No they’ll simply allow employers to employ less people and work around the clock. They won’t still employ all the people they used to on the same money for less time, there’s no money in that for them.

And once everyone is out of work bar the fat cats there’ll be no one to sell anything too and the system will collapse. That’s the downside of thinking in black and whites.

Take supermarket checkouts, that’s 10 less people employed scanning barcodes and packing bags, so your shop is maybe a little cheaper. Which means you now have a little more disposable income, which means you buy something else, which was possibly made by the person who’s no longer scanning barcodes, and the economy trundles on as always. Just like there aren’t vast numbers of unemployed farmers hanging around since that was mechanized 200 years ago, or the hunter gatherer lamenting the loss of his job to agriculture.

What’ll be really interesting is WTF do we do when AI starts to do the same to profesional jobs? Do you go to the Dr who’s human and fallible and costs £500k a year to employ, pay off the PFI on the surgery, have a receptionist etc, or the PC terminal that cost £500, and never makes a mistake? Then think how quickly research will progress once it’s a computer looking for the patterns rather than people trying to turn anecdotes into data?

you think its bad? You didnt live in the post WW2 50, 60, 70s or 80s then?

All generations face challenges, you seem to forget the ones we have already passed.

I can remember sitting around with just candles 3 days a week

4 candles?

I’ll worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. Can’t do anything about yesterday so no point wasting any time on that.

Kryton’s account has been hacked,he would never post that 😛

I’m going to be dead by 2050 though.

That’s a shame. You’ll miss the end of Storage Hunters Uk on Dave. It doesn’t finish till 2100. 😥

I can remember sitting around with just candles 3 days a week

Born 1973 so I can remember my mum getting the candles and tinned food out when the lights went out.

Was reading the reports this morning about chances of it happening again early 2016 – yes I can get candles and tinned food out (and I have camping stove and down jacket!) but a massive amount of stuff I would usually need to get everyday stuff done using t’internet and mobile (and presumably even make card payments in the shops) will be screwed without a leccy supply.

I also think in the early 70s a lot of people had experience of the war (my parents for e.g. born 1937/39) so they had much worse experience of hardship. These days however, we have so much provided for us and have got so used to a life of comfort I’m not sure the same level of stoicism or even basic experience of dealing with material hardship will be available to see. We’ll see, I may be being pessimistic but listening to a lady stuck in Egypt last week complaining about the inconvenience to her and entirely forgetting several hundred dead Russians made me wonder about her sense of perspective

My current future prospects:

The small dream I’ve had of owning my own house is getting more and more distant as prices rise, I get older (and the mortgage I can get gets smaller) and rents rise.
My job is one that will slowly disappear over the next decade or two as digital payment methods take over from cash transactions.
My health is currently deteriorating so I’ve had to cut back on my hours at work, meaning less money for saving for a deposit or paying into a pension.
To get any meaningful pension by the time I reach my (current) retirement age of 70 I would have to pay in 55% of my salary!

Doesn’t look good from my perspective so no, I’m not optimistic about the future.

3. Superhigh house prices leading to the wealth effect which supports consumer spending

most definitely not a good thing.

I don’t dwell on bad things I can’t control (painful lesson learned long ago), but I like reading other peoples lists 🙂

Mine is;

Good
1. I am alive and healthy, warm dry and not hungry.

Bad
1. Anything in the immediate vicinity that is likely to negatively affect number 1 in the good list, over which I have some control or influence.

My job is one that will slowly disappear over the next decade or two as digital payment methods take over from cash transactions.

Don’t bet on that. I’ve just been working on payments in one of the UK banks and despite millions and millions and millions having been spent on card infrastructure and promotion over the last 25 years, you’d be surprised that c50% of UK spend is still on cash – there’s lots of people still prefer it for various reasons. The stuff you read in the press is PR…

TL DR

Giving thanks daily for 2 working arms, legs, eyes ears and a seemingly fully functional body and brain. A bloody brilliant partner and a stepson who likes to call me ‘dad’ from time to time.

Why worry about stuff I can’t control, or has happened or has yet to possibly happen? I spent too many years doing that, not worth the angst for me.

Peace out 8)

and a huge amount of cars are not bought through choice they are bought because people live 55 miles from their job……

Well they chose their job and where to live, so the need for a car can hardly be a surprise to them! I’d say they’ve chosen a lifestyle which requires a car.

Me it’s going to be great.

OP, apologies politics first.

France. Right side where in power during the crises, the left wing government did all the things Labour here suggested, i.e. no austerity, spend our way out of the recession and don’t reform the labour market. Result equals no real recovery and further problems building

USA. Democrats are to the right of the Tories and have pursued free market policies including not harming their banks so as to allow them to sell their stakes in rescued banks at a profit. Also US economy less reliant on financial services than the UK.

To answer your question.

Not particularly optimistic, in fact bordering on pessimism

The EU is in a terrible state over Greek bailout (the numbers are staggering and the eurozone is on the hook) ,over migration and their political project for ever closer integration and a super state.

Whilst we are bickering about how to sort out our deficit, Asia is growing fast, education standards and mastery of English is such that more and more of our “value added” jobs will transfer to Asia.

We are far from out of the woods.

10. Ageing population

Er… In my personal opinion that’s quite a good thing.

It is thought by some people that true AI will happen in the next 30-50 years

There are also people who keep predicting the end of the world or the return of the Messiah in the next couple of years.

I had a book 50 years ago predicting the hydrogen economy was just around the corner.

The EU is in a terrible state over Greek bailout (the numbers are staggering and the eurozone is on the hook) ,over migration and their political project for ever closer integration and a super state

How many people who wore a poppy will actullay vote to leave europe though?

I was very optimistic then reading your OP took up the rest of my life. Thanks.

>drops dead<

Probably for whatever reason intrest rates will go up, forcing those with credit to have to pay more out each week, theft will go up as people buy knock off stuff, police numbers continue to go down, buy to let landlords see the end coming and flood the market with properties, but home buyers cant get a mortgage, housing benefit reduced even more, some parts of cities get even more run down, buy to let landlords start getting repoed and then a few years latter get chased by the B/S for the debt,quite a few major engineering employers shut up shop and move abroad, a major pension providor goes bust,power cuts on a large scale due to technical difficulties or deliberate acts,

and then JC is voted in to sort out this mess

You forgot about living in a surveillance state.

You forgot about living in a surveillance state.

Don’t think I didn’t hear you say that 🙂

Good:
1. You lot are trying to learn to eat proper food.
2. Fish & Chips are still available at £3.65 at my local albeit smaller cod.
3. Health is relatively acceptable for me.
4. I will strike Euro Million jackpot to set a new EU record.
5. UK becomes the new “EU” i.e. new UK pack.
6. EU will learn a lesson for being Utopian.

Bad:
1. You lot are still fat coz you don’t know how to cook no food.
2. Bloody PC healthy eating means much more difficult to find fish & chips. FFS!
3. My bad pain is still there and my heels are numb. (pain transfer)
4. The Euro Million jackpot is mine not yours.
5. Lefties continue to blame UK exit from EU for stopping their gravy train. (Ya, take that! We are out!)
6. EU learns shite and one of the Scandinavia country becomes the first European/Western Mus-lamic nation. That will learn you! (majority rule)

🙄

You lot are still fat coz you don’t know how to cook no food.

Says the man who then goes on to say

Bloody PC healthy eating means much more difficult to find fish and chips. FFS!

Anyway loads of really good chippies in my area.

I’m always optimistic about my future even if it gets a bit hairy I’m sure I can pull through.

But the world is another matter Middle East is in crisis. Europe is on border of melt down with the combined effects of debt, and mass immigration. Germany are taking the p*ss now. Asked me 3 years ago about EU and if definitely be for staying in, now I’m not so sure. If the UK (or someone else) can’t reign in Germany then we’d be better out IMO and let Europe fall to its fate and then deal with the consequences.

In short, yes!

Changed careers and countries. Married an incredible woman. Like who I am. Roll on the next 40 years.

No.

Spiders are getting bigger, i pee more at night than during the day, i grunt whenever i sit down or stand up and i keep misplacing my tin opener.

It’s November. Everything always looks shitty in November. Ask me again around about March, April time and things should be looking up.

In developed countries we’re going to have to figure out how to support two generations of pensioners /retirees. (the baby boomers being a big old cohort) add to that the fact that most people don’t really start working until they’re in their mid twenties and things start to look a little tricky.

We are going to have to reset our expectations. Given increases in life expectancy and the fact that folk are active for longer why should the retirement age be 65? If more people are going to live in retirement for 20+ years then that’s a pretty big pension pot! We may need to work till we are older but that’s just a fact of life.

house, great kids and wife, get to ride to work and the company I work for didn’t go under 18 months ago, I know I am VERY lucky to be a house owner, I’m acutely aware that it’s the wedge that drives inequality in this country (I don’t like the fact that it is..)

I’ve found Buddhist philosophy (note philosophy not religion) the most rational response to this.

1= life is change, change is life. If you expect the status quo to continue you will be disappointed. Embracing change instead opens up opportunities.

2. Who’s to say what will have good or bad consequences. Wars can lead to times of peace, prosperity can lead to complacency. If you can’t influence it or predict the consequences there is no point in worrying about it.

3.Do the right thing. We all inherently know what is the right thing to do. Where you do have influence do the right thing

And if that doesn’t convince you go live in a shanty town in pretty much anywhere in the world and get some perspective

Namaste dudes! 😉

Yes

I’m aware it won’t be all shits and giggles. But it’s all I’ve got.

and a huge amount of cars are not bought through choice they are bought because people live 55 miles from their job……
Well they chose their job and where to live, so the need for a car can hardly be a surprise to them! I’d say they’ve chosen a lifestyle which requires a car.

local to me at least folks cant/wont afford to live near their work.

I know folk that live 60 miles away justifying it by the lower house prices/ being unable to get a mortgage on “the dream” house in the local area so move 60 miles away to get the mortgage on the dream house – they can then HP or rent the car they need to live there and get to and from work without the same stringent checks that exist on a mortgage so

I decided it wasnt worth the time or the car or the financial stress of having said items to have the dream house so just aimed lower in my expectations.

there are a significant number of people who wont be able to retire ever due to the amount of debt stacking up over the years , the gravy train will end.

Yep, pretty optimistic here..
I’m 42, have an amazing wife and two great daughters (aged 5 and 8)
Me and the Mrs are both in fairly ‘safe’ careers in jobs we don’t mind (she’s a science teacher and i’m a project manager basically in the defence industry)

I earn twice what I did when I started the job 9 years ago, and there are reasonable promotion prospects if I want them, both with my current employer or elsewhere.

We have a nice house in a nice part of town, and although we currently have huge mortgage and a few other debts, they are more than manageable, and the equity in our house means we could move tomorrow (to somewhere not quite so nice) and be mortgage free.

The kids are at a good school, we are all reasonably healthy (daughter has a few health problems, but they are manageable and not life-limiting)

I’ve only been paying into a work pension for 8 years, and my wife has been slightly shafted with her teachers pension, but i’m confident that we’ll be better off than some of our friends who are mid 40’s with no pension provision at all.

As for climate change, the wars in the Middle East, etc… Stuff I can’t do much about doesn’t keep me awake at night.

Yes

I’m aware it won’t be all shits and giggles. But it’s all I’ve got.

What have you actually got?

Do you own, a car, a house, a wife? It ain’t certain. Your attachment to it and belief that you can hold on to it is the problem. That ain’t rational.

All you really have is a life of experience. If you understand that and approach it in the right way… I’m not saying everything will be alright but it’ll be less painful

Very. I couldn’t really give too much of a toss about the good and bad things in the original post. I just love living and am determined to enjoy every last moment.

Not sure I can convey the idea right but,
Appreciate what you have at this very moment
Understand it’ll all change in a way no one can predict
Do the right thing with what you can right now.

Ride your bike a lot… Cause they’re ace

local to me at least folks cant/wont afford to live near their work.

I’m sure there are some genuine exceptions, but I suspect in most cases they could chose to live nearer (in a smaller house) or change to a job nearer (possibly paying less).

I’ve done very well out of my 20 years of working so far so should feel fine – nice house in a nice area and no mortgage plus investments. But Indians are taking over the work I do – both through offshoring and coming here. So no idea what my future holds.

Looking wider the economy is looking bad again after looking like things were going well early in the year – FTSE is well down having hit new highs.

People in many poorer countries are a lot better off than they have been so we’re paying the price, hard to complain about that part of it really.

Optimistic:

my girlfriend is smoking hot, we don’t have a mortgage, I have no need of/desire for a car with the Peak District on my doorstep, and I’m well on course to run some massive PBs in spring 😀

I’m not. Far from it.

If those crisps were a person, they’d be the one ripping there top off, then offering you out, outside the kebab house, at two in the morning, for looking at their bird!

Oooh a crisps debate. Brannigan’s shmannigans…