tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post7645781229349963032..comments2024-03-26T09:38:39.888+00:00Comments on Borthlas: The real agendaJohn Dixonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-18084728444639690512010-12-06T19:46:54.283+00:002010-12-06T19:46:54.283+00:00"if we see this through surely the poorest re...<i>"if we see this through surely the poorest regions will still continue to be the poorest only even poorer "</i><br /><br />Of course, I agree. I'm just wary about turning that into a 'Wales v England' comparison; the NE of England, for instance, will also suffer.<br /><br /><i>"I am sure that there are sustantial disparities within regions in Wales"</i><br /><br />There are indeed. Welsh Government policy in practice (as opposed to the theory) has effectively carried on with the policy of the Welsh Office previously in encouraging growth in and around the SE of Wales. In some ways, it's the UK policy writ small. And as long as you only measure GVA for the whole, it works as an economic policy - high growth in one area improves the total growth for the whole.<br /><br />But what we actually need is to share the wealth and economic activity around, otherwise we merely replicate the existing inequality on a smaller scale. I'd like to think that the ERP will help achieve that objective, but it's too early to be certain at this stage.<br /><br /><i>"I am willing to bet that here in Wales the skills knowledge of the unemployed and the retired combined far exceed that of the employed."</i><br /><br />I suspect that you're right. The question is - how do we harness our collective abilities for the collective good of all? And that brings me back to one of my recurrent themes - competition and self-interest are not, in my view, the best way to do so.John Dixonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-61537890907407110672010-12-06T19:28:08.251+00:002010-12-06T19:28:08.251+00:00John
Totally agree with the regional argument but...John<br /><br />Totally agree with the regional argument but if we see this through surely the poorest regions will still continue to be the poorest only even poorer <br /><br /><br />I am sure that there are sustantial disparities within regions in Wales even within our towns as there always have been. the key is for us to find a better way of dealing with it<br /><br />One major long term problem arises from the terminolgy used and its interpretation<br />Employment is the opposite of unemployment and by definition retired people are unemployed <br /><br />I am willing to bet that here in Wales the skills knowledge of the unemployed and the retired combined far exceed that of the employed. We simply are not harnessing our human resources in the wonderfull country of WalesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-23190835592487330812010-12-05T10:40:22.145+00:002010-12-05T10:40:22.145+00:00"we in Wales as usual to take the pains so th...<i>"we in Wales as usual to take the pains so that England gains"</i><br /><br />I reject such an oversimplistic formulation. Certainly there are some who win and some who lose from the approach being adopted, and certainly the ones who lose are paying for the gains of the winners. It's also true that Wales as a whole will lose. What isn't true, though, is that 'England' gains - there are areas of England which will lose as well; it only looks like a gain for 'England' if you forget any regional differences.<br /><br />The most well-off happen (for all sorts of reasons) to live largely in the south-eastern corner, and a policy which enriches them further will disbenefit everyone else. We need to get away from the idea that 'England' is doing Wales down, and understand that the problem is that the UK has a hopelessly imbalanced economy in regional terms. The solution is to take matters into our own hands, but I think we need a more confident and positive approach to that, rather than just blaming 'England'.John Dixonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07447224248021209852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4411161795798360588.post-11416738597554066972010-12-04T19:26:39.840+00:002010-12-04T19:26:39.840+00:00John
Surely we in Wales need all the employment op...John<br />Surely we in Wales need all the employment opportunities that are available irrespective of which sector that supplies them <br />It is the quality, quantity and security of employment which is critical<br />We need to create an environment that creates clear water between employment income and the benefits system for to be sure the one product of for example the minimum wage has been to place large numbers of people in to a wage/benefit<br /> sub culture.<br /> To simply shift tax burden away from the better off can only pass that burden onto the worst off or is the real agenda of the Condems to return us to Victorian times<br />The idea that the cunning plan is to build up a nest egg to hand out in the six months preceeding a General election is of course pure political genius however there is no such thing as a free meal so are we in Wales as usual to take the pains so that England gainsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com