Disability, Poverty & Labour Values

Although I have several co-morbid health conditions I don't think of myself as disabled. Currently I'm having an unusually long flare up which is painful & makes walking & doing normal things diffficult. But I'm not defined by my conditions - Just frustrated by inactivity & fatigued by pain. It know it will improve in time.

It does make me empathise with genuinely disabled people though. Although I am too old to do paid work, I know that I would struggle, even with my level of incapacity. So I am at a complete loss to understand why the Labour government has been targeting the much less fortunate among the UK population to raise much needed money - The elderly, the disabled & children.

As a pensioner I do not need or want the winter fuel allowance. So I am delighted that it will be targeted at those who do. But Labour was forced to reconsider. Bridget Philipson has suggested cutting back universal free school meals for children. Maybe this should also be better targeted, I'm not sure. Disabled people need protection & essential support to live with dignity and independence.The Universal Credit & Personal Independence Bill was going to remove that from a substantial number of people & put thousands into poverty. Again the government has been forced to reconsider.

The high success rate at tribunals indicates a significant number of initial PIP decisions are already incorrect or not fully supported by the available evidence. Approximately 7 in 10 PIP appeals are successful at tribunal hearings, meaning the original decision to deny or reduce PIP is overturned in favor of the claimant. This translates to around 70% of appeals being won by claimants. Many disabled individuals don't appeal due to stress, ill health, or lack of faith in the process. This cohort are least able to be able to go through the process.  

My questions are why has the government made such difficult to justify choices, which were bound to be controversial at the very least? Was it hubris to think that with a big majority they could railroad anything through? Who on earth is advising them? 

There are always choices, but these choices targeted the wrong strata of society.

Taxation as a percentage of GDP was 33.5% in the UK in 2021. The Nordics are well known for high income taxes, with the highest rate of tax topping 50% in Denmark. In 2023, taxes in Sweden amounted to 40.7 per cent of GDP. 

See the 2025 chart - https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/eu/top-personal-income-tax-rates-europe/

The only reason I can see for not increasing income tax on everyone, simply & fairly distributed, is that politicians are afraid of losing their jobs. The decision is not about getting us out of the black, ever increasing, borrowing hole we are in. It is not about funding health, education & all the other necessary state run departments properly & efficiently. 

It's purely about political expediency. So the government, of whatever hue, always go for the low growing fruit. In this case it's the poor & disabled instead of the well off & wealthy. 

 

 

Taxation & the Welfare State

I have just watched "Scandinavia" with Simon Reeve. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002cg5l He is a travel journalist I admire far more than any celebrity travellers, because he is actually quite brave in facing difficult issues & situations. He is always informative & interesting.

Scandinavian countries are credited as being better run than the UK. Probably because of a combination of factors - a more robust welfare state, lower income inequality, & a focus on work life balance. These countries generally have higher levels of social trust, lower corruption, and stronger social safety nets. Universal access to healthcare, education, and social security is funded by higher taxes, but the benefits are widely distributed. There are shorter working hours, generous parental leave, and a strong emphasis on leisure and family time. 

The crux of success seems to be attitude, to eachother & to the government. There is a sense of communal welfare & willingness to pay for that through taxes. As a lifelong liberal socialist I would expect those values to be present in a Labour government. But the UK is not like Scandinavia. We have lost our way. 

We did not do what Norway did when oil & gas gave them a windfall. They established a substantial sovereign wealth fund. Instead of investing our profits for long-term benefit as they did, we used the revenue to fund tax cuts & government spending. We didn't diversify the economy and develop new industries. We privatized many state-owned assets, including those related to oil and gas, rather than retaining them for long-term national benefit. Thatcher's government inherited the emerging riches of North Sea oil & pioneered 'carbon neoliberalism' – a model of managing public goods for private interests. 

Nothing has changed as the recent 13 years of conservative government showed. 

I believe that the conservatives are responsible for the financial "black hole" we are in. They have decimated public services through cuts & underfunding. Privatisation has not worked. This was the inheritance bequeathed to Labour. 

But we need to accept that we choose our governments. We should be all prepared to pay higher taxes if we have a good income. The wealthy should be prepared to pay an equivalent proportion of their income to ordinary working people, rather than taking advantage of tax havens around the world. Data from the Office for National Statistics 2024 showed that the poorest 10% of households in the UK are still paying a higher proportion of their income in tax than the richest. 

The poorest 10% of households paid on average 48% of their income in tax in 2022/23

The richest 10% of households, however, paid on average just 39% of their income in tax

It's about fairness & community. It's about caring for the disadvantaged & providing equal opportunity for all. The UK has got a lot to catch up to, but we all need to be paddling in the same direction for the good of all.

 

Consequences

If I disagree with someone & I lose my temper & begin to shout & interrupt or override what they are saying there are consequences. What might be a simple difference of opinion escalates into a shouting match or real argument. If I canot control my emotions I might become violent & physically push them away. That is assault & they may well retaliate physically. The consequence of differing opinions is a fight which could result in real injury or worse. Road rage is a good example.

I once saw a young man shouting at a young woman & pinning her against a wall in the centre of Oxford late at night. I intervened & told him to stop, fearing for the girls safety. Both were possibly the worse for drink. The girl rounded on me & told me to mind my own business. Intervention in other peoples affairs has consequences. I walked away. 

Micro or macro actions, or even inactions have consequences. I would do the same again, but I would be more aware of the possible consequences. 

The consequences of argument & disagreement are much more dangerous on an international scale when individual leaders have huge amounts of power, armaments & money. The ultimate deterrent that is supposed to be keeping us all from the brink of annihilation is the nuclear bomb. I'm rapidly feeling that with the madmen in charge now, who have their fingers on the button, we are all in danger. The Doomsday Clock is currently at 89 seconds to midnight. Nuclear war can be triggered by both intentional and unintentional actions. Miscalculation of risk is a distinct possibility when you have volatile & unstable conditions & political leaders like today.

I remember the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962.I was in the common room of my hall of residence in college. I was convinced that the world as we knew it would cease to exist. You would hope that Mankind learnt from experience, but no. Mankind simply repeats the testosterone fuelled patterns of behaviour over & over.

History tells us that war has dreadful consequences & does not work. In the end there has to be a negotiated settlement. That settlement may or may not be just & fair depending on who "won". There are usually compromises. The Treaty of Versailles after W W 1 is considered a poor settlement. Possibly  the consequence of that was W W 2.

 

We need to find a better way of co-existing as human beings & understand that we do not own the land. Humans are temporary occupiers & custodians. Fighting is often territorial, but we created the boundaries on maps. They don't exist in the real landscape.  

Instability

Currently I am very unstable. Yesterday was the first day for over a week I didn't use a stick. Fibromyalgia & Arthritis flare ups are a b......  But at least you do know that in the fulness of time things will improve.

I can't say that about the current state of international affairs. Instability really doesn't cover it, it's more volatility. When elected leaders like Trump, Netenyahu, Putin, the Ayatollahs et al are more interested in power grabbing & their own self interest than the people they supposedly serve we are in dangerous teritory. 

These are boys with big toys who will use those toys indiscriminately to further their ambitions. It's "willy waving" on a grand scale & it's their populations that suffer while they are in their palaces or bunkers. This is testosterone or religion fuelled autocracy that has no interest whatsoever in the devastation, death & injury they cause.

What makes men, and it is usually only men, behave like this? Is it their disfunctional childhood? Are they simply corrupted by wealth & power? They often seem to share personality traits like a strong desire for control, a preference for obedience, and a tendency to view dissent as a threat. High dominance, low agreeableness, and a tendency to be authoritarian are common traits. They consolidate power by undermining democratic institutions and silencing opposition. They weaken or dismantle democratic institutions like the judiciary, media, and civil society to consolidate power. They suppress or eliminate any form of opposition or criticism, often through intimidation or violence. 

They really are extremely unpleasant individuals with few if any redeeming features to their personality. 

In simple terms they are schoolyard bullies. On a micro scale if you allow bullies to get away with their bad behaviour they just carry on & get worse - Encouraged by the lack of opposition & sanction. In international terms this is magnified exponentially. The international community thus far has pussyfooted around these autocrats & allowed them to flaunt the rule of law. There have been sanctions, but they have not had any appreciable effect. 

Abasement, appeasement, & political cowardice have not worked. Modern warfare is technology based with drones & fighting men in bunkers, rather than face to face as used to be how wars were fought. Killing huge numbers of people without actually seeing them must be easier than shooting or knifing them. Especially for a generation who have grown up with gaming. Modern warfare is all about money & how big your arms supplies are.  

So where do we go from here? At the moment it is all escalation & the "willy wavers" digging their heels in regardless of consequences. 

It makes me sick to my stomach. If this carries on we won't have a population problem. Malthus viewed war as one of the "positive checks" that limit population growth. 

  

The world has many big problems to solve. If war takes our focus away from those, then we are all going to suffer the consequences. It really doesn't bear thinkng about. Our democratic leaders need to get off the fence or their backsides & act decisively together to stop this madness in it's tracks. 

Self Awareness - Bezos & Trump

Jeff Bezos is marrying Lauren Sanchez in Venice this month. Hundreds of their obscenely wealthy friends will occupy the best hotels – the Gritti, the Danieli, the St Regis and the Cipriani, each booked out in its entirety at an average of $500,000 a night. Some will be staying on Bezos's yachts. Water taxis have also been booked out. Venice already feels swamped by hoards of tourists who destroy it's charm & ambience. The nuptuals will go on for almost a week. The lavish, multi-million dollar ceremony could shut parts of the famous city down & the natives are not happy. Unsurprisingly they plan to demonstrate. They plan to disrupt the festivities by jumping into the canals to hinder the water taxis and blocking various calli, (Venice's narrow streets), to prevent the wedding guests from reaching the venue. 

 

I don't blame them. A better venue for this tasteless invasion would be Disneyland or Beverley Hills. 

Trump has just hosted a big parade, coincidentally on his birthday, supposedly to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the army. It was not as well attended as the "No Kings" parades across America. Possibly a couple of hundred thousand went to Trumps parade & the army refused to do the normal "lockstep" marching in protest. Millions protested at the largest mass demonstrations in the nation’s history. The parade was held while the conflict between Iran & Israel escalated dangerously & while Israel is breaking every international convention in Gaza & the West Bank. Both supported by the US. At home Trump sent the National Guard in to Los Angeles - a decision that should have been the Governors. Americans against Americans!

 

Both these men are powerful & excessively wealthy. They are not alone. Apparently there are 902 billionaires in America. The highest number in the world. Bezos is the world's third richest person, with an estimated net worth of $220.9bn. Trumps actual wealth is not publicly known, after all he has filed for bankrupcy several times. Obviously the "Art of the Deal" doesn't always work. 

The point is that in today's world of Climate Emergency, War, Famine, Homelessness, Lack of the basic necessities of life, (water, healthcare & education for example), Persecution.....there is so much good these individuals could do. But they don't. Why? Because they have no self awareness whatsoever. They are blind to the way ordinary people live & the difficulties they face. Or, maybe they simply don't care. 

But there is a groundswell in many countries against the powerful super rich because most of us are only too aware of how unbalanced & unacceptable this all is. Push people too far & they will rise up & make their voices heard.

I do hope I live long enough to see it.  

Crypto Currency & Self Destruction

My understanding of finance is fairly basic. In order to function in society you need to work to earn money, which you can then spend or save for a rainy day. Your money can be in a bank, in investments, or under the matress. Banks are there, backed up by collateral, to keep your money safe, accessible & earning interest. Investments may do well & earn you profit, or badly & you lose money.

Modern finance is way beyond my understanding. Since we sold off half our gold reserves between 1999 - 2002 at the lowest gold price in 20 years, we no longer have as much actual wealth to underpin banking. Stability is crucial for national economies, as gold helps preserve wealth and purchasing power when other assets may lose value. In addition, these gold reserves act as a safety net for Central Banks and help ensure they meet their obligations during times of financial crisis. 

Quantitative easing, where banks purchase financial assets, and essentially increase the cash flow in the economy, literally seems to me like printing monopoly money. But what do I know? It can lead to asset inflation, wealth inequality, and potential for long-term instability. It can also lead to distortions in the housing market, devaluation of currency, and difficulties in reversing the policy. 

Crypto currency is way beyond my skill set. Crypto exists digitally or virtually and uses cryptography to secure transactions. Crypto currencies don't have a central issuing or regulating authority, instead using a decentralized system to record transactions and issue new units. This is a public ledger called blockchain, a record of all transactions updated and held by currency holders. Bitcoin came first in 2009. Now there are thousands of crypto currencies. To me that is "mumbo jumbo". Individual cryptocurrency projects or platforms, but seemingly not all, can be fraudulent and resemble Ponzi schemes. Some cryptocurrency projects, particularly Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), have been falsely marketed as investments offering high returns with little risk, resembling Ponzi schemes. Warren Buffett called the digital currency Bitcoin “probably rat poison squared.”

 

Having said all of that, my major beef is that, along with Streaming & AI, Crypto is really bad for the environment. Each bitcoin transaction generates carbon emissions roughly equivalent to driving a gasoline-powered car between 1,600 and 2,600 kilometres.Crypto high energy use often leads to increased greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to climate change. In 2018 the level of emissions produced by Bitcoin sat between the levels produced by the nations of Bolivia and Portugal combined. Crypto's complex Proof of Work (PoW) process, requires substantial computational power. If electricity fails blockchains would be unable to verify transactions.

Basically, we are not Lemmings running over the cliff. We are human beings on the road to perdition & self destruction. 

Neurodiversity

 

In the UK it's estimated that 15 - 20% of the population is neurodiverse. That includes people with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and dyspraxia. Around 6.3 million people in the UK, or about 10% of the population, have dyslexia. This means roughly 1 in 10 individuals experience difficulties with reading, writing, and spelling. It may well be more. That makes it normal in my view. Yet the majority of us don't really understand how dyslexia affects individuals.

There are 4 types of dyslexia include phonological (auditory) dyslexia, surface (visual) dyslexia, rapid naming deficit (difficulty naming a letter, number, color, or object quickly and automatically), and double deficit dyslexia (deficits in both the phonological process and naming speed).  

Dyslexics do not just have problems with reading & writing. They may struggle with navigation & map reading, they may be disorganised & forget instructions, they may suffer from anxiety, they may suffer from lack of confidence & self esteem. 

Dyslexia does not impact intelligence. Dyslexics may have a different cognitive profile, with strengths in areas like problem-solving, creativity, and communication. Famous individuals like Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Alan Turing and Leonardo da Vinci were dyslexic and demonstrated high intelligence and exceptional talent in their respective fields. UK intelligence agency, GCHQ, has valued Dyslexic Thinking for over 100 years. It recruits 4x as many dyslexics to its apprentice scheme than anyone else.

We all need to understand far more about neurodiversity & value difference. It seems that humans are fixated on being like everyone else. Being in a team, a clan, a group. That can lead to at best teasing & at worst bullying. We can see it everywhere, in all societies. 

Fortunately there is now more focus on neurodivergence & we know far more about it. When I was teaching it wasn't accepted that dyslexia even existed. There are books, dramas & documentaries about dyslexia. We also need to understand the other forms of neurodiversity better & be open to accepting & tolerating difference. We aren't all the same. Difference & diversity is beneficial.