This is an article describing an English pensioner's take on the UK government's latest utterances or: how to become dazzled by UK governmental applied logic

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Oh how glad I am that I am aged 73

how to become dazzled by governmental applied logic

Oh how glad I am that I am aged 73 and am too infirm to be sent down the mines. Apparently everyone is going to live longer and so our new benevolent government had decided that voters will be privileged to work longer before qualifying for State pension. We can only wait with bated breath and a definite absence of hope for the world of medical research to devise the means by which 60 to 70 year olds might retain the vigour and energy they enjoyed in their prime, and to nullify the inevitable deteriorating effects of ageing. This might enable them in their dotage to be fit enough to be employed, or to remain in employment. That is assuming any employer wants to employ cynical old farts, and by then nation-wide cynicism should be at record levels, and that is also assuming that employers haven't shunted most of the jobs abroad for cheaper pay roles. Shabby is the word that springs to mind. So folks are to work longer and receive less for their efforts. Massive staff cuts and pay freezes are to be the new way of life meaning that employees that are kept on will be expected to also share the workload of their now unemployed colleagues. All of these "we're all in this together' sacrifices with no end in sight nor, I suspect, ever will be in sight, and deepening ongoing suspicion that we are being conned by the banks and financial experts that got us into this mess, and also the government that has let the banks off so lightly. Meanwhile the nauseating bonus culture continues to grow and thrive.

Surely these are echoes of the grim Thatcher years? What is the current governmental buzz-word? Back then it was Rationalisation. This week on TV we were treated to a patronising lecture given by a no doubt well-heeled Lord somebody or other. The theme was that if because you qualify for council housing that probably will never be built you have been forced to rent from the private sector in a high rent area where you are employed, in future due to the crippling effect of housing benefit capping you should seek to rent in a low rent area (assuming any exist any more?). Am I mistaken but don't folks and their families flock to work in towns because that's where the jobs are, and so rents in towns are always higher? So you move to a low rent area where there are few available jobs but will lose your benefits unless you accept offered employment no matter whether it is suitable for you or not. Thank God we live in a free country where every case is judged upon its merit and its outcome is then always decided by inflexible blanket rules which when we appeal we are told, cannot be changed. Never mind, I gather that the UK is to create a new space programme and so maybe all of we "oldies' could be shunted to some other planet where there's no toxic black holes nor ongoing war on terror! Meanwhile I think I'll have a lie down.

Keep smiling cos we're British!

David Brittain

Addendum

Now the latest governmental brainstorm announced on TV is: If you are an unemployed resident in an area of few job vacancies and are prepared to move to areas of high employment in the UK you could be offered assistance to move and would be placed at the top of the area council housing list local to the area to which you move. Of course this will mean "hard luck' for those countless poor souls who have no choice but to pay high rent in the private sector. Already disheartened after several years of patiently waiting their turn on council housing lists, they are to be left with that familiar sinking sensation that accompanies being regularly shunted lower and lower down the list to be replaced by newcomers to the area. Still I suppose these are the unfortunate folks who, at the sparkling suggestion of well-heeled Lord somebody or other, will desperately be trying to move to low rent areas. Only when you join the two TV announcements together does the brilliance of the scheme reveal itself. The unfortunate folks forced to move to low rent areas due to the crippling effect of housing benefit capping do move to those areas, and then they apply for government aid to move to an area of high employment where they are then placed at the top of the council housing waiting list. For this clever idea someone should receive a knighthood if not an earldom.

Meanwhile, keep on taking the medication.

David Brittain

Authors Website: http://www.ascensionsupportteam.com

Authors Bio:
I'm David Brittain, aged 76, English and living in Essex on the beautiful coast of East Anglia in the UK. I'm a low income retired pensioner with a selection of dreary ailments with which I definitely won't bore you, and a selection of opinions and slant-wise outlooks on life to offer that I definitely hope could interest you. Being a bit slow off the mark, when I registered on this website I didn't realise that that its focus is mainly towards an American audience. Nevertheless it could be helpful to draw your average American's gaze beyond the shores of your huge beautiful country; that is assuming there is such a thing as an average American.

I was born with a psychological defect that has haunted me throughout my life: I have never seen the point of living a competitive lifestyle. At school chasing a ball around a freezing cold football field held no point or charm for me. Later this defect stalled the valiant efforts of parents, teachers, and employers to instil or awaken a competitive streak in yours truly; it just wasn't there to awaken. The result of course was that I have never made the ruthless climb to the higher strata of employment but have frequently observed the negative effect on people who have made that bitter climb. The drawback with any competition is that the hopes and dreams of fellow competitors have to be ignored, and so the only people who gain are the few winners and the ones who hold the competition. A wise man once said that "competition is the province of the ignorant, and cooperation is the province of the wise', and yet the only time groups cooperate with each other is when in competition with other groups. Our leaders, the Media in its many forms, the commercial and financial worlds, in fact all who gain from the population's widespread deeply instilled competitive drive make sure that it enters and dominates every aspect of our lives. A result of lacking the competitive streak has isolated and converted me into becoming an observer who observes a mankind completely and implacably in competition with itself. In that role "tongue in cheek' I shall from time to time offer you a few of my observations and will look forward to your comments.