[Margaret Pilkington]

I understand what Margaret was saying.....but way back when.....you know, those old days, people were proud. Often too proud to ask for help, whether they had paid for it or not.
There is no such thing as the 'Big Society'.....it is just one of those 'sound bites' that all politicians of all persuasions use to bamboozle the electorate.

It is an economic fact that you can only have what you can afford to pay for.....welfare has to be paid for.
The labour government encouraged those on welfare to stay there.....they did not encourage aspiration, they encouraged dependence(this ensures that those on welfare continue to vote for those who give them the money).
We have an ageing population and the pension system is a bit like a Ponzi scheme( I said a bit like) in that those currently working and paying in, are contributing to a system from which they may never actually benefit. By the time the workers of today are eligible for a pension there won't be anything left.

There are a lot of elderly people in our communities who have children who visit only every blue moon.
I do not want the big society to look after my mother. And I have said that there are very many good and capable carers, but there are also those who are slap dash, badly trained and those who are quite frankly a danger to our elderly.
I do not want my mother to be subjected to these. I prefer to take on her care needs myself...no one can look after my mother like I can, because no one knows her like me.
She too, has paid into this support system.....and as such would be eligible for help.

If those of us who can help do so, then there will be more help available for those who have no one.....and isn't that how it should be?
We cannot rely on the goverment for all of our needs. We have to be prepared to take some responsibility for our own lives.....and those we care about.