https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/you ... grate-now/
As usual for most political articles, it misses the bigger picture, but still this is an enjoyable, cathartic rant. American readers will appreciate it too, it's as true there as it is here, if not more so.
Britain is no country for young men
If I had to give one piece of advice to Britons under 30 it would be this: go. Leave. Skedaddle. Get one of those work visas for New Zealand or Canada and start a new life. Fret not over the details. Those can be worked out once you’re there. Don’t make excuses, don’t defer, don’t delay. Trust me, you’ll regret it one day. Think of Britain as the creepy, cobweb-bound manor from a thousand schlocky horror movies: get out while you still can.
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The social costs of delaying or denying home ownership – less marriage, deferred parenthood, cultural atomisation – are of acute concern to social conservatives. The economic costs are an issue to those who prioritise growth. Economies of precarious private renters are likely to be less innovative, more risk-averse and will struggle to attract skilled migrants. Not being especially bothered about social cohesion or economic dynamism, the Tories aren’t troubled by such matters. What should trouble them is the political cost: a generation with nothing to conserve will have no reason to vote Conservative.
The Conservative party has not stood idly by in the face of these destructive trends. It has muscled in on the action, appointing itself the parliamentary wing of Nimbyism and keeping the housing supply choked in the interests of its older, rural and semi-rural voter base. The Tories once imagined themselves the party of home ownership but today they are the party of home owners, home owners content to see others denied the same opportunity. They have allowed Britain to become a crumbling, sclerotic gerontocracy, the world’s first retirement home to have a seat on the UN Security Council.
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Younger people must not speak of these things. To do so risks accusations of rudeness or disrespect, as though objecting to damaging societal developments is a personal insult to those who have benefited from them. To point out that, at £116 billion a year, the state pension is by far the most expensive welfare benefit, and the second-largest spending commitment in the entire UK budget, is to be met with sputtering rage. To talk about how prohibitively expensive it is to buy a house is to get dazzlingly clueless counsel about avoiding takeaways and holidays abroad. Deliveroo is the reason you can’t buy a house, not the fact that they cost 9.1 times the average salary today compared to 3.5 times in 1997. Not all boomers are oblivious, of course, but it sticks in the craw to be lectured on manning up and practising frugality by the most pampered generation in history, in particular those who have pulled up the ladder behind them.
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This is why millennials have resigned ourselves to our lot in life, watching our youth slip away as we become forty-something singles and fifty-something renters, a middle-aged precariat that had the misfortune to be young in an old country. It’s too late for us but not for those of you in Generation Z. You still have a chance. Britain is a nation in the late Sunday afternoon of its life, comfy-slippered and softly snoozing, but there are young countries out there. Countries where you can work for yourself rather than the social care budget, where you can achieve those indispensable conditions of continuity that Britain denies you.
I speak from cold, hard experience. My dream was Australia. I never pursued it. It is my sorest regret. Don’t be like me. Don’t regret. If you’re young enough, fit enough and brave enough, don’t settle for being a dutiful helot to a surly Gerousia. Get out, get somewhere and get a life you can be proud of.
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Children are innocent and love justice, while most of us are wicked and naturally prefer mercy.
19 Nov 2022, 7:39 am
for supporting trump. Because doing so is deplorable.
