Full Employment

-
Capitalism isnt workingImage by Tess.McGill via Flickr
Full employment - Was it a myth or did we at one time have 'full' employment?

And by full employment I don't mean no unemployment but that whoever was able and wanted to work could find a job within a reasonable time frame. There will always be some unemployment with even the most 'benign' capitalist system. (If such a thing exists!)

Back in the mists of time in 1979 I left school with my clutch of CSEs and GCEs and I had a choice - go to college or get a job. For good or bad I chose to get a job. Looking back I don't remember any time where me or my friends did not have a job, nor do I remember anyone signing on the dole. There was always work, especially for the youth. Some of my friends used to start a new job on a Monday, get the sack on the Friday and somehow have a new job to roll into the following Monday. Certainly for the first 4 or 5 years of my working life I never had a problem getting a job.

I don't remember ever being aware of unemployment until about the time of the Miner's strike when it certainly did become an issue. Indeed towards the end of Thatcher's reign I also would be joining the ranks of those claiming the dole, a new chapter in my life that would last for three years out of the following four.

Should I wipe the rose tint from my glasses or is it true that we once had 'full' employment and a dogmatic political decision stripped this nation of that benefit?

Comments

Post a Comment

Keep it clean!

Popular posts from this blog

Animals Matter - PPCs views on hunting

-
Image
Came across this service from the League Against Cruel Sports where they offer a system where all your Parliamentary Prospective Candidates for the 2015 General Election in your constituency are contacted to find their views on aspects of hunting and animal welfare. The system works by the PPCs clicking on an email sent from me to select their views on the LACS website. http://www.league.org.uk/our-campaigns/election-manifesto/take-action-for-animals-general-election-2015 Thought I'd give it a punt as it's very easy to do. So I plug in my details and click the button to send. In my constituency of Aldershot there are 5 candidates that appeared on the LACSs system. Mr Carl Hewitt - Green Mr Alan Hilliar - Liberal Democrat Sir Gerald Howarth MP - Conservative Mr Gary Puffett - Labour Mr William Walker - UKIP My emails went out at 11am on Saturday 14th March. By 7:30 that evening I had an email. It was from Gerald Howarth, the sitting MP. As he said in his email
Read more

The Last Post

-
Image
As the title says. This will be my last post at Lansbury's Lido. I've finally decided to retire this blog to the heavenly archive or maybe I'll consign it to the fiery furnace leaving nowt but a shadow on the wayback machine. It's been a good ride over the years, sharing my lefty thoughts on politics and current events, sharing posts and discussions, meeting some great comrades, and also some not so great, hoping for a great socialist future where peace and harmony reigns supreme! Alas the wheels came off the bus as they say. Was it my expectations or viewing the possible futures through rose-tinted spectacles of memories past? My Left was a Left of Keir Hardie, of George Lansbury, of Attlee and Bevan and the NHS, Of Eric Heffer and Tom Mann. A left of strong union leaders working with comrades to realise Clause 4! A Left where those whose labour and brain created the wealth got to share in and control the wealth. A Left open to all, from the hoary handed worker
Read more