I thought I’d write on a weighty subject this morning. This is because at this time of day, there will be practically no-one who will read it, so I can just get it off my chest! Besides if I do an entry later today, I want it to be a lot lighter in content and reflective of the fact that outside today… it is glorious.
The subject I wish to bring up is that of socio-economic strains, more specifically those that will affect my generation during the next couple of decades.
At the moment, the smallest age bracket in the population is mine - the 20-40 age group.
In the near future the “baby boom” generation will all be reaching retirement age, some of them already have. The amount of revenue raised by their tax contributions will drop significantly, as they will be drawing their pensions. Eventually, over the course of time they will start to become infirm and more dependent on healthcare.
On the other side of the coin, the birth rate in Britain is increasing. There are a lot of children being born, and these will need to be educated somewhere. Quite a few will be born into households that receive state benefit.
Then there is asylum. No decent person has a problem with genuinely persecuted people seeking sanctuary in a less oppressive nation. However, as the world’s nations grow more and more agitated with one another, more people are looking for a safe harbour, and as with anything there will always be a certain percentage of people who are just looking for a “meal ticket”.
I do not wish to express any hostility to any of these groups of people, I merely wish to highlight the point that they are factors in a much bigger issue.
In fact, I believe there is a valid economic reason why the Government is encouraging the import of key workers into Britain from overseas. Eventually, if you consider all the factors I have listed above (and I’m sure there are many more I haven’t even brushed upon), we are going to run out of money for essential services. Even with large scale immigration, I doubt there would be enough tax generated to cover the competing demands on state services.
History has taught us, that when you have a large amount of people, and not enough economic strength to support them, something has to give. What normally happens is that one group becomes labelled as the scapegoat for all the economic misery, and persecution of that group begins. I don’t need to list some of the dark chapters of international history where this has been the case. You should be aware of at least some of them!
This is why Parliament is so keen on a stronger Europe; with a common policy on many issues, you can spread the burden. In my heart, I’m personally not for a federal Europe, and will almost certainly vote “No” in a UK referendum. Yet there is a certain logic behind the pro-European lobby, and I’m not going to deny that.
If I trusted in the ways of men, I’d be seeking a way to get away from this country as soon as I possibly could, but I will trust in The Lord, and if/when the time comes I will serve Him where I can.
What would you choose?
OK politically heavy rant over! Will be a lot cheerier later!
N
The subject I wish to bring up is that of socio-economic strains, more specifically those that will affect my generation during the next couple of decades.
At the moment, the smallest age bracket in the population is mine - the 20-40 age group.
In the near future the “baby boom” generation will all be reaching retirement age, some of them already have. The amount of revenue raised by their tax contributions will drop significantly, as they will be drawing their pensions. Eventually, over the course of time they will start to become infirm and more dependent on healthcare.
On the other side of the coin, the birth rate in Britain is increasing. There are a lot of children being born, and these will need to be educated somewhere. Quite a few will be born into households that receive state benefit.
Then there is asylum. No decent person has a problem with genuinely persecuted people seeking sanctuary in a less oppressive nation. However, as the world’s nations grow more and more agitated with one another, more people are looking for a safe harbour, and as with anything there will always be a certain percentage of people who are just looking for a “meal ticket”.
I do not wish to express any hostility to any of these groups of people, I merely wish to highlight the point that they are factors in a much bigger issue.
In fact, I believe there is a valid economic reason why the Government is encouraging the import of key workers into Britain from overseas. Eventually, if you consider all the factors I have listed above (and I’m sure there are many more I haven’t even brushed upon), we are going to run out of money for essential services. Even with large scale immigration, I doubt there would be enough tax generated to cover the competing demands on state services.
History has taught us, that when you have a large amount of people, and not enough economic strength to support them, something has to give. What normally happens is that one group becomes labelled as the scapegoat for all the economic misery, and persecution of that group begins. I don’t need to list some of the dark chapters of international history where this has been the case. You should be aware of at least some of them!
This is why Parliament is so keen on a stronger Europe; with a common policy on many issues, you can spread the burden. In my heart, I’m personally not for a federal Europe, and will almost certainly vote “No” in a UK referendum. Yet there is a certain logic behind the pro-European lobby, and I’m not going to deny that.
If I trusted in the ways of men, I’d be seeking a way to get away from this country as soon as I possibly could, but I will trust in The Lord, and if/when the time comes I will serve Him where I can.
What would you choose?
OK politically heavy rant over! Will be a lot cheerier later!
N
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