Why I am starting to hate Sheffield and the UK

[Berberis 10]

Murders per 1000 population:

USA: 0.042

Australia: 0.015

UK: 0.014

 

Source

 

The problem is its not one issue its a whole load of issues that add up to a very unhappy population, and thats why the UK is at no.29 in the quality of life survey and the USA and Australia so much higher.

[LibertyBell 10]

The problem is its not one issue its a whole load of issues that add up to a very unhappy population, and thats why the UK is at no.29 in the quality of life survey and the USA and Australia so much higher.

 

Fair point but I was responding to a post relating to murder.

[beckelina 10]

The problem is its not one issue its a whole load of issues that add up to a very unhappy population, and thats why the UK is at no.29 in the quality of life survey and the USA and Australia so much higher.

 

Or maybe that it's we're a country of moaning miserable gits who don;t have an ounce of optimism in our bodies?!

[nick2 10]

The problem is its not one issue its a whole load of issues that add up to a very unhappy population, and thats why the UK is at no.29 in the quality of life survey and the USA and Australia so much higher.

 

The US is a very difficult country to gauge though in terms of quality of life, you have the ultra rich and the terribly poor living next to each other, there are millions living in poverty.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-08-30-census-poverty_x.htm

[LibertyBell 10]

Or maybe that it's we're a country of moaning miserable gits who don;t have an ounce of optimism in our bodies?!

 

I know you are but what am I?

[Berberis 10]

But when you look at any single issue you will always find worse elsewhere. This is about the whole picture upinwath's posy is just highlighting one issue, and showing how bad things are getting.

 

The fact is the UK is sliding down the quality of life stats, this once great nation is slowly being divided up between the leftie's and the thugs. Our elderly population is left terrorised in their homes by children as young as 5, while out penal system rewards their behaviour by not punishing them properly. This can be seen by the ASBO being a badge of honour to a lot of people with them.

 

This will not get better because the people who are dragging this country down are fuelling the next generation which are actively out doing their parents at their own game.

 

Highest teen pregnancy

Highest number of children drinking alcohol

Our prisons are bursting at the seams, but no one has the political will to address the issue.

 

The people with the money and the know how are leaving in droves. There must be a reason, and if you think there is no problem or the problem is nothing more than cosmetic, you are part of the problem and the reason we are in such a problem now.

[Berberis 10]

The US is a very difficult country to gauge though in terms of quality of life, you have the ultra rich and the terribly poor living next to each other, there are millions living in poverty.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-08-30-census-poverty_x.htm

 

Yes, but that’s ONE issue again. I've only used the USA as a comparison as it’s easy to compare for us. I prefer to use Australia, but you could use Ireland too.

 

You have to ask the question, why is every one of our European neighbours considerably higher than us? Why are we now sitting with ex eastern block countries that have only come out from behind the iron curtain relatively recently?

[beckelina 10]

The people with the money and the know how are leaving in droves. There must be a reason, and if you think there is no problem or the problem is nothing more than cosmetic, you are part of the problem and the reason we are in such a problem now.

 

So what steps are you taking to be part of the solution?

 

Being a local Councillor perhaps? Volunteering as a magistrate? Lobbying the political parties in power? Helping out in schools as a teaching assistant? Volunteering at out-of-school clubs, or scouts, or sports groups to give good kids somewhere to go?

[Berberis 10]

I pay my taxes in the same way people do in all these other countries.

 

Which is now the highest tax burden in Europe!

[beckelina 10]

But if you think society is going down the pan are you not interested in doing something to improve the quality of life in your community?

Or do you choose to just sit back and wait for someone else to fix it for you?

Even if that 'someone else' is a government who you do not support?

IMO part of the problem is that too many people sit back and expect their taxes to work miracles... The sense of community and everyone doing their bit seems to have been much more prevalent in previous decades (not that I know - I was not alive)...

[Berberis 10]

But if you think society is going down the pan are you not interested in doing something to improve the quality of life in your community?

Or do you choose to just sit back and wait for someone else to fix it for you?

Even if that 'someone else' is a government who you do not support?

IMO part of the problem is that too many people sit back and expect their taxes to work miracles... The sense of community and everyone doing their bit seems to have been much more prevalent in previous decades (not that I know - I was not alive)...

 

I agree, community comes from the population not from the government. But when our supposed leaders are failing to tackle the problems we are all concerned about, why change?

 

Being a local Councillor perhaps? - Only way you can be a councillor in Sheffield is if you are a Labour or Lib Dem. I would sooner use my scrotum as a brake pad than be associated with either!

 

Volunteering as a magistrate? You make it sound easy, but after looking into this, it was clear you have a higher chance of winning the lottery than to be appointed a Magistrate.

 

Lobbying the political parties in power? I do, by way of supporting those issues I feel strongly for and support charity groups who lobby the government. That combined with signing petitions when ever I see one worth while.

 

Helping out in schools as a teaching assistant? Need to be qualified and needed. Teaching assistance positions go to trainee teachers or ex teachers and to be honest, rightly so.

 

Volunteering at out-of-school clubs, or scouts, or sports groups to give good kids somewhere to go? I did this before. In a summer camp back when I lived down south. Working with children in the inner city and giving them something to do as well as giving their parents some time off.

 

With this in mind, and the fact I do not commit crimes. I don’t go out on a Friday night and fight and smash everything I see. I don’t fiddle my tax, I don’t cheat the benefits system, I don’t break into cars.

 

We have to understand the quality of life is measured in many ways. Simply looking atone factor doesn’t show the full picture.

 

Take the high level of GPS thefts happening in the country now. The UK is the top of the list in Europe. We have it worse. So what do we have to do, buy higher priced GPS's (remember this is an example) to counter the thieves. Our cars have to be double locked to try and protect them. You sure don’t want to leave a window open if you go out for fear of being broken into.

 

It all adds up, and according to the economist it adds up to 29th in the list, a sorry position for one of top 5 richest countries in the world (GDP) .

[Malanimal 10]

IMO part of the problem is that too many people sit back and expect their taxes to work miracles... The sense of community and everyone doing their bit seems to have been much more prevalent in previous decades (not that I know - I was not alive)...

 

Agreed. It is very easy to carp from the sidelines and expect someone else to do the work. I think there are many reasons why we have problems in our society, for example drugs, lack of religion, little respect for authority, loss of community, higher expectations and so on. Many solutions are required and some, we won't all start believing in region or bowing to authority again, are not possible.

 

Whatever the solution the state will not be able to provide all. The idea our tax burden is higher than the rest of Europe is cobblers, have you ever been to Norway! It's £4 a pint there, but then they are happier than we are...

 

"When I were a lad" there was less watching TV and internet, more playing with and looking out for those around us. The Government can certainly do a lot more to help communities, but the real work needs to be done by us. I don't think we are going to all agree how to make this country better, but what is needed is working to understand where it's going wrong and what we can do to help improve the situation. The time for just looking out for number one should be over.