gyg wrote:(FWIW I personally think that the young in the UK are less motivated than they were 5 or 10 years ago, rather than stupider - generally though the cream rises to the top (Though I'm sure Ian would say the scum floats to the top as well!))

In the evenings I help a scheme collecting univesity text books, and giving advice and texts to youngsters wanting to go to university, buy we're talking kids at 14/15 who are clarifying in their own mind what industies they're looking at going into. We get people we know from those industries to tell them about the industry structre, what the different job facets are, who does what, what the chain of events is in say building a house, who does what, and all theat. And if they are interested in specifics, we supply them with specific text books to try to feed their passions. Give them advice like encourage their parents to subscribe to a periodical on a student discount scheme, get them to keep a sketchbook of their ideas if they're looking at design, get them software if they need it.

I have seen some really talented children with a real passion for wanting to go into one career or other, and the gap between the working world, and the child's knowledge base is the widest it has ever been . School and University deffinately do not teach or train children for the world of work. Education is failing our children. A child, especially males, have to spend their entire life working. School and University fail to teach or prepare our children for that responsibility.

I am concerned when we make generalizations about the worthiness or laziness of a country, continent or a 'society':

It's just assanine to expect talented people to prop up a useless and worthless society of stupid and downright lazy families.

or

This is not my experience at all, travel to the Middle East or South America someday if you want to see a lazy society.

I have worked throughout every country in South America in the last fifteen years, have I seen lazy people, of course, have I seen a ton of hard working people, yes as well.

I am concerned with the recent trends of Socialist leaders throughout South America, and the impact its having especially in Venezuela at the moment.

I was born and raised in a communist country (Cuba), and count my blessings to be in the US, every day of my life.

In the UK there are almost 3 million unemployed, yet I cannot find labour that is willing to work for £8p/h on a building site. If a kid knocked on my door and asked if he could cut my lawn for a fiver, I'd have no problem, and be asking him to come back in a fortnight to do it again.

UK society is awash with money and jobs that pay money, but there is a big labour shortage. That's because a huge chunk of the labour that is available is both unreliable and lazy, and the 3 million unemployed have no interest in working because they get paid to sit at home and watch TV.

I know of many businesses and many individuals who have money to pay and jobs to fill. The only reason people are unemployed and/or poor in the UK is because they have chosen to live like that.

Case in point.. Gentleman a licensed taxi driver, but can't get work with any taxi company because he's worked his way around them all over the passed few years and lasts about 3 months with each because of certain transgressions and attitude to his work and the public. His partner works in a nursery school doing a £12p/h job some 30 miles from her home, for £6p/h because it's run by a charity and she doesn't want to leave in case she doesn't like a new employer. She loses %50 of her wage each week on travel and car maintenance, and her husband is out of work. She smokes. He gambles online. Both are intelligent people.

Every single choice they make is based on them wanting to be poor and live in a deprived neighbourhood. They have no intention or desire to live a healthy balanced life, or develop themselves beyond living in the gutter.



As regards exploitation and slave labour, we have very simial problems in the UK, especially in the hotel and catering industries. The willing ness, ability and diligence of the Estonians and Polish is well known, and in general, femaile workers are exploited because of it. Not so much males who are aware of how much they should be earning, and how easy it is to get work. If someone won't pay how much they should, they'll leave and be in work the following day.

All this to a backdrop of fat and lazy white men complaining about imigrants stealing thier jobs, jobs that they themselves wouldn't actually dream of doing, at times (8am-8pm) that they wouldn't be willing to work at, and under conditions (on a building site, or a farm, or production line) that they find unacceptable.



Yes, on the whole the UK white working class is bone idle, preferring alcohol and cigarettes and state benefits and petty criminality, to education and well behaved children. That may not be the case in America, but it is certainly the case in the United Kingdom.