Look what they have done to my town

JHC

Chief assistant to the assistant chief
My little town is dying!
In 1984 our government (Labour) after doing many good things under PM David Lange decided to follow the advice of Roger Douglas Minister of finance, his reforms became known as Rogernomics.
My town had full employment and was a small but vibrant centre of the Farming community we had it all. A first rate Hospital with a nurses training school, a large goods depot for the Railway we were the main station between Wellington and Auckland and it employed hundreds of people, the main service centre for the P&T (post and telephone) system, I could go on and on but I think you will be familiar with the story.
To day ½ the shops are closed and some of the streets look/are dilapidated with graffiti and rubbish, at a guess we must have an unemployment rate of getting on for 50% our nearest hospital two and a half hours drive, the railway station barely functions and the goods sheds falling down. House values plummeted and still going down.

What has caused this??? Centralisation and following the “Market” every thing must make as much profit as possible and for good measure send all manufacturing to China, all those that loose their jobs can go on assistance a couple of dollars here and there it won’t hurt the tax payers too much, plus everything belonging to the state (utilities) can be sold, then when it has been run into the ground (asset stripped) the state can buy it back again we don‘t want the investors to loose money the same applies to the Banks..
I bet this sounds familiar to most of you, I know from listening to the various radio stations (on www) that the same is happening all over the place. So is this a strategy to get the big boys richer and stuff the rest or just a bunch of no hoper's doing the only job they can get.
 

teddy

Duckmeister
Happens everywhere Colin. At the moment the NHS are busy closing accident and emergency departments at the hospitals. So what if it takes an extra half an hour to get an emergency case to hospial? It could save on the treatment. We have an airport and a docks her (commercial and passenegr) and for years we had no A&E. The nearest was Canterbury, half an hours drive away with a notorious set of level crossing gates on the way, which could take ten minutes to clear. Then there was a big accident at the dock. That was what it took to get the department open for emergencies. Centralisation always looks good on paper but in the long term it usually causes misery. Of course by then the person responsible has retired?/been promoted so they are not involved in clearing up the mess.

teddy
 

White Knight

Spectral Warrior con passion
Or--as has been the case in America, during our most recent financial crash of 2008--the people responsible for making the mess walk off into the golden sunset {with their "golden parachute" retirement packages} having pocketed millions in various "consulting fees" etc., whilst the rotten economic bundles they sold the rest of the country continue to act as a cancer for all the rest of us. So much for "de-regulation" and the "free market". They are able to prosper--and quite handsomely, at that--after selling and marketing what they very well knew to be toxic financial products, knowing full well that in the end, they would not be punished and that the government {and we regular taxpayers} would not only be stuck holding their foul mess, but cleaning it up for them as well. What's wrong with this picture?
 
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JHC

Chief assistant to the assistant chief
Its the same the whole world over, ain't it all a bleeding shame, its the rich that get the pleasure and the poor that get the blame.

The "Market" by its very nature looks only after itself.
 

teddy

Duckmeister
It also impacted on the UK Steve, and we are still paying for it. At least some of the banks responsible are being sued in America, even if the individuals are getting away with it.

teddy
 
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JHC

Chief assistant to the assistant chief
Suing banks that went bust and had to have public money injected ? how will they pay ?? with the money that was injected, yeh that makes good sense.
 

Chi_townPhilly

Sr. Regulator
Sr. Regulator
Happens everywhere Colin. At the moment the NHS are busy closing accident and emergency departments at the hospitals. So what if it takes an extra half an hour to get an emergency case to hospital? It could save on the treatment.
Here in America, P.J. O'Rourke epigrammatically opined "If you think healthcare is expensive now, wait until it's free."

The former result is the natural consequence of the latter systemic emplacement. And sometimes, the expense involved isn't limite to mundane things like higher taxes...
 

Krummhorn

Administrator
Staff member
ADMINISTRATOR
Here in America, P.J. O'Rourke epigrammatically opined "If you think healthcare is expensive now, wait until it's free."

Or you have to sign up for Medicare ... I did, last May ... now I pay more for less coverage. :scold: Go figure, huh?
And, next May when I sign up for Social Security, we get a 1.5% raise in our monthly stipends, yet Congress votes themselves a 5% raise and our own city mayor locally just got a 39% raise. Why on earth does a city mayor get a raise greater than our congressional leaders?

If I could afford it, I would move to the UK or Denmark.
 

teddy

Duckmeister
Make that Denmark Lars. Taxes here will continue to rise as more immigrants come her and claim benifits. Also you would not like the escalation in fuel bills we have been promised. Approximately 10% per annum. keeping warm is going to become expensive.

teddy
 
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