A British think tank has issued a report that shows that high taxes, an entitlement mentality and poor education are sapping the British populace and turning the nation into a "why bother" culture.
Britain is suffering from a "why bother" economy because its benefits culture, high taxes and poor education system leave many people lacking the motivation or capability to succeed, according to a report.
The cost to the economy of low social mobility is £32 billion a year, or £1,300 to the average family, claims Reform, the independent think tank.
This comes despite higher spending on benefits and public services that have served only to reinforce privilege, it says.
Child poverty has risen, with the number of children classified as low income rising from 2.4 million to three million.
State schools stand accused of a "dismal" record when it comes to educating the poorest in society, with school-leavers from poor backgrounds doing only half as well as average 16-year-olds.
There is also a geographical division, with three times the number of people in parts of northern England claiming disability benefits than in the South East.
Prof Nick Bosanquet, the report's lead author, said: "We need an agenda to get the roadblocks to social mobility down… Every person failed by the education system and held back by the tax and benefits system means that the economy cannot fulfil its potential."
The report concludes: "Public services are biased towards the affluent, and means-tested benefits and higher tax have reduced individuals' incentives to increase their incomes. The unintended consequence has been a 'why bother' economy in which a significant minority do not have the capability or motivation to succeed."
That's the real problem with European-style socialism as a whole, I suspect. France, Germany and Britain are all suffering from a dismal, oppressive, spirit-killing bureaucratic nanny-statism that is sucking the vitality out of those nations. No wonder public opinion polls show such bleak outlooks among Europeans. Winston Churchill saw this years ago: "The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries."
If you have never read Mark Steyn’s America Alone, this election year would be a good opportunity to do so. He talks about the entitlement culture of "Eutopia", the moral and economic vacuum it creates, and the growing Islamization of the continent that fills that vacuum.
For his efforts, the Canadian government tried to charge Steyn with "hate crimes".
I would add the decline of the Christian church in Europe and Britain as another cause, or at least symptom of their cultural problems.
Let’s hope our politicos notice, wake up to the truth, pull the US out of the slow dive into economic oblivion.
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"This comes despite higher spending on benefits and public services that have served only to reinforce privilege, it says."
What? You mean throwing money at problems in ever increasing amounts doesn’t make the problem go away? But the Democrats and Liberals keep promising us it will if only we spend more money on bigger beauracracies! Just ask the Obamessiah and the Hildebeast.