[Tainari88]

What is going on here UK posters? I thought with all those Imperial moves that at least the incompetent Tory pendejo politicians could at least make some of those Welsh, Scottish and English people living in the UK eventually have a decent for the regular folk living there? Or is that too much to ask for a society fossilized by class for all time? Why so many cities in Wales are really scraping by eh?

Classic problems. With capitalism and no trickling down the money.

How to fix it? Is Sunak worrying about these poor places? Or is he avoiding them because he is moving on to greener pastures=

Your opinion of the neglect folks?

[Tainari88]

I wanted to include this interesting video on the poorest town in Northeast Lincolnshire.

[ingliz]

@Tainari88

I am not a UK poster, thank God.

I got out early, in 1987, when the writing was on the wall - Four jobs, four redundancies, in one year! They chose - and not voting is a choice - to put up with forty years of Thatcherism hollowing out their communities. And when they chose to vote, thinking it couldn't get any worse, they chose to make it worse by voting for Brexit.





p.s. Sorry for not showing much sympathy, but I've spoken to them, and you are up against a brick wall. Stupid people do stupid things and there's not much you can do about it.

[Tainari88]

@Tainari88

I am not a UK poster, thank God.

I got out early, in 1987, when the writing was on the wall - Four jobs, four redundancies, in one year! They chose - and not voting is a choice - to put up with forty years of Thatcherism hollowing out their communities. And when they chose to vote, thinking it couldn't get any worse, they chose to make it worse by voting for Brexit.





p.s. Sorry for not showing much sympathy, but I've spoken to them, and you are up against a brick wall. Stupid people do stupid things and there's not much you can do about it.

How long did you live in the UK Ingliz? And what is your opinion of English working class people and the English middle class too?

What kind of cultural aspects do you not like? And maybe some that you do like?

I am trying to understand the logic in their voting patterns.

[ingliz]

@Tainari88

I lived in the UK for 25 years.

As for the culture and whatnot, I've been gone too long to comment.

I will say this though.

From the few people I've kept in touch with, the English seem to be going a bit doolally. They come across as bitter, stupid, and slightly mad. But maybe they were always like that and I didn't notice with me living among them and their quirks being normalized.

I've never been a people person so I'm probably not the best person to ask.


p.s. The wife says nothing has changed.

[Cartertonian]

Hi Tainari

First of all, Wales and Scotland are devolved administrations, the former being run by Welsh Labour and the latter by the Scottish National Party. Both are somewhat dependent on funding from Westminster, but how they choose to spend that is down to them.

More broadly however, I think your observation of the insidious and subliminal influence of the class system has some merit.

British and wider European history is a tale of fiefdoms and kingdoms wherein the peasant classes toiled to enable the landowners to indulge themselves, whether that be in lavish lifestyles or wars of conquest.

Despite the intervening Centuries, that pernicious social dynamic has not really changed. The only difference is that the fiefdoms and kingdoms have been replaced by corporate and vested interests, with new lords, ladies, kings and queens whose position is assured through their wealth. The 'peasants' can now aspire to a better quality of life, but they are still in servitude to the new economic aristocracy.

The net result, here and elsewhere, is that a human being's essential worth is measured solely by their contribution to GDP. If you are not both economically active and productive, you are part of a growing underclass about whom the new aristocracy cares not a jot.

On a side note, I saw Ben Shapiro has been saying that he can see no justification for retirement. Further proof, perhaps, that the modern economic aristocracy believe that we little people should have no life other than to work to enrich them. Getting close to a dominant attitude of 'Arbeit Macht Frei' in the 'free' world?

[ingliz]

@Tainari88

funding from Westminster

More than 3m people in England are covered by councils that have gone bankrupt. More will join them; the only question is when - Kent has already burned through most of its reserves and sold off much of its public estate, including land, libraries and youth centres.

It is expected that 63 English councils could declare for bankruptcy in the next year, rising to 127 - from a total of 313 - in the next five years.

Central, not local, mismanagement is mostly to blame

Between 2010 and 2021 ministers more than halved grants for local authorities in real terms. Councils introduced cuts and efficiencies, and tried to make up for lost revenues by raising taxes. Their core spending power still fell by more than a quarter. That was despite a 6% increase in population and rising demand. In the past two years, inflation has added to costs and made it harder to provide services such as social care ...

Many of those now issuing warnings have simply run out of services to cut.

[...]

[F]unding for local government is now badly mismatched with local need.

— Why more English councils will go bust, The Economist, Sep 2023

[Tainari88]

@Tainari88

I lived in the UK for 25 years.

As for the culture and whatnot, I've been gone too long to comment.

I will say this though.

From the few people I've kept in touch with, the English seem to be going a bit doolally. They come across as bitter, stupid, and slightly mad. But maybe they were always like that and I didn't notice with me living among them and their quirks being normalized.

I've never been a people person so I'm probably not the best person to ask.


p.s. The wife says nothing has changed.

First off, I have never heard of that word before doolally? That word is new to me. What does it mean? I guess I could look it up eh? But you are the first person that has used that word to describe the English character and I am relying on you to explain it to me eh Ingliz?

It is funny that you describe the English that way eh?

I do think you are reserved ingliz. But, that you are not a people person is what many people say to describe that you do not like being social. Lol. I have to make efforts to be social. Because I enjoy my solitude a lot. My friend from Puerto Rico called me yesterday and she invited me to a book lounge. We had a lady who is of Austrian heritage but spent decades in Australia and speaks English like an Aussie with a little Austrian lilt. She presented her book. It is entitled Thinking Outside the Box. Interesting book about change and transforming one's life. I did not want to go but she felt lonely. So I went along. The place was beautiful Ingliz. It was at Villa Merida Boutique Hotel.

Lovely place. I wound up liking the people I met there and socializing turned out to be a good idea.

So I suggest that you fight against that instinct of avoiding people. BTW, my Puerto Rican friend has a daughter named Joelle, she got married to an American guy, and they spent their honeymoon in Europe. Out of all the places they visited, Joelle said her absolute favorite was Malta. She loved it. She wished she could stay in Malta forever. You're lucky man.

Anyway, I find it very interesting that the UK neglects its Welsh cities. There are mining towns in San Luis Potosí in Mexico that have very deep Welsh roots. There were men from Wales sent to work the silver mines in San Luis Potosi and they stayed, married and had their families there with Mexican women. Now the cuisine of that region is based on Pasties. Welsh pasties and they have Mexicanized the pasties. They are famous all over Mexico. And that town is renown for being joyful and happy. Especially the Welsh eh? Lol. Happy ending there for the miners who left Wales never to see Wales again.

Here they are.

The pasties

The tribes never lost their fierceness. The Northern tribes of Mexico were hard to takeover and to this very day they still speak their languages, retain a lot of their customs, lands and rarely want to know anything about the Spanish or any other European. Ignored is what they do to all of them. LOL.

[Tainari88]

@Tainari88


More than 3m people in England are covered by councils that have gone bankrupt. More will join them; the only question is when - Kent has already burned through most of its reserves and sold off much of its public estate, including land, libraries and youth centres.

It is expected that 63 English councils could declare for bankruptcy in the next year, rising to 127 - from a total of 313 - in the next five years.

Central, not local, mismanagement is mostly to blame

Between 2010 and 2021 ministers more than halved grants for local authorities in real terms. Councils introduced cuts and efficiencies, and tried to make up for lost revenues by raising taxes. Their core spending power still fell by more than a quarter. That was despite a 6% increase in population and rising demand. In the past two years, inflation has added to costs and made it harder to provide services such as social care ...

Many of those now issuing warnings have simply run out of services to cut.

[...]

[F]unding for local government is now badly mismatched with local need.

— Why more English councils will go bust, The Economist, Sep 2023

Where is the wealth of the UK? It stays at the top with the same suspects I presume?

It isn't surprising Ingliz.

I find it strange though how passive the people are in accepting those reductions without some fallout. They have done the same in Puerto Rico. Mexico is a different story. They have been adding benefits, especially to three sectors of society, seniors, youth and students, and pregnant women, and families. They have expanded good programs and they want to expand in free health care massively and transportation investments. They are hitting resistance from corporations like Walmart and chains, and many American corporations.

Also the very wealthy in Mexico are steaming angry at them being heavily taxed for the first time in their entire presence in Mexico. But, they make money in Mexico. After all Mexico has about 130 million people. It is a big market. So they bite the bullet. And labor costs are cheap. So they pay the taxes. Before the money was a lot less to pay and it stayed in some corrupt officials personal accounts. Now? All that money is contributing to the society.

I was astounded that during lockdown here in Merida I got about seven visits from city officials who sat down with me in my livingroom and asked me what I needed to get through the pandemic. They offered to zero out my water bill, my electric bill, make sure my son got tutored, they offered me food baskets and free medicine. I was shocked at how helpful they were. They also asked me if I had a micro business and if I being a woman could benefit from interest free loans for my business.

There are a lot of problems with Mexican society. But this aspect of personalized, caring helpfulness is astoundingly GOOD. I was impressed.

The ability to gather some funds and help out the English towns with the most desperate poverty needs to get some attention and a detailed plan. There are a lot of good examples all over the world on where to find the funds first off, then how to make it work for that culture and those people. So it remains faithful to what used to be functioning well and work on building it up again.

[Tainari88]

Hi Tainari

First of all, Wales and Scotland are devolved administrations, the former being run by Welsh Labour and the latter by the Scottish National Party. Both are somewhat dependent on funding from Westminster, but how they choose to spend that is down to them.

More broadly however, I think your observation of the insidious and subliminal influence of the class system has some merit.

British and wider European history is a tale of fiefdoms and kingdoms wherein the peasant classes toiled to enable the landowners to indulge themselves, whether that be in lavish lifestyles or wars of conquest.

Despite the intervening Centuries, that pernicious social dynamic has not really changed. The only difference is that the fiefdoms and kingdoms have been replaced by corporate and vested interests, with new lords, ladies, kings and queens whose position is assured through their wealth. The 'peasants' can now aspire to a better quality of life, but they are still in servitude to the new economic aristocracy.

The net result, here and elsewhere, is that a human being's essential worth is measured solely by their contribution to GDP. If you are not both economically active and productive, you are part of a growing underclass about whom the new aristocracy cares not a jot.

On a side note, I saw Ben Shapiro has been saying that he can see no justification for retirement. Further proof, perhaps, that the modern economic aristocracy believe that we little people should have no life other than to work to enrich them. Getting close to a dominant attitude of 'Arbeit Macht Frei' in the 'free' world?

I find British society curious in that they did not take the French route. Of eliminating the Monarchy. As an institution that is no longer really important. It is obvious you do not need a monarchy to have a functional government.

I also find it interesting how the English tend to not protest strongly enough to oust administrators or politicians from their positions. The Spanish-speaking Caribbean islands are fiery and relentless with protesting and ousting. They tend to be rebellious in general. The working classes in the UK tend to be kind of used to their place in society and do not do much for the people who keep living the high life at their expense eh? In the US you really can't live off the dole for more than six months. It is just not possible Cartertonian. Most public assistance is very limited. The idea that you can spend years living off of unemployment insurance, or welfare payments in the USA is not possible. They also give you less than needed for survival. So the incentive to get another job is high in the USA. In the UK it is like a very slow burning. Just enough to survive but not enough to find decent work transition and they do not put a cap on it. It is interesting.

Too much passivity towards the overlords I would say is the problem Cartertonian.

San Juan crowds wanting the governor to resign:

It reached very hard heights. And they forced his resignation.

Those young people are not happy with the status quo.

Another thing Cartertonian, the US government keeps telling us we are Americans from the fifty states. Culturally, linguistically and historically we are Latin Americans 100%. And more than one hundred and 127 years of US rule is not changing that. They are absentee landlords who also do not give a damn about us.

They usual tactics they used in the past are not working anymore because they refuse to invest in the island at all in meaningful ways and if anything gets done anymore it is the locals who make it happen. Once they get used to running things on their own without any help from Washington DC, they will contemplate a major confrontation.

I hope the US does not do its usual thing with Latin America. Send in the jackals, and go and assassinate the leadership, and then bomb us from the sky, call us terrorist drug dealers, and then send in the troops and murder thousands of us. Lock down the nation and then take it off the news and or starve us out financially.

I have zero respect for American imperialism. It is awful. The worst of it all is that so many of the Europeans believe their outright lies about Latin Americans ALL THE TIME.

It is bad.

[ingliz]

@Tainari88

doolally

adjective

mentally deranged

[Tainari88]

@Tainari88

doolally

adjective

mentally deranged

Do you think they are eh?

I wonder where I can use that word in a sentence eh?

Mr. Anti People person.

[Potemkin]

Do you think they are eh?

I wonder where I can use that word in a sentence eh?

Mr. Anti People person.

Doolally. Tuppence short of the shilling. Not playing with a full deck. Off their rocker. Fallen out of the crazy tree and hit every branch on the way down. Lol.

I agree with @ingliz - the Scots and the Welsh aren’t too bad, but the English are doolally. No question about it. A thousand years of oppression, brainwashing and being used as imperialist stormtroopers will do that to a people.

[MistyTiger]

I had an odd friendship with an Englishman for years. I finally cut ties in January. It was weird and it just didn't make sense to me. I'd say he was a bit doolally. At first he seemed intelligent and fascinating, charming even but...as the years passed, I realized he was enjoying the friendship more than I was. He found me amusing since I wasn't English and therefore not as mad or daft as he was. I still miss him now and then. Honestly, I'm so much better off without him in my life. That was a confusing time.

He said he lived in the Nottingham area. It's not exactly posh but not exactly poor either. I think it counts as middle class. In the US you might say he lives in a condo. There were similar houses nearby. He sent me a link to satellite photos but I lost the link. It looked like a decent area to raise a family.

[Rancid]

Doolally. Tuppence short of the shilling. Not playing with a full deck. Off their rocker. Fallen out of the crazy tree and hit every branch on the way down. Lol.

I'm still not understanding....

I wonder if I can buy a few homes in these poverty stricken areas of the UK.

[ingliz]

@Tainari88

funding from Westminster

The daftest thing is the £4 billion funding gap could have been filled more than twice over by the money Jeremy Hunt used for a meaningless cut in national insurance.

[Tainari88]

@Tainari88


The daftest thing is the £4 billion funding gap could have been filled more than twice over by the money Jeremy Hunt used for a meaningless cut in national insurance.

I think the tendency of not doing for the lower classes in England has to do with a lack of real resistance and you got to pressure these politicians with nothing in the brain but mierda.

I read the list there from that link you put in Ingliz. Most of the MPs are conservative. Why are there so many conservatives in charge of funds for the limited income people in the UK? Get rid of them!!

[wat0n]

Basically, the UK minus London has living standards like those of Mississippi.



Perhaps the big question is why is London so rich (answer: Economies of agglomeration).

[Tainari88]

I'm still not understanding....

I wonder if I can buy a few homes in these poverty stricken areas of the UK.

This is what came up on google.

There aren't any legal restrictions on foreigners buying property in the UK. ² This means almost anyone can buy a property there, regardless of nationality. You don't need a visa to invest in UK property either, although of course you will need one if you're buying a home with the intention of living in it.

It is harder by far buying property in Mexico as a US citizen if it is near the coast. Lol. I can testify to that.

[Puffer Fish]

Here's another thread that might help touch on why there are so many poor cities in Northern England: The North-South divide in England