Marc Allinson: Losing the great in "Great Britain

Everyone seems to remember how much better things were when they were young. Unfortunately I agree. We are now living in a state where life is more stressful, more complicated, more unfair and generally more miserable.

Please bear in mind that this is a blog. It may not be balanced, but it is what I think.

We are now living under a government who seem hell bent on destroying everything that is or was Great Britain. People now believe that it is their duty to look for anything that may possible offend somebody else and put a stop to it, as if there is nothing that you could possibly do that is worse than offending somebody.

The impression being banded around nowadays is that pubs are considered seedy and unclean places filled with loutish behaviour, fighting youths, and underagers drinking alchopops.

This alienation creates a lack of social interaction and so creates division, younger people have no idea how to act around their elders, and so do not respect their views or opinions.

There is now an unwillingness to discipline people for fear of upsetting them or breaching their "human rights". This along with the lack of interaction with other members of society leads to an overall lack of respect for parents, police and teachers.

This lack of respect also leads to people feeling that there is no need to work, as there are plenty of other idiots willing to do so, and if I don't, the government will pay me benefits, so why should I? But I would still have to be able to drink, smoke, and have the biggest TV available, I can have it all and if I can't pay my credit card bill, so what, Ill just get another loan to cover it.

There is also the fact that nowadays, you are not responsible for anything and if you are not happy, you might as well sue, you have nothing to lose, and you may get a windfall that will set you up for life.

And don't forget that if you do not get enough for free, then you might as well steal it. Under labour, crime certainly does pay.

In the unlikely event that you do get caught by the cops who have to spend all day catching speeders, in order to hit targets, you may be fined, almost certainly less than the value of the stolen goods, but never be put in prison because there is no space.

But if you park incorrectly, you will be treaed more harshly than if you assault somebody or get caught dealing drugs.

The statistics banded about from the government are always doctored to sound good as sound bites, increases in amounts spent by the treasury always sound great. With enough targets and civil servants, you can make them say whatever you want to.

This leads to promises and statements that are blatantly false, but they keep stating them, and this leads to a lack of faith, and a feeling of helplessness about the whole process.

We are now being taxed at a higher rate than at any time in history. The problem though is not the taxes themselves, but the fact that there is no increase in the quality of life to show for it.

Working people are taxed so highly that it is more beneficial for most people to live on benefits. By not working, you get housing benefit, child benefit, free meals at school, free prescriptions, free insulation for your house, and a whole host of other things. Get a job and you get nothing.

Businesses are taxed at such a high level that they are now leaving the country in droves. The government do not realise that the more they increase tax, the more companies go bust or leave the country, the less money they get in the long term and the country as a whole becomes impossible to invest in.

The national industries are being broken up and sold off to foreign companies and shareholders are selling out the heart of companies built up over hundreds of years, all in the name of competition.

All of these individual points are leading to the loss of the "Great" in Great Britain. The population feels helpless and out of the loop in the way that their lives are being managed.

Few people are willing to take any kind of responsibility, and are too willing to blame others and take the easy way out, wanting to get everything for nothing, and resenting those who have made something of themselves.

Those who work are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet, and find themselves, paying increasing taxes for fewer and worse quality services whilst being told how much better things are getting.

Am I the only one who feels that the entire fabric of society is being picked apart?