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[Rods2]

They are still falling, with an average fall of 14% since 2008 due to inflation. This means that for every £100 you used to have in your pocket in 2008, you now have the spending power in your pocket of £86. It is actually worse than this if you are on the breadline as the essentials inflation of water, food, energy and a roof over your head have all gone up more than the average for inflation. This is why more and more people are struggling to scrape by.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/news/article-2531068/So-struggling-pay-bills-Average-pay-slumps-half-regions-recession.html

The CBI is calling along obviously with the unions for workers to benefit from the upturn in the economy, with above inflation wage rises, providing it continues to grow strongly, but I think they are going to be sadly disappointed.

The quickest way for wages to rise is through labour shortages. With a massive pool of young unemployed labour in the EU and with an hours minimum wage in the UK being more than many earn in a day in eastern Europe there is a ready pool, of English as a second language, seeking a better life and making the UK the destination of choice when looking for work. So for the unskilled, semi-skilled and many of the skilled, I think above inflation wage rises are unlikely for the majority, only for the few very skilled who are in demand.

The only way to change this is to leave the EU and restrict the free movement of people from the EU, and indeed all immigration worldwide seeking employment in the UK, unless it is a skilled job and the employer proves that they can't recruit somebody from the UK. The only political party currently committed to this new sort of relationship with the EU and tightly restricting immigration is UKIP.

What are your views, should things stay as they are, so wages continue to drop and the UK becomes more globally competitive (our balance of payments are dreadful, which this should help), or should we be restricting access to the UK for people from abroad wanting to work here, so labour shortages forces living standards to rise again for the many?

[MR MISTER]

What is the point in giving our views, other than to let off steam? UKIP have no chance of getting anywhere near enough votes to make a difference, and all of the others are too afraid of the unknown.
We are in a no-win situation because we've left it far too late.

[AndyRoid]

What are your views, should things stay as they are, so wages continue to drop and the UK becomes more globally competitive (our balance of payments are dreadful, which this should help), or should we be restricting access to the UK for people from abroad wanting to work here, so labour shortages forces living standards to rise again for the many?

I personally think we need to adopt the same view as the Aussie's, if you can't prove you have enough wonga to support your kith & kin for 2 years straight without any state help then you know where the door is.

[Varche]

What are your views, should things stay as they are, so wages continue to drop and the UK becomes more globally competitive (our balance of payments are dreadful, which this should help), or should we be restricting access to the UK for people from abroad wanting to work here, so labour shortages forces living standards to rise again for the many?

I personally think we need to adopt the same view as the Aussie's, if you can't prove you have enough wonga to support your kith & kin for 2 years straight without any state help then you know where the door is.

Spain has recently done a similar thing for all new immigrants so it can be done within the EU "framework".

I read a very interesting article recently about a chap comparing his lifestyle with his dad's at the same age.
He lived in North London and managed to send his kids to private school and buy a modest house. He offered his son the modest house when the son got married for £40k. The son couldn't quite manage the mortgage payments so said no and bought a flat instead. The house just sold again for some astronomic figure like £1.3million. The point of the story is that his dad could afford a modest London house and to have his two children educated privately on his modest income. Now his son cannot afford to do either/both on his similar modest wage. 

If only Britain had kept its colonies it could now be doing a roaring trade with farming/employment projects.   

[AndyRoid]

The point of the story is that his dad could afford a modest London house and to have his two children educated privately on his modest income. Now his son cannot afford to do either/both on his similar modest wage.

I understand exactly where you are coming from.

I started work two months before my 16th birthday (June 1981) for the Royal Shakespeare Company and was taking home anywhere between £300 - £350 per week AFTER tax and stamp.
These days it's a struggle for most folk to find a job that gives them a take home pay of £350 BEFORE tax and stamp is involved.

The economy is without doubt well f***ed up, but I'm not too sure on how we should go about fixing it.

[Taxi_Driver]

What are your views, should things stay as they are, so wages continue to drop and the UK becomes more globally competitive (our balance of payments are dreadful, which this should help), or should we be restricting access to the UK for people from abroad wanting to work here, so labour shortages forces living standards to rise again for the many?

I personally think we need to adopt the same view as the Aussie's, if you can't prove you have enough wonga to support your kith & kin for 2 years straight without any state help then you know where the door is.

I totally agree with that 

[MR MISTER]

What are your views, should things stay as they are, so wages continue to drop and the UK becomes more globally competitive (our balance of payments are dreadful, which this should help), or should we be restricting access to the UK for people from abroad wanting to work here, so labour shortages forces living standards to rise again for the many?

I personally think we need to adopt the same view as the Aussie's, if you can't prove you have enough wonga to support your kith & kin for 2 years straight without any state help then you know where the door is.

I know, Mark, but Australia hasn't got to listen to an unelected bunch of twots in Brussels. This is my point. I'm sure if we could run our own country things would be different, but our politicians are too afraid to make the break because, as Napoleon noted a long time ago, we are no more than a nation of (corner)shopkeepers.
You don't need to threaten the UK with a bomb, just withholding you're trade will do.

[Varche]

It needs a composite solution led by a government with balls. We haven't got one and probably never will as they are all only interested in getting re-lected.

Drop wages especially those in the public sector.
Reduce taxation of those on the bottom of the pile *
Collect tax from big business
Reduce welfare state to the point where it looks like other European systems and not the current bloated ( even after IDS's valliant but small efforts)
Slash government waste - not tinkering as at present


OR continue as we are doing - a car crash. If you don't believe me just wait till UK interest rates start rising faster than Eurozone rates and wages are even more uncompetitive.

* Have you seen that for two years French top earners will be paying 75% tax !!

[2boxerdogs]

What is the point in giving our views, other than to let off steam? UKIP have no chance of getting anywhere near enough votes to make a difference, and all of the others are too afraid of the unknown.
We are in a no-win situation because we've left it far too late.

Couldn't agree more, nobody in the position to do anything had the balls , now we are are all suffering at the result of this, foodbanks in this day & age are enough to show how far down the drain we have gone.

[05omegav6]

Can't even apply for the US Green card lottery as the average number of migrants from the UK over the last five years is too high

Shutting the door, even if temporarily, would be a start imho

[MR MISTER]

Can't even apply for the US Green card lottery as the average number of migrants from the UK over the last five years is too high

Shutting the door, even if temporarily, would be a start imho

Bloody taxi drivers have got an opinion on everything.

[05omegav6]

Can't even apply for the US Green card lottery as the average number of migrants from the UK over the last five years is too high

Shutting the door, even if temporarily, would be a start imho

Bloody taxi drivers have got an opinion on everything.

[Vamps]

If we restrict immigration to those who will work in the fields, picking crops or doing the Jobs our unemployed will not do, then who will do those jobs?

I only asked a question!...............

[albitz]

Who did those jobs before Labour opened the floodgates just over 10 years ago ? 

Answer - people who weren't yet in the position of having no job, but a household income way above average earnings because they had a couple of kids and an alleged bad back.

[Vamps]

Who did those jobs before Labour opened the floodgates just over 10 years ago ? 

Answer - people who weren't yet in the position of having no job, but a household income way above average earnings because they had a couple of kids and an alleged bad back.

We both know the answer, not one has the guts to do it, but leave the disabled out of it, they are a tiny minority......