How we let the young down

Growing old makes you more reflective. The one subject that really bothers me now, is how we have let the younger generation down. Our one job in life was to make it better for those following behind. In that respect we have failed badly.

I follow Darren McGarvey’s work and the argument he makes about proximity. If you haven’t been really close to something you can’t really have a view on it. I can’t talk about poverty, inequality or the horror of food banks. On these subjects I need to listen more and talk less. But I shouldn’t be quiet, I can still offer a perspective on some other areas.

Let us start with education, the pipeline that regenerates a nation. I believe our overall education standards are actually pretty good. You can travel through the state school system and get a decent university education if you so choose. The problem is that we now saddle them with debt that they need to endure deep in to their life’s. Although we choose to subsidise tuition fees through higher tax, the cost of studying, of accommodation and living means that there is significant debt at the end. The response seems to be, don’t worry about it, its just a soft loan. We can increase the term and stick another decade on it.

Then there is the biggest single inter-generational unfairness. The provision of affordable housing or getting on the ladder as they used to say. If you are young and post code fortunate you might consider buying. The likelihood is that you will be outbid many, many times in a race to find suitable housing. If you are young and post code unfortunate, buying is simply not an option. Here you are forced to join the search for a rental property, with hundreds viewing within minutes of a listing.

Left to face the mercy of absentee landlords. Letting agents telling them that the market is hot, they can get a higher rent. Don’t worry about the existing tenants, we will handle the awkward conversation.

We have allowed people to see housing as simply an investment. Buy a portfolio of properties giving you high returns. Take houses out of the market and use them as AirBNBs. We have moved far away from the idea that a house is a home.

The next problem unfolding in front of our very eyes, is the cost of living crisis and the inflation problem. Having worked for a large FMCG company, the expression that I grew to hate was shareholder value. This is a promise that an organisations primary objective is to increase the value for shareholders. If that means suppressing wages or increasing prices, then so be it. Of course the shareholders are often pension funds, so by protecting their gold plated pensions we are prioritising the older generation.

I cannot deny that there has been huge external events such as Covid and the Ukraine War. However, the threat of inflation was muted way back in early 2021, and we have sleep walked in to it. I am convinced that we have seen profiteering through price gouging. I think big commerce as gone way beyond what was needed, using it as a cover to restore the profits that were lost through the pandemic. Now given that the public purse kept them alive in their time of need, their response is outrageous.

The eye watering excess profits being made in some sectors is just an example of how a small group of individuals are hoovering up wealth in broad daylight, shamefully without scrutiny or control.

The impact is acutely impacting on the young. Stretched by the increase in cost of living they then get battered by the only technique that the Bank has in its play book, increase the rate of interest. Guess what happens next, the young whom are more likely to have bigger mortgages get battered with a hike in rate. It flows in to the rental sector giving another reason for landlords to increase rate. The only winners are the banks who make more profit and the older generation who are more likely to have savings.

You could argue that our young are fortunate to live in a country with a democratic society. But instead they feel that their vote doesn’t matter. They get a Government that they don’t want, who doesn’t see their needs as a priority. Noone born in the 21st century voted for Brexit. They didn’t vote to take away their right to work freely in Europe, or to travel without borders.

Instead the Government is one installed by big commerce, and held hostage by an older generation who hark back to a fluffy version of the past. A group of people failing in their obligation to make the country better for their grand-children and great-grand children.

The one area that you could possibly claim is a generational advantage is technology. Comparably this generation are more tech rich than any. However, it comes with a poisoned chalice. Those in charge of social media are manipulating their algorithms, taking more control over what we see, manipulating us in covert ways. As a result there is more anxiety and more mental health challenges than ever before.

So in my little humble opinion, we have let the younger generation down. We have made short term choices to tackle systemic shocks. All is not lost, but we do have choices to make. It is accepted that the UK has an aging population. However we should not choose to fund that by taking from the young and giving to the old. We had one job, to make it better for those following.

Rant over, I am going back to writing light hearted crime capers.

Johnny GG