http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20885838

Make of that what you will.

I'm not a callous person by nature but my response would have to be 'deal with it'. It's not like their problems are anything any of the previous generations haven't had to face.

I see some of this in General Practice. The older generation, now in their 70s/80s, would have endured WW2 or the immediate aftermath of it. They would have "just gotten on with it". When they married, they stuck to their partner through thick and thin, even if they despised them. These are the ones who can cope with so many problems and still smile.

Then there are those in their 50s and 60s who were in the baby boomer generation. They tend to grumble more, be more picky about things. As you filter down the age groups, you see people becoming more anxious, more "depressed" [they think they're depressed but they're just unhappy]. They've been brought up to expect the Govt to look after them, with the expectation that the doctor will provide a magic cure (partly the Govt's fault). They want quick fixes and things that supply immediate rewards. They're not used to toughing it out, putting in the effort. Part of the Tory legacy was to destroy the power of communities. Things would have been sorted "in house". You could go to the local parish, or have someone in the family to confide in but families have spread out and become more separate.

While I can feel sorry for those that can’t find jobs I know that there are loads of charities out there looking for volunteers and most of them will pay basic expenses (e.g. travel) so even if you are on basic benefits you could do some voluntary work which will get you out of the house and add something useful to your CV which would then increase your chance to get a job

I know that when my mum was looking for someone last summer to work part time in her catering business she couldn’t find anyone that would stick it out as it was “to hard” for the poor wee lambs – and she is in her mid 70’s still lugging stuff around

I think that covers most of the problems, but many are also from broken homes and families who have problems of their own. It would be interesting to see how the survey would have differed if done before the financial crisis.

[quote="cloaked_wolf"] They've been brought up to expect the Govt to look after them, with the expectation that the doctor will provide a magic cure (partly the Govt's fault). They want quick fixes and things that supply immediate rewards. quote]
Seeing that i'll probably never retire let's see the other side of the coin. Youth going through school right now know that there will have to work long hours to barely cover housing and travel costs. Most of the jobs have been purposefully concentrated in the South East so they probably will have to move away from their families, not being able to get any support from them. They are paying the pensions and lifestyle of people who retired and closed the door behind them, while also paying extortionate rent to those same people.

I have a lot more sympathy for the young than our government clearly do. The dreams of home ownership and a stable family life are clearly a dream, one that is unobtainable.

oh no life is hard, time to grow a [LIFTED] spine and stop expecting everyone else to hand you the easy lifestyle and work for it. If you dont like it at the bottom get off your arse and do something about it, nobody is going to hand it on a plate to you.

I must confess I don't get the obsession with home-ownership that we have in the UK; it certainly seems a lot less common in other countries. I had this discussion with the Wench recently who vehemently objected to the idea of paying someone else rent rather than having a mortgage. That was until I pointed out we were on an interest only mortgage at present and thus were in an almost identical position.

LOL the irony!

However, looking long-term an interest only mortgage is still preferable to renting. It is very unlikely that the property will be worth less in 25 years time, and rental prices are normally higher than the interest would be. The difference between the rentable value and the interest payments is likely to increase favourably over time.

more importantly, you will not be driven out of your home on a yearly basis as the landlord feels like increasing rent, doing work etc. You can decorate your house as you see fit and do work which would improve your quality of life and reduce running costs (ie installing double glazing). If you have children you do not have to worry about moving with them in tow or that they will have to change school every few years as you move house.
If you could get long term lets in this country there would be no issues with renting.

+1

Well that's bollocks. Jobs these days are much harder to come by, are less likely to be full time or permanent and are a lot less secure than the jobs of yesteryear.

I grew up in the 1970's and 80's. Unemployment rates were higher then than they are now, on average (there are always places with higher rates than others). At least 50% higher according to a quick google search.


I'm not sure where you're getting any of this from. It's just not the facts at all.

Jon

Even if you do all that we now have the least socially mobile society in generations.