Maybe I should have chosen my first book more wisely. It's left me upset, frustrated and more than a bit pissed off. Kudos to the authors then, they succeeded in their primary aim.
Jilted Generation: How Britain has Bankrupted it's Youth by Ed Howker and Shiv Malik's polemic on the malaise affecting British society, what caused it, and who's to blame was a very insightful read. If you're under thirty, have ever struggled to get a job, have ever been bled dry by unscrupulous landlords or find the idea of ever being able to afford your home laughable, this book is for you. Likewise, if you've ever felt your qualifications aren't worth the paper they're written on, are slightly miffed at the fact your education will saddle you with however many thousands of pounds of debt when the people implementing these policies were paid to go to university, or simply think that all politicians will do or say pretty much anything to win your vote and then fail to represent not just you, but your entire generation. So pretty much everyone under thirty then. I could go on, but the authors make their points far better than I ever could.
It's made me think about a few things and has put into words and produced some reasons for a lot of things that I've felt over the last however many years. The four chapters cover houses, jobs, inheritance and politics and explain a lot. What is refreshing is that the blame is not laid solely at the feet of any one individual, or even any one generation. There are culprits, but while the anger and sense of injustice comes across, the authors seem to find it hard to believe that we would have been deliberately sold down the river and I certainly like to believe them. Complex problems tend to have complex causes, though sadly there are no easy solutions.
Whatever your position on the political spectrum, there is plenty here to mull over. And if you're not interested, you bloody well should be. The problem is what to do about it. I will certainly be encouraging as many people as I can to read it, and hopefully somebody out there will do better and will give the jilted generation the voice it so desperately needs. Messrs Howker and Malik, I'd vote for you. David Mitchell is still Prime Minister in my fantasy cabinet, but there are definitely posts for you. So, people of Britain, especially you fat cats in Westminster, I suggest you have a look at this book, take on board its ideas, and sort out some appropriate policies to sort out this mess. Or I might consider introducing you to it personally, in the least pleasant sense of the word.
Book number: 1
Title: Jilted Generation: How Britain has Bankrupted its Youth
Author: Ed Howker and Shiv Malik
Category: Non-fiction
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