Posted: Jul 02, 2016 1:38 pm
Calilasseia wrote:Bullshit.
First, the reason many are enduring "crap jobs, low wages and benefits", is because the Panama Papers parasite rich preferred to squirrel billions out of the country to spend on mansions, bling yachts and private jets, instead of paying the taxes that would have funded proper investment in social infrastructure, including education. As for the idea that they are "happy" in their poverty, this is the sort of pernicious propaganda that we'd expect to see coming from the Iain Drunken Shit school of Tory stereotyping. If you think those people wouldn't prefer to be given a chance to earn a decent living wage without handouts, then you obviously haven't moved outside your comfortable rentier circle of golf clubs and subsidised corporate entertainment.
As for those who "brought the rest of us down a bit", the blame with that lies with Johnson and Farage, two rich, privileged wankers who were happy to peddle lies in order to further their own pursuit of unearned wealth. At least Johnson has woken up to the manner in which he's shit on his own career as well as the country, whilst dodgy Dulwich wheeler-dealer Farage, who unlike some of the people in the EU he sneered at, never had a proper job himself (please, a fucking commodities speculator?) continues to pretend in public that he's some sort of hero of the masses, whilst doubtless laughing all the way to the bank as he coins it in more commodities speculation.
What actually happened, was that entirely justifiable discontent at fake "austerity" economics (fake because the rich aren't experiencing any "austerity", unless you count having to keep your his and hers Bentleys an extra year before moving on to the shiny new model) was hijacked by the Panama Papers parasite rich, with a diversionary campaign aimed at blaming "migrants" for our woes instead of the real culprits, and sadly, it succeeded.
Without disagreeing with your view of the Panama Papers rich, I think the underlying problem is not so much tax evasion as technology and globalisation, which have led to the disappearance of whole industries across the developed world, leaving the millions of people who used to run them without worthwhile jobs. There's a piece today on the BBC website here about a hollowed-out Ohio town which was thriving forty years ago. Nobody seems to have much idea of what to do about it. I most certainly agree with your opinion of those who hijacked the discontent in the UK.