Where's my prole?

It's quite disappointing watching the uk disappear up the annus of american ideology - especially when it’s not the perfumed, sweet-smelling, rose-tinted kind! With consecutive uk governments (whether true tory blue, or twitchy new labour serenity) following the crazy ideas of their more lunatic-fringed american brethren, it really is mindbogglingly fantastic that the malcontented detritic electorate who didn't vote, or who voted against the ruling paper-bangers, have failed to do anything other than grumble, or loft perfectly calligraphed signs - expressing disgust - above their heads, at the myriad papercut betrayals inflicting our democracy.

Instead of running the corporaphyte puppets out of parliament whilst waving a round bowl above their heads, to the cheering delight of some addled old lag laying sprawled in the street reaching for a pint, their only concern appears to be that of virtually connecting to the current wardrobe phase of the latest celebrity (who has been plopped onto a pedestal for general consumption), or checking to see whether the latest mobile gizmo will have something, added as a bonus. For the really hardcore noncarers christmas is popping up every other day, courtesy of the latest terrorist outrages, leaving them at a loss as to which bruised and blooded part of the globe to squeeze the last bit of blood from, in search of the next cheap getaway.

There are those who say the levers of power have been infiltrated by lumpenproletariats play acting at running the country, and ruining it for the vast majority who just want to live and enjoy a peaceful life; if the maelstrom of carnage and chaos experienced by many in the name of austerity and ideology is any indication, you might concede that they are more than likely correct.

The conservatives, under the premiership of margaret thatcher, truly began the privatisation runaway train as if there was no tomorrow. Fire sales of public services & assets. All with the lauded aim to create a share owning democracy, and new home-owning class. Subsequently over 40+ state organisations have been up for grabs, and politicians probably knowing that the vast majority of sids, at the first sign of flushed wealth, would flog off their holdings, made the bargain so much sweeter. It’s almost as if most of the country's assets and business were animals at a market, with the financial attendees haggling over the best piece of meat, slavering at the thought of making the killing.

That major period was followed by people throwing their hands up in disgust and voting for labour, giving the party a previously unheard of landslide. This was in the mistaken belief they would reverse the policy of the conservatives and turn if not 180 degrees at least pull sharply about, to stave off the worst bits of capitalistic greed, and bolster the services that the public wanted and believed were of communal and social benefit. Instead of reversing the policies, which the vast majority of people who voted for them wanted, the party closed their eyes and fell into the arms of the corporate lobbyists, newspapers - 98% of whom do not represent the average person's interests except for when it transpires they can make more money - and continued with most of the mendacious conservative policies. On top of which they added their own egregious bills to really put the pressure on. Ending with one last gasp of an act of their governance, the digital economy act 2010, plus the myriad of private finance initiatives - a conservative policy new labour devoured like a well trained puppy, lapping up puke.

Bbc’s question time of the 15th january 2016, was quite illuminating. I found myself constantly mesmerised by some of the nonsense being spouted by members of the panel. I was briefly under the impression many of them either believe there are no other sources of news for people to look at, and so the public's general goldfishiness can be taken for granted, or they really do live on a different plane and only momentarily interact with this one once they start talking, and return to their own reality once they’ve stopped spouting drivel. I mention the show, as talk veered on to the topic of housing and the government's aim to have a few houses built from now until 2020. Naturally those on the hang-them high side of thinking, wanted to bulldoze the green belt and have tower blocks covering everything. The ukip representative muttered about immigrants, yet no one mentioned that councils were stopped from building more housing by the government at the time, and subsequent governments since then have failed to allow councils to do anything in any meaningful measure since.

Talking of illumination, let’s take the latest news pouring in from the energy sector. Utilities are been harangued by various organisations, for not dropping their prices to household customers at a similar rate to the fall they’ve experienced in their wholesale prices. Indeed media outlets felt sufficiently aggrieved to provide nice and easy understandable figures, which were more than sufficient to encourage a rise in the gore of at least one morning breakfaster. For gas, the wholesale price has fallen by over a third in the past 12 months, for electricity, by a quarter. The large utility companies have failed to pass those lovely savings on to their customers; and why should they? After all these new computers just can’t cope like the old abacuses. All these ups and downs that have to be calculated. On top of that, they don’t have enough staff. What’s the point of them reducing prices when they’ll only have to put them up again when the next calamity hits, in four years time. They are, after all, companies who happen to provide something people need, and all companies (bar charities) are in existence to make a profit for their shareholders, and a nice big fat one at that. A bonus for the board members. Pay the employees as little as they can get away with, and see what pesky bits of legislation they can avoid, along with how many rings they can run around the regulators.

What i do find ghastly, is the crocodile expressions of amazement politicians express, shocked that companies are not passing on savings to customers, and pocketing the difference instead. That would be the same as someone buying a pitbull terrier from a cage-fighter, then looking on in horror, wondering why it’s using a chihuahua as a chewy toy.

A paucity of pygmies

The government's been more than happy to bail out banks to the tune of $2.26*tn, yet they have thousands of people on the streets who are homeless.

Imagine if they took 1 percent of that whopping £1.5tn.  They could, at let's say £80k per new built flat (bit more expensive for a house), build at least 187,000 new flats. 

But that would hit the housing market, and people would lose money they've sunk into treating housing as just another commodity.  But there'd be no homelessness!  Everyone, or at least nearly everyone in the country, would finally have a roof over their heads.  It'd be cheaper than constantly having soul destroying meeting after soul destroying meeting carping on that there's just not enough housing, what are we to do. 

Who know's whole new towns with new infrastructure, new jobs (the new tech's) could be created, and with the mistakes learned from the disasters of the past, perhaps they could be avoided this time around.

Imagine 187,000 new flats, with the fastest easily upgraded broadband service, excellent public transport links, excellent community facilities, excellent green spaces, the latest environmentally efficient technologies, recycling, solar heating, solar powering, if done properly these could be feeding electricity back into the grind, and for how the old pollution ridden cities could be.

But as vision is the one thing seemingly lacking in today's uk, it'll probably only happen when things really freeze over.

Oh yes, how much would 187k homes contribute towards council tax payments alone per year?  £172mn.

* $/£ rate of 1.5069 as at 13:15 8th May 2009

Bleeding foreigners

Every now and then you overhear the strangest of remarks...

"I'm a victim of those damned foreigners coming over here taking our jobs, forcing us native born folk to go out and seek work.

Life living off the dole's just not worth the effort of getting out of bed for in the mornings anymore. Unless of course you're a bloody foreigner coming over here with a bundle of kids, claiming housing, council plus a load of other benefits, whilst working cash in hand and renting out your own home to the same people you're getting the money from in the first place! It just ain't right.

Now, I just got to go check on my new villa been built in Cala Panizo. Make sure those workmen have put the right taps in. If they were your German foreigners, you know they'd do a proper job and you'd be looking at a finished build by now."

Living in London on £3 a day

Not sure where I initially saw the subject heading, but that and then passing by the Daily Mail, sent my wondering mind into pondering mode.

People on the dole or unemployment have it so easy! After all, they don't have the daily chore of having to commute with fellow smelly passengers on full to capacity overheated tube trains first thing in the morning, through particle ridden sewers.

Sorry, but sometimes that's just what it feels like. To be up at the crack of dawn till long after nightfall working for someone who you know's an idiot and if it weren't for them winging through with some dodgy bit of paper they've exchanged their soul for, and are now in a position of authority above you; would be selling lavender-scented sawdust.

Yes those dole-ites have it easy!

Free prescriptions. Which if you consider costs over £6 per item is a tidy sum, no wonder they're always ill and then they have the audacity to go around with bad teeth, which should be made a criminal offense. After all they even get some sort of free dentistry. Admittedly they don't seem to get any help or benefit with water, gas, electricity or telephone, tv licence, usage. But if they were out looking for work and pro-actively seeking it, they wouldn't need to use any of those. They have perfectly good unemployment offices. Which, I believe, provide them with a cup of water should they pass out - as long as it's measured, don't want them getting a feel for the easy life. Not to mention good library facilities they can use in the pursuit of knowledge and more importantly, finding work.

With the advent of Primark and jeans for £2, shoes for £1 some sort of polyester top for 50 pence, clothing needs are taken care of, and with all those charity shops that abound today, they have plenty of options.

They have no need of a social life, as in the paragraph above, they should be busy, out, looking for work. And they shouldn't be smoking as no doubt that will give them cancer and another excuse for idleitis, not to mention becoming an even greater burden to an already overstretched NHS.

So if they don't cut out smoking and drinking their benefits should be cut. And if the Conservatives new proposals ever come to fruition, they should indeed be doing community work, but probably from the same week they sign on and not just after a couple of years. Clearing up some of the mess they have more than likely created in the first place.

But back to living in London on £3 a day. So what are the possibilities?

You can have two single bus journeys, and still have enough money to buy a cheeseburger and an apple. Very healthy in anyone's book; especially with obesity levels rising.

Or one tube journey, a bus journey back and still have 10pence left over to spend.

For £3 you can buy 5kg of imported chicken which with a stock cube or two, and some vegetables would provide plenty of food to last a couple of days, probably enough to even give a spare days worth of money, to frivolously spend.

Admittedly you won't be able to visit a cinema, but then you should be out busy looking for work, shouldn't you!

No need to buy a paper, you can read them for free in any library or wait until editions of the free papers, The London Paper, London Lite, Metro, City A.M. and on a Friday morning: My Free Sport, are available and do all the reading from there. And once finished, no need to buy toilet paper. There, money saved yet again.

Visit one of the many free museums and exhibitions or take in a bit of street theatre.

So Living on £3 a day or £21 a week why do people need any more! After all if their housing costs up to £80 a week are taken care of and 80% of their council tax, if anything, people's benefits can be reduced to probably £35 a week. As from the example above, more than enough.