Have baby boomers stolen the family silver

Also dont 10% of the population own 90% of the capital? ( may have got the % wrong but there's bigger inequalities now) so it's overpaid fat cats, including most of the Tory party, people should have a go at not people who happen to be a certain age.

The country's industries and utilities are now owned mainly by private companies and have become assets in the form of shares.

I didn't suggest that the elderly should be poor nor did I deny that people will hopefully accumulate assets, but governments have protected the elderly, while they are (as a group) becoming richer. Younger people are paying for it. The balance is wrong and we have come to a tipping point.

No, it's not overpaid fat cats. It's people who own assets. People make more from owning them than the vast majority make from income, which isn't to say that some people with very high incomes will buy assets.

The tipping point is 38 degrees, daphne.
Are we really at the situation where pensioners own 38% of the wealth in this country? If so, I'd like to know who has my share.

Manufacturing was sold off and sent abroad, one of the main reasons being that it became and has become too expensive to manufacture the same goods in this country. Much cheaper in every respect to outsource to the Far East or wherever. People complain, but the majority of those people want and wanted low prices and still do. A washing machine manufactured in South Korea is much cheaper than in the UK. Same for shipbuilding, car manufacturer and a host of other goods. Decades ago no one could have imagined the fall of communism, the re unification of Germany, the inclusion of east European countries into the then Common Market. During those decades the world has changed in a way none of us who were adults at the time could possibly have imagined. So no, I don't feel even remotely guilty for something that neither I or my contemporaries could possibly have foreseen or even contemplated. Had a lot of us known then what we know now, we would never have ever had voted to join the Common Market in the first place, but we believed what our then politicians told us and recommended, and sadly fell for it! Why would we not? After all they were politicians, they knew about these things, or so we thought, because in those days politicians were believed and up to a point respected - How can we be blamed for that?!!

As Suzied says I wouldn't mind paying a direct contribution towards doctors in the same way as to dentists etc. As it is, I'm exempt from prescription charges but again would be happy to pay. That would be in effect an NHS tax wouldn't it?

(I should add that I do have a couple of friends who are Loaded and would object strongly to paying for anything - but that's probably why they're loaded!)

You are aiming at the wrong target, Nellie.

Don't blame the EU for the deliberate destruction of British industries by MargaretThatcher or the unrestrained free market policies exploited by the multinational corporations.

Hind sight is a wonderful thing!!!!!!

It is an indisputable fact that the elderly own more of the country's assets than younger people.

As it should be! People work and save when young so as to have assets when older and no longer able to earn. Twas ever thus!

The only difference is because post ww2 more people have become a bit wealthier a larger number of pensioners are in the happy position of having a bit of 'wealth' and financial security. Most are not wealthy, just a bit wealthier tthan in the past.

However younger people are earning and spending more than the baby boomers ever did and they too can save and be better off in their old age. Many stand to gain a fat inheritance too when parenntts pop their clogs!

Our children have been the had it all generation and now expect to be able to buy a house as effortlessly as they got toys as kids, while still enjoying regular foreign holidays, cars, a 'spendy' lifestyle and lavish weddings and honeymoons! Have you any idea of the money they waste on friends hen and stag 'weekends' now?!?!

Communists want to rob the middle classes of financial security and prevent wealth being passed down (except by a small truly wealthy elite who will always protect wealth for their children, in off shore accounts etc, as the Blairs do). They want to see a world of vulnerable easily manipulated plebs who have no choice but to work till they drop.

You've hit the nail on the head Mair! I couldn't agree with you more.

It's strange that Germany, France and Italy still manage to manufacture their own cars, trains, tractors etc France and Italy have a high end textile industry. They also have state supported railways which are much cheaper and more efficient than ours. Privatisation not always for the better/ cheaper.

Some of them even own some of our 'privatised' utilities and run them at a profit. Perhaps we should renationalise them and take back even more control

That's all happened since the end of communism and the fall of the Berlin Wall. By that time in the UK the deed was done, and couldn't be reinstated without enormous cost. Industry in both Italy and France have huge government subsidies, and their economies particularly Italy are under severe strain. Germans not only work extremely hard and diligently, but also have never had the industrial problems that were so rife here in the 70's and early 80's which also contributed to the demise in our manufacturing industry.

Another train company just been sold off to foreigners. Essex trains, I think.

Are you allowed to say 'foreigners' durhamjen?

Trenitalia, suzie and Maizie, owned by the Italian Government, C2C trains previously owned by National Express, and subsidised by the British taxpayer, who is not allowed to own his/her own trains, but subsidises every other EU countries state owned railways.
I bet Brexit doesn't mean taking those back.

every other EU country's state owned railways.
Before anyone else corrects me.

Mair -Communists want to rob the middle classes of financial security and prevent wealth being passed down (except by a small truly wealthy elite who will always protect wealth for their children, in off shore accounts etc, as the Blairs do). They want to see a world of vulnerable easily manipulated plebs who have no choice but to work till they drop.
excuse me - this sounds a bit like the UK at the moment, except we don't have communism, oops, no, its our elected betters who want everyone to work till they're 70 and then give up their hard paid for homes.The wealthy class like Camerons, Blairs etc will be OK in one of their numerous properties, no bedroom tax for them.

I have been on trains in Italy and they are fab, an hour and a half journey cost me 10 euros, would probably have been £25 here ( or more). Plenty of seats , even in the rush hour.

I suppose I must be on the left wing of the LibDems, although 21st century politics is never that simple.

I do not rate Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour party but I do agree with some of his policies. The railways should never have been privatised, especially in the crazy way they were- separating track from trains - bonkers!

I have never seen the sense of privatised utilities. TV is dominated by ads for comparison sites - who is paying? - us of course, the consumers of water, gas and electricity, which is the same stuff wherever we buy it from.

£40 from Durham to Ely single for someone with a student railcard, paid in advance! How much of that went to Branson to take offshore?

There's an interesting poll online, varian, for people who say they don't rate Corbyn, and asking which of his ten main policies they disagree with.
The last time I looked everyone who had filled it in agreed with all his policies! Strange, that.

The same stuff, and mainly owned by foreign companies again. Most of our utilities are owned by foreigners, and particularly foreign governments which are really enjoying fleecing us whilst having cheap utilities for their own population.

Ana said:

Are you allowed to say 'foreigners' durhamjen?

ROFL!

Aren't they just 'fellow human beings'?