There is a storm coming. I can smell it in the wind.
There is an anger brewing. I can taste it in the blood.
The truth is that we are at a crossroads and nobody is making the decision on the road to go. We have problems that need solving and nobody is solving them. People have lost their faith in politicians and experts. They do not believe anything. It is all fake news. They have turned to the witchcraft of populism and Brexit looking for salvation. It only makes matters worse. The division and fury grow.
The politicians deflect the blame on to terrorists and immigrants, to bureaucrats and Brussels. But the real problem is them – the politicians. They are not addressing the real problems. All they seem interested in is themselves and power.
Automation, globalisation and the demise of outmoded industry has created a monster. We no longer need a large workforce. There are no longer a large number of well-paid jobs. A large chunk of the population are surplus to requirements. They are being thrown on the scrapheap. Worse than that is the fact that all the wealth is being channelled into a small elite who have never had it so good. The sportspeople, entertainers, bankers and businessmen are exploiting the global media to extract more loot than they know what to do with. They give themselves massive bonuses and stash it away in tax avoiding companies and off-shore havens. The multinationals and wealthy hold the governments to ransom by threatening to take their money elsewhere.
Here’s what we should do:
a. Plug all the tax evasion loopholes
b. Put in place a fair but progressive tax regime to create greater equality
c. Limit bonuses and salaries
d. Reduce the working week to 3 days for the same pay and get full employment
e. Use the added tax income to employ more teachers, nurses, doctors, social workers, old people carers, police, council workers, counsellors and get public services working to a high quality (these are the jobs we need)
f. Retrain people to take up these roles
g. Have a huge infrastructure development – road, rail, internet, bridges, schools, hospitals, housing, old people’s havens
h. Invest heavily in new technology – alternative energy, internet, biochemistry, genetics, computing, robots, medicines, food technology
I. Invest heavily in the environment.
J. Invest heavily in leisure and health.
k. Invest in the arts, music, dance and culture
L. Move on from the old ways into a brave new world.
If we do not move on and embrace the future the hopelessness, fury, hatred and division will destroy us all.