Ponzi cradle to grave welfare
Britain's welfare system is grinding to a halt; the young are complaining, and Daisy explains that the cradle to the grave welfare scheme is as old as she is, 65, and was set up by, and for the benefit of, her parent's generation and earlier generations – because they suffered so much during the great depression and war and owned very little – and, like any Ponzi scheme, it wasn't designed to last, we should all get over it and look forward to a time when all the nannying and Nosy-Parkering that this 1945 system entailed is gone for good.
"It was a Ponzi scheme, intended to be phased out stage by stage, according to the needs of older generations, with younger generations paying for it," says Daisy. "By virtue of their huge numbers, the Boomers paid the lion's share in tax for the welfare of older generations, as well as that of their own children when they were growing up in the 60s and 70s – and now they need to accept that it won’t last to cover their own welfare in old age."
"95% of my generation left school at 15 in the 60s to man the factories, shops and offices of an economy that took decades to recover from the horrific post-war period," explains Daisy. "We suffered many economic crises and periods of unemployment just like what's happening now, but we soldiered on, uncomplainingly paying huge amounts of tax, because we had our music to blot things out and didn’t see our parents doing any better than we were.”
"If younger generations are up in arms about keeping the welfare system going for the Boomers in old age when so much of it has already been phased out and what remains doesn't benefit them much – and there's no house to inherit because parents need it's sale value to pay for their aged care – then good for them," says Daisy. "It must suck being at the tail end of a Ponzi scheme and I wouldn’t like it; but spare a thought for some Boomers who, through no fault of their own, weren't able to amass enough assets to cover their nursing home care and will end up in some hell hole."
"Is this the fault of my generation?" asks Daisy. "No, Margaret Thatcher is from the older generation that benefited the most from the early welfare system – I'm sure she didn't knock back the benefits on principle – and she made it clear in the 80s that things had to change, we should be responsible for ourselves – but who listened?"
"I did," says Daisy. "It all happened just in time to warn my children starting out in life not to trust the welfare system, not to rely on inheriting my house (I need it to cover my old age care) and to do everything possible to build up a safe BTL property portfolio for their old age – which they have done very successfully since the 80s."
"The Blair-Brown Labour government did its best to keep the cradle to the grave Ponzi scheme going," explains Daisy, "but services deteriorated to such a point that most people realized that the tax they were paying for it would be better spent on providing their own private insurances."
"Very few of the older generation for whom the welfare state was intended to benefit are alive now," says Daisy. "My mother is 82 and complains bitterly about the lousy services available to her now compared with the first-class care she received 20 years ago when she retired.”
“I help her out as much as I can,” says Daisy, “but I’m getting old myself and I’m scared that I won’t have enough money to take me through to her venerable age.”
“Let’s face it, the gravy train is over, public services are being privatized left right and centre,” says Daisy, “and everyone had better start learning the old-fashioned art of economizing – which my parents taught me, but my kids didn't have to learn – because we're all going to need whatever money we have to pay privately for all the things the welfare state once provided for us."
“On the plus side, I really look forward to a time when all the nannying and Nosy-Parkering that this 1945 system entailed is gone for good,” says Daisy. “All of my life I’ve been blighted by this monolithic parent telling me what’s good for me, and what’s not, and while I hope my mother lives to a ripe old age, I hope the Ponzi Parent drops dead soon.”
"It was a Ponzi scheme, intended to be phased out stage by stage, according to the needs of older generations, with younger generations paying for it," says Daisy. "By virtue of their huge numbers, the Boomers paid the lion's share in tax for the welfare of older generations, as well as that of their own children when they were growing up in the 60s and 70s – and now they need to accept that it won’t last to cover their own welfare in old age."
"95% of my generation left school at 15 in the 60s to man the factories, shops and offices of an economy that took decades to recover from the horrific post-war period," explains Daisy. "We suffered many economic crises and periods of unemployment just like what's happening now, but we soldiered on, uncomplainingly paying huge amounts of tax, because we had our music to blot things out and didn’t see our parents doing any better than we were.”
"If younger generations are up in arms about keeping the welfare system going for the Boomers in old age when so much of it has already been phased out and what remains doesn't benefit them much – and there's no house to inherit because parents need it's sale value to pay for their aged care – then good for them," says Daisy. "It must suck being at the tail end of a Ponzi scheme and I wouldn’t like it; but spare a thought for some Boomers who, through no fault of their own, weren't able to amass enough assets to cover their nursing home care and will end up in some hell hole."
"Is this the fault of my generation?" asks Daisy. "No, Margaret Thatcher is from the older generation that benefited the most from the early welfare system – I'm sure she didn't knock back the benefits on principle – and she made it clear in the 80s that things had to change, we should be responsible for ourselves – but who listened?"
"I did," says Daisy. "It all happened just in time to warn my children starting out in life not to trust the welfare system, not to rely on inheriting my house (I need it to cover my old age care) and to do everything possible to build up a safe BTL property portfolio for their old age – which they have done very successfully since the 80s."
"The Blair-Brown Labour government did its best to keep the cradle to the grave Ponzi scheme going," explains Daisy, "but services deteriorated to such a point that most people realized that the tax they were paying for it would be better spent on providing their own private insurances."
"Very few of the older generation for whom the welfare state was intended to benefit are alive now," says Daisy. "My mother is 82 and complains bitterly about the lousy services available to her now compared with the first-class care she received 20 years ago when she retired.”
“I help her out as much as I can,” says Daisy, “but I’m getting old myself and I’m scared that I won’t have enough money to take me through to her venerable age.”
“Let’s face it, the gravy train is over, public services are being privatized left right and centre,” says Daisy, “and everyone had better start learning the old-fashioned art of economizing – which my parents taught me, but my kids didn't have to learn – because we're all going to need whatever money we have to pay privately for all the things the welfare state once provided for us."
“On the plus side, I really look forward to a time when all the nannying and Nosy-Parkering that this 1945 system entailed is gone for good,” says Daisy. “All of my life I’ve been blighted by this monolithic parent telling me what’s good for me, and what’s not, and while I hope my mother lives to a ripe old age, I hope the Ponzi Parent drops dead soon.”
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