How to win friends 3: Acceptance of Austerity
For most of human history our lives were ruled by Fate,
Until the arrival of what we term the Welfare State
The concept was quite brilliant; a comprehensive safety net
Which helped everyone who needed help, to enable us to get
The things we really needed; health-care, housing and much more
Based on the long-held view that the rich should help the poor.
We’ve benefited greatly from the changes that were brought
About by forward-thinkers, who for many years had sought
To alleviate the problems faced by millions in our State
Who’d had a really rotten deal, leading them to hate
The system and Social Structure based on birth and social class
Which seemed to predetermine who would “fail” and who would “pass”.
The Welfare State was based on fairness; taking out and putting in
Were equally acceptable, and everyone would win.
The system worked quite beautifully for years and years, and yet
It was bound to face some pressures caused by ever-greater Debt.
So now we’re at a crossroads, and hard decisions must be made
By all of us together. We must never be afraid
Of thinking and of talking and deciding what to do
When prospects are so ominous for everybody who
Considers our position on the economic front.
Coming up with half-baked solutions in a frantic hunt
For a simple answer to a complex situation
Which impacts on all of us, individuals and nation.
There isn’t just one answer to the predicament we’re in
We’ll need leadership and wisdom if we really want to win,
Our way through to stability, to sustain the services we need,
Will depend on generosity and the avoidance of greed.
That brought about recession and our sinking into debt.
Perhaps acceptance of Austerity is the course we ought to set?
Harry McQuillan
