I found this interesting
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All governments and private pension plans have done this. It’s the way pensions have been paid since they were created. The idea is that, hopefully ‘the young’ never run out …
Jam tomorrow
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So best to get moving and make some more ‘youngs’. Not me, I’m done with all that. 
Nor me
I suppose the question is, it acceptable to continue squeezeing the middle when the end has all the money and continually wants more?
Certainly many Governments are guilty of this but not private pensions. Defined benefit plans, the few that are left, have to adhere to funding rules and defined contribution plans, well you get what you get.
The cost of bringing up children nowadays and the horrendous cost of buying a house and childcare is not conducive to having more children.
Yes indeed. I haven’t had the courage yet to ask my daughter, with her 3 adult autistic sons still at home, how she is coping with the mortgage on their small house. Her husband and eldest are both working and no doubt she gets some form of assistance, but nevertheless.
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They will have the additional worry about what will happen to their children in future.
We have been wondering what is causing this huge rise in children being diagnosed with autism, adhd etc.
In her case I am convinced it is genetic. She married a man whose sister married her stepbrother, and 2 of his 3 children are handicapped in one way or another. His wife, my daughter’s sister in law, died suddenly in mysterious circumstances many years ago when she was still in her 20s. Still an open verdict.
There is obviously no blood relationship between my daughter and my stepson.
Edit: Confusing myself, they have the same mother, but no blood connection to their spouses.
The eldest and the youngest are less affected, the middle one can never live on his own I think.
My feeling is that we try to recognise and identify/label behavioural patterns that were considered bad behaviour/indolence/stupidity 50+ years ago. Normal is a spectrum. It seems likely that some of the kids I went to school with who appeared to be a waste of space had some of these conditions and could not work effectively. They were also usually the target of mocking because they were different. In some cases from what I remember they were of reasonable intelligence, but simply did not fit. There were also some of well below normal intelligence for whom school was impossible, but they seemed to mostly disappear as time progressed.
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looking back (for me, quite a long way)… I now think some of my schoolmates would be labelled as “something” nowadays…
The persistent bully… the ones who hardly spoke… the ones labelled “dunce”… those “picked-on” by teachers for who knows whatever reason or none…
so many differing causes for a child’s behaviour.
I changed schools often due to my father’s career and as “the new girl” I generally befriended those whom I identified as timid/shy and we supported one another.
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There are a few that stick in the mind. The boy of Polish parents, who was always dirty, dishevelled and with a runny nose - I’m sure he had learning disabilities, and he disappeared when we moved from junior to senior school. Two boys and a girl that I’m fairly sure were dyslexic. The daughter of my mother’s best school friend, who with us both aged 5 or 6 wanted to show me ‘where babies came out’ - at the time it was exciting, but as an adult I can see it was inappropriate behaviour, and I wonder what her experiences were to cause it.
Later on there was drunkenness (esp 11-14 years) and drug use (14-16) and those also affected behaviours.
I cannot recall ever reading an article that so clearly demonstrates wilful ignorance and/or prejudice.
Perhaps the author simply a troll?
One sentence stands out in its gross stupidity: “In short, Old Britain is insulated from the real economy.”
Facts that the author conveniently omits:
Pensions – especially UK state pensions - do not keep up with real world inflation.
There are thousands of women who are suffering because their qualifying age for state pension was increased with insufficient warning denying them the opportunity to build up their qualifying national insurance contributions.
Widows pension no longer exists.
Many people are forced to pay expensive care / care home fees. My mother has spent in excess of £400,000 in care fees over the past few years. This Christmas I have no choice other than to tell her that she will be forced to sell her home – which she has lived in for 30 years plus, and to move into a care home. To be blunt I hope that she passes away before that happens.
I agree I don’t think there’s more children with issues these days, but they are being identified and dealt with where in my day it was only the most obvious children with learning difficulties were recognised
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