The threat is [a long slow deterioration in living standards]

[NorthernRaider]

Steve I have not got time to tear your post to pieces but lets say your looking at things with a slight bias ( as do I). Labour has repeatedly destroyed the economy with its tax and spend policies, spending far more than it steals in taxation, The tories COMPOUND the issue by primarily focusing on corporate wealth not the greater good. All three of the parties are making the nation worse because none are willing to address the huge imbalances and injustices in our system and in conjunction with each other they are destroying the UK. Add the UK's mess to the rest of Europe and you have an disaster in waiting, couple that with America living way beyond its means and we are all in for a big fall.

I do not see a way out of this, we NEED to live within our means but that is simply impossible, How can you have a welfare system that has one guy paying in £10 a week in 1960 taking out £150 a week in 2014, living in subsidised public housing, costing £900 a night in a hospital bed, using various public services costs hundreds a week etc. That is without the millions of parasites living off welfare who have never paid anything in to the system. The same system that big business can find ways to only pay £10 million tax on a turnover of billions like Amazon. To start to prevent the forthcoming collapse we need to do three things if its not to late
1 Get in ALL of the taxes we are owed especially from the mega corps and tax avoiders / dodgy trust users.
2 Only provide welfare for a limited period of time and ONLY to those who have paid in to the system
3 Stop all foreign aid / EU funds and support to none Brit nationals.

Then just maybe we can prevent the collapse but that is only for the UK.