UK Decline How Many Times

UK Decline

How many times a day do individual peoples living in the UK hear that the country is a super power with a strong and growing economy? If you are like most people more times than you care to, especially given the inflated cost of living, inflated home prices, increased fear of personal security, increased crime and a general feeling of social unrest. One can't help feeling and seeing the signs of a underlying degradation that seems insidious, a growing national and personal debt level and a decreasing GNP. Why then does it seem the economy looks strong to the number crunchers and why does it feel like the UK is loosing something, especially for the everyday person?

This work will address social, industrial/infrastructural and economic issues that give evidence of growing concern among those who live here about the real state of the strength of the nation. In this tertiary analysis will be countless clues as to the real state of affairs that give at least some credence to the individual, bound by gross personal debt and afraid for the future. It will ask, why the numbers players continue to call the UK one of the strongest nations in the world, and whether a general decline in all nations, comparatively has given the UK a shining star for strength only because so many other nations are sinking economically, socially and industrially. The UK no longer makes, builds or sells anything instead we buy, buy, buy. (Industrial production growth rate: -3.4% (2002 est.) CNN WFB 2003) What do we do to pay for all these purchases? We support the world economy and our own country through a substantial increase in service industry work. (GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 1.4% industry: 24.9% services: 73.7% (2000), Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 1%, industry 25%, services 74% (1999) CNN WFB 2003) Is Britain living so far beyond its resources that the national and personal debt will soon turn the economy and the society upside down and into a freefall that even the statisticians cannot spin her out of?

Social Decline

As detailed in the preliminary work of this project there are many social and cultural issues that are in need of attention. To prove a point about a reflective economy and just how much the strength of the numbers play out in the real lives of its people the UK's situation will be analyzed from a social perspective, on several main points.

Massive problems of crime, drugs, violence etc.

Poor general education Standards

Many Professional middle-class people leaving the country

Inflated house prices

Poor social statistics a burden on the economy - teenage pregnancies, binge drinking, increases in smoking, obesity, and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, especially among the young

One need not look far to see that the crime statistics in the UK are reflective of decay, despite the attempt by many to blame such an increase on population growth and the urbanization of society.

Brennan-Galvin)

Data on urban crime and violence are highly problematic, for developed as well as for developing countries. Comprehensive victimization data are available over time for only a handful of countries, including Canada, the United States, the Netherlands, Finland and the United Kingdom.

Brennan-Galvin)

Yet, despite the fact that the UK has set historical precedence in the area of crime statistics, the comparative data is still relied upon as an indicator of the nations health. It can be proven without a doubt that international comparisons are mute in a situation where statistics are not congruent, yet they are, another example of the ways in which statistics can cover any problem with a translucent bandage. Critics of the new crime programme find fault in its ability to spin statistics to make the crime rates look as if they are going down when they are clearly not.

Reiner 71)

The problem with the approach, however, lies in its place within the overall strategy of new Labour, many other aspects of which threaten the possible success of the crime reduction programme. Most obviously, the commitment to keep within Conservative spending plans undermines the capacity of the police, probation, education and other social services to perform as intended, whilst exacerbating the pressures leading young people into crime, such as school exclusions and truancy (Downes 199 8:196-7).

Reiner 71)

Additionally the approach even though it has its strengths does not bode well under current economic restrictions.

Reiner 71) Current waves of economic reform do nothing to answer for the reduction in social services and situation, which have been historically responsible for crime prevention.

More generally the criminogenic consequences of failure to bring unemployment down by the New Deal and through macro-economic policy would vastly outweigh any crime-reducing effects of the Home Office programme. New Labour's commitment to old Tory economic policy is its new hostage to fortune in the crime control policy area.

(Reiner 71)

Another fallacy given us by the academics and statisticians is that the reason crime rates have gone up on paper is because people are more willing, than ever before to report crimes and yet this is little comfort for the aged woman who has seen a dramatic increase in the crime on her formerly safe and pleasant street.

A unlike other international social statistics with accepted definitions, crime statistics lack standardization and are notoriously unreliable...Despite differences in how countries define crime, the preferred basis for national crime -rate surveys is, by far, "crimes known or reported to the police." However, the willingness of the public to report crimes and to become involved in the justice system varies widely among countries.

(Brennan-Galvin)

Criminal statistics are known to be used as political fodder, and really nothing else. Has the use of such information incensed the population to believe that crime is worse than ever before? Or has the increased reporting falsely padded statistics? Once again both options seem to be a smoke screen for change.

A in popular discourse, criminal statistics are most policy debates, crime is identified with only a narrow range of all offences against criminal law (let alone any wider sense of harmful or unethical behaviour), predatory offending by individuals against the property or person of others. Policy debates and public anxieties primarily concern street crime not suite crime, although critical criminologists have rightly emphasised that the harm done by the latter in many respects exceeds the former (Nelken 1997; Slapper and Tombs 1999).

(Reiner 71)

This also says nothing of the increased number of crimes committed by large international financial players. In the wake of the United States energy scandal, you would think that Britain and other developed nations would be getting tough on white color crime, the crime that so seriously saps the consumer, yet it seems to be a mute point as those with power, money and influence have the ultimate control over their ability to hide wrong doings and continue to profit off the overextended British public.

According to the 2003 CIA World Fact book the UK is the: "gateway country for Latin American cocaine entering the European market; major consumer of synthetic drugs, producer of limited amounts of synthetic drugs and synthetic precursor chemicals; major consumer of Southwest Asian heroin; money-laundering center." We are the middle men in a drug trade that grows substantially every year and within the role our residents, and especially the young are becoming increasingly involved in the drug trade, its use and production as well as all the social issues that are reflective of it, violence, property crime and social degeneration, including but not limited to educational failures, and the domino effect of the intense long-term outcome these issues have of the future lives of this generation, non-employability, poverty and life long drug and personal recovery.

It is just now that we are also being told that the drug trafficking that takes place all over the world, with the UK as the hub for the continent often supports and subsidizes the terrorists who endanger our population with false religious zellotism and increased fear of random violence and the graphically horrible deaths of explosions and hijackings. The World Fact Book sites this as one of the only international problems that the UK has, yet is it really an international problem if it is killing our children and robbing our residents of property life and even dignity? It is a wonder that there is a mass middle class exodus occurring in the UK at this time. These people are seeking a life that is better lived, where they do not have to incur two lifetime's worth of debt to purchase a home and they can possibly expect to sent heir kids to a drug free school. All of the above factors influence the general decline in social welfare.

When people are unemployed and underemployed (working for non-livable wages) the social fiber of the culture, more people both in and outside the majority are marginalized and hopeless, causing themselves and their children to make poor social decisions, such as early pregnancy, drug use and abuse, and at the very least poor consumer debt responsibility, probably a bigger problem than both the former.

Carrabine, Lee and South 193)

Industrial/Infrastructural Decline

As has been said before, the UK no longer makes anything, builds anything or sells anything tangible. The decline in industrial production has resulted in an overall decline in employment of industrial workers, who have not been aided by a failing system to transition to other work.

Some would say that the changes occurring in the UK, at this time with the increased importance of service industry work and intelligence rather than physical labor employment is a natural byproduct of globalization and an evolutionary product of the next phase as a "developed" nation.

They evidence this by observing that all developed nations are leaning in this direction. Yet, the transition has not and will not be easy, whether it is normal or not, a point which remains to be proven.

Kocherlakota)

With the education system in the UK in serious need of reform to reflect the changing needs of the country, and her people there is little hope for this generation. Though some would say that education is a social issue the connection between education and industry has been highly honed throughout history in the western world. Compulsory education is a way not only to create better civic citizens but it is a way to bridge the gap between childhood and adulthood industry. Yet, the higher education system and the poor apprenticeship programs in the UK are not conforming as quickly as the industry is changing.

Leathwood and Hayton) Which will in turn increase the unemployment rates, illicit behaviors and general unrest in the nation. There are several bullet points in the basis of this work that have been outlined below and they are:

Poor general education Standards, poor apprenticeship System

Manufacturing now only a small and decreasing part of GDP, with productivity below that of France, Germany,

Scandinavia despite longer working hours in UK

Lower Standards of worker protection and lower labour costs in UK are NOT leading to lower prices for British goods

Balance of payments - massive deficit and rising

North Sea oil production peaking

Poor infrastructure - railways, roads etc.

Poor long-term Investment over many years

The decline of the productivity of the UK is probably of the greatest concern after education and economic transition, as the attempted observation of many humanitarian labor goals have attempted to be met by the UK. Standards for employment that ar enot seen in other places and a huge part of the foundational ideals of a nation built, sadly upon the backs of very low paid, and under served masses of individuals all over the Empire, as it where, as is also commonly known a major player in the slave trade and use. The mid twentieth century, with its many independence-seeking nations, who were still under the infrastructural and nominal control of the UK, led to a greater awareness of the historical significance of unfair labor practices among the UK's people not to mention the immigrants from these very nations achieving freedom.

In the mid-nineteenth century, the United Kingdom I boasted the highest economic output per capita of any nation in the world, and its material standards of living were without equal. Ever since then, it has gradually lost ground. It now ranks bottom of the league of G7 countries, trailing the leader, the United States, by 30%

Lovegrove et al. 44)

With that in mind the UK has also seen a steady decline in productivity that many would place squarely on the back of fair labor practices, yet is this a fair assumption?

A significant study on the subject says that no, this is not the root of the problem, rather the root of the problem is lack of exposure ot best practices and a low competitive intensity.

The reasons often cited for poor performance, such as low capital investment and poor skills, are consequences of these factors. Lack of exposure to global best practices and low competitive intensity are often the result of product market barriers such as trade restrictions, price constraints, and land use regulations. In some cases, these barriers constrain competition and so limit the pressure on management to adopt global best practices. In others, they prevent the implementation of best practices or render it uneconomic.

Lovegrove et al. 44)

What is true is that many developed economically sound nations have adapted their restrictions on social and labor issues to better meet the need of the market economy. Now this is not to say that we should abandon the laws that govern the legitimate social objectives of the nation but that we should readdress them to help create better ones.

According to one study: Replacing them with more market-friendly alternatives could boost GDP growth by more than a full percentage point a year over the next ten years.

(Lovegrove et al. 44) This should not have begun at lowered standards of worker protection, as it has, it should begin with a reevaluation of broader concepts that limit production and profitability of industry. Doing so would answer many of the other problems associated with economic and social issues, and would also possibly lead to a reduction in the mass industrial exodus from a nation founded and created by industrialization, with a strong work ethic and a blue blood mentality. (Ostrom and Schroeder)

Economic Decline

As has been mentioned previously, credit card debt for consumers in the UK is at an all time high and yet few everyday people really understand what is at stake. A clue should be derived from the fact that it appears so often in any discussion of decline, as an important factor worth regarding. In fact many would say it was a national crisis, and still many more, especially those who get fat off the interest and fees paid by consumers would deny such a charge. We can clearly agree that past labor practices associated with the lending of credit to workers, far exceeding labor ability at high interest in exchange for labor was a way in which many corporate entities in the past have sapped profit from the labor of others. Yet, when it comes to the plastic most people do not see the significance of the problem, they see it as a temporary fix to a poorly balanced work to pay schedule, and the like, yet they do not understand the full impact of the payment system and with best intentions aside they rarely meet their initial goals with regard to balance or making payments above the minimum.

Many consumers value uncollateralized credit lines for making purchases when they are illiquid (i.e., before their incomes arrive), even at relatively high interest rates. Because few alternatives to short-term uncollateralized credit exist, the demand for such credit may be fairly inelastic with respect to price (Brito and Hartley 1995). Ausubel (1991) suggests that consumers may not even consider the interest rate when making purchases because they do not intend to borrow for an extended period when they make purchases. However, they may change their minds when the bill arrives.

Chakravorti and Emmons)

For these and many more reasons this problem takes the top billing in the list of general economic concerns in the UK. The statistic on credit card usage in the UK speaks for itself and begs for a great deal of research and scrutiny both by consumers and the society in genral.

75% of credit card borrowing in Europe is in UK - average personal debt level highest in Europe

Inflated house prices feeding living on credit

Balance of trade - see above Uncertainty about the € has negative effect on Investments and longer-term planning

Housing prices have also been a historical problem in the UK, since really the beginning of urbanization, with the industrial demands of the cities, far outweighing the available housing, yet with growth at a relatively low rate of increase it is hard to see how such prices can be held so high eternally. There is many a UK resident who would like to understand why it seems so much more fundamentally difficult for a young upwardly mobile professional to buy a home than it was for their even blue color parents, and why if this is the case, doe sit seem that the higher the prices for a house the stronger the economy?

A writer entertaining the thought of moving to a larger house had this to day about the possible reasons for the housing crunch. Though this may seem a simplistic answer, it was straight form the horses mouth, as they say.

According to an estate agent I spoke to the other day, the reason for the housing shortage is absurd. Estate agents go around telling people, for all I know truthfully, that the property from which they are hoping to move is incredibly saleable in the present market conditions. This is supposed to cheer them up, but instead strikes fear into them. What if the dream house they are looking for isn't out there? What if their present home is snapped up in 20 minutes flat, but they can't find what they want?