22 September, 2006

I am always thinking about the effects of government decisions especially when it comes to homelessness, There seems to be a marked rise in homelessness amongst the black and Asian community. This government say that on any one night in Britain there are only a small number of people sleeping rough but due to the influx of people from eastern countries the number has risen sharply but it's not all down to this. The number of actual homeless people has been steadily rising over the last few years even though the government had made great strides to eradicate the problem but how can you get rid of a problem the is in fact ages old. Some people think that by giving homeless people a roof over their head it is enough. The question now being asked is what about the people that have been housed in temporary accommodation. The fact that there is a large number of people with health and social problems is a worrying fact. Is the way forward learning and skills? My question is even after going through the process of learning what steps can be taken to rid people of the obvious stigma that still follows them around? This weekend I hope to talk to MPs and find out what they think of the problems faced by homeless people. The fact that becoming homeless can happen to anyone is another worry imagine going through a black hole with no end in site. It's only then you can get an insight into the problems that surround homelessness.

07 September, 2006

I am back raring to go it's controversy

They say everyone needs a rest from whatever they do day to day. Me, I haven’t touched a computer for a couple of weeks. Not because I didn’t want to but for over a year I have written things in my blog and I didn’t want to repeat myself this year. I thought now was a good time to take stock and really look around me and listen to what people are doing and saying. It seems to me that a lot has changed around me or is it that I have changed and I am now able to see things from other perspectives, not just my own. Over the last couple of weeks the news has been about Romania and people flocking to this country for work the government put the figure at around 64,000 a year but in truth it will exceed the 100,000 so do we let so many people in? Now that’s a tough question because who has the right to stop anyone from bettering their lives in which ever country they choose?
I think the bigger question should be, can we as a country cope? I don’t believe so. Everyday on the streets of the capital we have people sleeping rough from other counties more and more are arriving but they are willing to work. What happens when work dries up or we have an employment collapse or monetary problem? I have heard the arguments about there is not enough work for the Brits that were born and bred here but this is untrue as most of the jobs these people take are the ones that Brits wont. It’s funny because this argument has been with us before and seems to rage on and on. In the sixties we had people from Asia and Jamaica in quite large numbers but we coped just fine and we had a rising population then. My worry would be health and benefits and education. At the moment we have a health service that is near to collapse and no matter what the government say or how much money they spend on it. It still seems to be dying on its feet. Benefits at the moment don’t match inflation or the real cost of living and we do have a problem with poverty. This government and previous governments like to tell us every chance they get that things are improving but they should wake up and smell the coffee. Education I think nationally is way lower now than it used to be. not so many schools these days. As a country progresses then everything I think must progress with it. In the fifties and sixties we didn’t have computers and we didn’t have calculators. We had to use our brains. Today we have all the mod cons and rely I think too much on machines to do most of our work for us as in the classroom not enough emphasis is put on real education that’s what I think. Teachers might not agree with me but if you look at society today and how different it is.
Hey I’m old and have lived a sort of life but someone once told me everyone has a talent for something the hardest thing to do is find it.