DEATH by a thousand cuts.
That’s what seems to be happening to our society right now.
Every year, belts need tightening that little bit more. Every year, that pay packet goes a little bit less far. Every year, public services get that little bit worse.
There is seemingly no way out from this death spiral gripping the country and most of the Western world. Forget any hope of things getting better; ‘managed decline’ seems to be the best we can hope for in the seemingly inevitable slow death of the once-comfortable world so many of us took for granted.
The sweeping cuts to library opening hours in East Lothian are extremely sad for their communities, ‘temporary’ or not. But they are just the tiniest tip of a planet-sized iceberg.
When East Lothian Council sets its budget early next year, we will no doubt be lectured once more about how this is ‘the most challenging budget in memory’... until the following year’s, of course.
There once was a time when budgets were stacked full of inspiring plans for great new facilities and services in communities; now, picking through them is a thoroughly depressing exercise to see which deeply cherished institutions are for the chop this time.
In the last few weeks alone, we’ve seen library hours cut to the bone, the permanent closure of the county’s premiere arts venue and the loss of a recycling centre just off the top of my head.
The council will no doubt blame the Scottish Government for this mess; they will of course pass the buck on to the UK Government, who in turn will cry that it’s not their fault and pass the blame further up the tree.
I for one couldn’t care less whose fault this sorry situation is, but I can tell you one thing: we can’t go on like this.
Life, particularly in one of the richest countries in the world, should not be a constant battle just to make ends meet, with no hope of things ever getting any better, only the likelihood of them getting worse and worse.
Like my fellow Millennials, my vision of a comfortable life was shattered by the financial crisis just as I came of age. My entire working life has seen us lurch from one catastrophe to the next – and at every stop, it’s us, the ordinary people of this country, expected to suck it up and foot the bill.
My generation has far less accumulated wealth than those that came before.
Our existence has been one of neverending pay freezes and rent rises, as house prices sky-rocket to such an extent many of my contemporaries suspect they will never own their own home.
We’re not even that young any more; there are Millennials in their forties now who still have the unstable financial situation of a young twenty-something, through no fault of their own.
When I was a child, it was still fairly common for families to live comfortably on a single salary. Now, both parents’ salaries and them working all hours of the day are barely enough to meet the bills, let alone spend on anything fun.
Is it any wonder that so many under-40s now are so deeply cynical of the system and distrustful of politicians? Is it any wonder that a snake-oil salesman like Donald Trump can win the votes of millions of disaffected workers with vows to take things back to a time when they could live in relative comfort?
For too long, ‘the system’ has been placed on a pedestal, while society – and indeed the planet – slowly dies. That needs to end.
For the best part of two decades now, this is where ‘not rocking the boat’ has got us. I know I speak for many when I say: we won’t stand for this any longer.
It’s time those with money are made to help out those without for once. It’s time for fair pay for everyone. It’s time for affordable rent and affordable homes. It’s time to inject some hope back into the world once more. It’s time for radical change.
Who’s with me?
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