforward on this one. The UK is dysfunctional. FPTP delivers majoritarian governments on the basis of minority shares of the vote. On that basis the Tories can pander to their base and their interests which by and large does the damage. Labour have yet to tackle this system, seduced as they are by winning power on the same terms. Just very recently, they stood by the centralist model of UK governance with Gordon Brown's constitutional report. If you want to fix Britain you need PR and decentralism. On current evidence, neither the Tories nor Labour are going to deliver that. Next time you're at the ballot box, keep that in mind.


Posted By: lofty evans
Date Posted: 01 January 2023 at 9:50am
Originally posted by totallybiasedscarlet totallybiasedscarlet wrote:

There are factors in economics and politics that are within a government's contol and others which are not. In any case, what a government can do falls somewhere between making things worse or making it better. We all know what the Tories are, what they stand for and who they represent. They are one of the oldest political parties in the world and have been in and around power for centuries. They are the party of established money and those who want in on that. They represent around 35% of the electorate. Their policies are geared to conserving the interests of established wealth. By means of these they tend to their constituency which for the most part is the largest minority in England. Each election they look to top that up enough to get a majority via the vagaries of the FPTP system that has served them very well for some 170 years now. There is a diversity of thought and groups within the party, but these last fourty five years their hardest right wing came into the ascendency culminating in the Truss government and the utter disaster of the Kwarteng budget ... which reportedly has cost the UK taxpayer £70 Billion. 44 years since Thatcher became PM and the UK has one of the worst GINI ratings in the world (inequality index). Wales is the poorest country in Western Europe and the rate of child poverty here is heartbreaking. 

At this point I'm going to quote Adam Price - "There is nothing inevitable about poverty in Wales." It is plainly a consequence of the way our economy has been managed. But for too long we have sat back and said to ourselves that we're too poor, too small, not good enough to manage our own affairs and we have entrusted these matters to UK governance on our behalf. Unless we set the agenda here in Wales, we leave it to someone else to set it for us ... and that someone is usually the Tories.

The definition of madness is to keep doing the same thing and expect a different outcome. We can carry on as we are, vote Labour, get Tory, keep the UK as is. Nothing will change. What do we do? Accept our lot? Or do we say that the UK must reform? Build a new Union which empowers Wales to tackle its own needs? Do we get on with it or leave it to others?

The diagnosis is pretty straightforward on this one. The UK is dysfunctional. FPTP delivers majoritarian governments on the basis of minority shares of the vote. On that basis the Tories can pander to their base and their interests which by and large does the damage. Labour have yet to tackle this system, seduced as they are by winning power on the same terms. Just very recently, they stood by the centralist model of UK governance with Gordon Brown's constitutional report. If you want to fix Britain you need PR and decentralism. On current evidence, neither the Tories nor Labour are going to deliver that. Next time you're at the ballot box, keep that in mind.

Excellent 



-------------
In 1972, Roy Bergiers scored that try and said "that was for you lofty"

"All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us"



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