its heating up

 Well for all those who still don't realise our climate and environment is reaching tipping point, how does the weather seem to you.

In the hills of Southern France we have been experiencing a long drawn drawn out  hot and dry summer. Even with the occasional heavy storm the rivers are low and we are being told to prepare for a drought.

We are comparatively lucky being in the hills so the temperature under the trees is just about bearable, but even here nature is taking a beating. Hardly any sounds from the daytime cicadas any more, the noise of frogs and toads is sadly diminished, there are less varieties of butterfly around our flowers, less insects so less bats.

Back in UK it seems after constant rain and flooding you are now  experiencing hot spells followed by heavy storms.

So as we watch our world slowly disintegrate why are governments criminalising peaceful demonstrators protesting against the permanent damage being done by by big oil and gas plus the banks and hedge funds that profit from our planet's loss.

Could it be that billionaires and their media are now so powerful and have sufficient funds to bribe, control or take over our governments instead of representing the needs, beliefs and interests of the majority of people particularly the young.

As a senior I would like to say that the young and old protestors have my support   and hope that soon we can beat those who would  kill off our diverse natural world and watch from their mansions, yachts and jets as the rest of us slowly burn

What older working age people want from the next government

 There are hundreds of thousands of registered unemployed over 50s plus millions categorised as economically inactive who want to work but are not registered with or by the DWP.

We need a commitment from the next government of whatever colour that they will offer serious age specific and local support for all who wish to return to work.

But we also need the elephant in the room addressing: ageism among recruiters and employers.

This requires a major promotional and educational  programme through partnership between national, regional and local government, the voluntary sector, trade unions and employers networks.

Only when this happens will millions of older working age ( 50- 66+) and pensioners wanting and needing work be able to return to the workforce and the labour shortages currently facing employers be addressed. This requires serious training, re-training, skills and qualifications updated.

Until then there will be many many older people and their families i poverty and facing isolation and depresion

why babyboomers should vote for change

We the older working age need to show solidarity with all of our generation who face discrimination and exclusion on the basis of age and to ensure a fair and just allocation of resources for all ages and the elimination of poverty. This to be coupled with  a commitment to  fair taxation so that the rich - as individuals and corporations- pay their fair share of income and wealth tax.
There are 3.5 million older working age (50- 65+) who are out of work, millions of us who are in or face poverty, including over 1 million women carers in poverty as a result of sacrificing wages, National Insurance contributions and thus pension entitlements to look after their parents, children and grandchildren.
We are also the ones that are suffering from the privatisation of utilities, the creeping privatisation and cuts to the NHS and the austerity cuts to such public services as social and health care, library and community / health centre closures.
our generation was successful in the 60s and 70s fighting for social and economic justice and raising the banner of youthful change - we should now support the new generation of youth fighting for social and economic fairness. We benefitted from high levels of wages compared to the allocation of  profits and  senior managers / directors, which is why we had an ongoing economic boom and we all gained. We should surely not forget this and join the struggle to maintain  workers and trade union rights and an end to austerity paid for through fair taxation and the redistribution of wealth from the 1% to the rest of us , especially those at the n bottom.
This can be done in many ways bit one is to vote for parties and candidates supporting these principles - such as the Greens and the SNP in Scotland, and certainly not the Tories, Lib Dems or YUKIP

what can the over 50s expect from the elections - your views please

Hi
As the UK election gets underway Wise Age would like to  challenge all the main parties and candidates to be MPS this May to commit to supporting the interests and needs of older working age people. We want them to support our Charter for Older workers and our age diversity Declaration  to ensure we get a fair and just reward for our work, overcome the ageism prevalent in our society and economy and help overcome poverty and discrimination facing many of us today.
Wise Age  want to launch  this campaign as a follow up the success of Age Platform Europe's successful lobbying of MEP candidates to get them to commit to supporting older people.
We would like to hear from older working age people( 50-65+) and organisations representing seniors about your views as to what we should be focusing on in our questioning of all the parties and candidates.
please respond to contact@wiseage.org.uk

seniors and youth both suffer from poverty

Hi there
yet again the media trying to set up the young vs the old.
Younger workers are facing greater poverty as out unequal society hits the poorest hardest.
However the older section of society are also badly affected by poverty. Over 3.5 million 50 - 65 year olds out of employment ( but only 400,000 approx. accepted / registered on Job Seekers Allowance). Carers ( 50% of whom are 50-65- mainly women) suffer from inability to get flexible work, low or no carer benefits plus lack of National Insurance contributions) Result 1 million single women pensioners live in poverty
Yes there are more wealthy and comfortably off older working age and pensioners but there are a large number of older working age( 50 - 65+, active  pensioners ( 65- 75+) and the frail elderly (mainly 80+) who do not have their own homes, do not have adequate state or employer pensions, do not have savings or private pensions and live on or below the breadline
we need more awareness of the benefits of intergenerational solidarity with young and old alike taking on ageism and confronting low wages, poor pensions, austerity and cuts in public services.
The problem is tax avoidance and an absence of fair universally applied tax on income and wealth

WHY WEALTH MUST PAY THE SAME TAXES AS INCOME

All the statistics point the same way - as highlighted by Capital and by such blogs as Michael Meachers- wealth - the ownership of capital, land, shares, property,money etc - is increasing its value every day but even more so in relation to income earned, but is hardly being taxed. This is a moral, social but particularly economic outrage and is leading to greater inequality across the UK  and globally.
The richest top 100 in the world now own more than  the bottom 25% of the world - if not more. In the UK earned income arising from the growth in wealth of the top 100 people in 2000 owned £150 billion - by 2011 the top 100 owned £450 billion and rising.
We the ordinary working people of all classes are taxed between 20- 40% the wealth owners pay nothing as it is hidden in tax havens or through tax avoidence  or at the most they pay  a small percentage of their increased wealth.
This disparity in taxation means that the  very rich get richer with no benefit accruing to the majority
The result is that  as the rich do not spend much of their wealth but hord it or speculate with it there is no  economic dynamic  for growth. Where ordinary people get more money they spend it which gives a boost to demand and thus to economic growth. Without fair taxation on wealth and income there is no long term sustaianble growth.
Who are these top 1%? the children of the rich from times past with unearned wealth, the aristocracies of the world, plus the new gangster capitalists from Russia and their satelite states, the oil billionaires and the dictators and military leaders bleeding their countries dry plus of course the gangsters beghind the world's drugs trade, people trafficking, monet laundering, financial malpractice and speculation - parasites all.
Where does a lot of this money go - through the greedy corrupt hands of British and international banks in the City of London - now the world's centre for money laundering - and  through the tax havens- over 50% of which are under UK jurisdictiion . What is the  current tax avioding money laundering  wheeze? buying multi million pound properties in london  - where you pay no tax if a foreign rsident, no purchase tax on the property, a pittance in rates - same as for a property worth £500k - while paying maybe max 4% when sold. and you dont even live there, but have  met police - who you dont pay to maintain- protect your property from squatting - now illegal.
What can be done - well first - make everyone  from abroad with an investment in the UK pay to own a property -  make a mansion tax for properties over £5 million pay a windfall tax now on the increase in avlue since ownership minimum £500,000 each, with a proper rate of council tax charge on property - say  5% a year. Make all companies trading in the UK pay the 20% on  profits generated here, make all transactions in financial speculation subject to the EU Robin Hood tax.
Introduce a full vigilence tax regime to get every single person generating money from their wealth pay the same as those who pay income tax, raise income tax to 60% for all those earning over £1 million per year but most of all pursue all tax avoiders for every penny  avioded - no more Vodaphone deals letting them off billions.
What can we do - well UK Uncut is trying some good publicity and direct actions, boycott the tax avioders, vote for redistribtion, join the fair tax movement, and express your hatred and contempt of these parasitical and sociapathic scum when ever and where ever you can,  - carry on with online campaigns, write in to the media, take peaceful direct action, slag them off on the streets and in their clubs  mass mobilise  - make them realise that we know who arnd what they are.
It will take time but we cannot just go on passively being ripped off for ever