zirkus

8 posts8 participants2 posts today

Andrew GiffordWork by Sarah Roberts addresses the impact of being a young carer on childhood and the strange feeling of being ‘sick-adjacent’<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/apr/01/sarah-roberts-sick-leeds-art-installation" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/apr/01/sarah-roberts-sick-leeds-art-installation</a><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Illness" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Illness</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Carer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Carer</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Caring" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Caring</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Art" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Art</a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/SarahRoberts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SarahRoberts</a>

ThreeOfUsC and her two boys’ <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/pda" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#pda</a> is severely testing my patience. Just accommodating the children uses up all of my compassion and patience… and then when she gets going I have nothing left. She was procrastinating over a really important health task yesterday morning, that needed immediate action, and which only she could do. I held it together for a while before eventually losing my shit. <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/asd" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#asd</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/asc" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#asc</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/autism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#autism</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/mentalhealth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mentalhealth</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/carer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#carer</a>

Beverley"Recovering from intercostal muscle strain requires time, patience, and proper care."An article states it can take 5 to 6 weeks to recover. At just over 2 weeks of constant pain I am 'over it'.I know I'm fortunate that I don't have a chronic condition, but 'knowing' it and having an experience that makes you 'feel' it are two separate things.Resting isn't in my nature, and as a carer it's virtually impossible. The coming weeks will be 'interesting'. <a href="https://mas.to/tags/Carer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Carer</a> <a href="https://mas.to/tags/Pain" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Pain</a>Happy Friday folks!

Nigel KIf I hear the words ‘difficult choices’ from <a href="https://mastodonapp.uk/tags/Labour" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Labour</a> <a href="https://mastodonapp.uk/tags/Starmer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Starmer</a> <a href="https://mastodonapp.uk/tags/Reeves" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Reeves</a> <a href="https://mastodonapp.uk/tags/Rayner" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Rayner</a> et al today in regards to cuts to <a href="https://mastodonapp.uk/tags/PIP" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PIP</a> etc I shall fucking scream. <a href="https://mastodonapp.uk/tags/Austerity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Austerity</a> <a href="https://mastodonapp.uk/tags/Disability" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Disability</a> <a href="https://mastodonapp.uk/tags/Carer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Carer</a> Amazing how the difficult choices always fal on those already struggling.

ThreeOfUsC has been acting like a d#ck towards me tonight. I’m doing everything I can to support her through this suicidal phase and yet she still makes digs at me. I don’t deserve to be treated like this. I’m knackered, stressed and strained. I’m left wondering how much of her behaviour can be excused because of her illness vs her just sometimes being a bad person. <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/mentalhealth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mentalhealth</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/depression" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#depression</a> <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/carer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#carer</a>

Bytes EuropeStudy reveals health challenges faced by sandwich carers <a href="https://www.byteseu.com/629471/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.byteseu.com/629471/</a> <a href="https://pubeurope.com/tags/Carer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Carer</a> <a href="https://pubeurope.com/tags/Children" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Children</a> <a href="https://pubeurope.com/tags/Health" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Health</a> <a href="https://pubeurope.com/tags/LifeExpectancy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#LifeExpectancy</a> <a href="https://pubeurope.com/tags/MentalHealth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MentalHealth</a> <a href="https://pubeurope.com/tags/PublicHealth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#PublicHealth</a> <a href="https://pubeurope.com/tags/Research" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Research</a>

The Common GreenJust Work It Off“Work as if you were to live a thousand years, play as if you were to die tomorrow.” – Ben FranklinThis blog post <a href="https://commonweal.scot/just-work-it-off/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">previously appeared</a> in Common Weal’s weekly newsletter. Sign up for the newsletter <a href="https://commonweal.scot/get-involved/cw-mailing-list/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.If you’d like to support my work for Common Weal or support me and this blog directly, see my donate page <a href="https://thecommongreen.scot/donate/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.Sir Keir Starmer, Knight of the Realm and Man of the Working People, has declared again that thou shalt work or thou shalt starve.It’s becoming an increasingly common political line in the UK that the economic woes are all caused by people not working hard enough and there is particular ire being levelled at those who are neither employed nor unemployed (a quite narrow measure of people who are not in but who are actively looking for work) but who are “<a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peoplenotinwork/economicinactivity/datasets/economicinactivitybyreasonseasonallyadjustedinac01sa" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">economically inactive</a>” – who are neither working nor who are looking for work. The other line is that work is the only thing that gives someone’s life purpose and that if you’re not working then you’re a lesser kind of person than someone who is – a failure, or an immoral shirker.I want you to consider someone who is “economically inactive”. What is the image in your head? According to some, it’s a sofa-lout – someone who would rather persist on benefits than actually do some honest labour or might even earn MORE through those benefits than someone who does work (they almost certainly don’t and when they do, often that number is padded by housing benefit that goes to their landlord to pay for an <a href="https://commonweal.scot/policies/the-rent-controls-scotland-needs/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">inflated house rent</a> – who are the real spongers off the taxpayer <a href="https://commonweal.scot/policies/good-houses-for-all/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">in that scenario</a>?).Or it’s a disabled or long-term sick person – except they’re not REALLY ill, are they? They’re playing things up to avoid work, or they’re outright faking being ill, or they have a mental illness and everyone knows that’s not a real illness so they should just buck up and stop sponging off the taxpayers. Just work it off and it’ll be fine.I wrote about this quite recently in terms of who is actually not working and why but it bears repeating because Starmer’s plan is so badly wrong on all levels. He has misidentified the problem in the economy as ‘<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/dwp-benefits-paper-reform-changes-jobcentre-pip-b2653232.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">too many sick people not working</a>’ and misidentified the solution as ‘and therefore we need to force young people to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp35r0v7q95o" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">‘work or starve</a>’. When we actually look at the numbers and reasons for people being both out of work and not actively looking for work, a very different picture emerges. Yes, the number of long term ill people has risen since the pandemic – and I’ll come back to that group – they make up less than a third of the total number of people not working and not seeking to work.The next largest group in that category are students who are focusing entirely on their studies (an increasingly difficult thing to do in this era of increasing fees, costs of living and lack of the kind of support that the people increasing those fees got when they were students). The next largest group are carers – who really should be paid much more than they are for providing that care given the amount of unpaid benefit they PROVIDE the state in terms of services. As I’ve mentioned during discussions of <a href="https://commonweal.scot/jobs-vs-security-part-2/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">UBI vs Job Guarantee Schemes</a> (short version: do both), not everyone who cares for someone wants to turn that into a “job”, particularly if there’s even the hint of a risk that they could be reassigned to care for someone else – on the other hand, so many unpaid carers make do with so little support that both their and their cared for experience unmet needs that should be dealt with (perhaps via a National Care Service…) but in any case I can’t imagine that situation being made better by telling unpaid carers that they have to work or lose their benefits, especially when so many of them lose their benefits <a href="https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2024/05/martin-lewis-jeremy-hunt-carers-allowance/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">when they DO work</a>.We also see homemakers and early retirees in this “economically inactive” group which really shows the lie that this whole exercise is based on. We simply do not count the work of looking after a home as work and thus we devalue the existence of anyone who has spent their life doing that (usually women. Almost always women.). The very concept of GDP is based on the idea that a woman’s unpaid homemaking has a value of zero. Literally zero. The illustration I use is that if I clean my house and you clean your house, GDP is unaffected. But if you pay me £100 to clean your house and then I pay you that same £100 back to clean my house then no one has profited, the same houses are just as clean but now GDP is somehow £200 higher. Forcing homemakers to take a job instead might push the <a href="https://thecommongreen.scot/2024/08/29/gdp-growth-is-the-problem-not-the-solution/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">GDP line up</a> but will it really result in more work being done?All in Starmer is about to discover what previous governments did – that people are actually on the whole a pretty good judge of their own position in life and that the vast majority of people who aren’t working aren’t working for a very good reason. There just aren’t that many people in the “economically inactive” group who aren’t working, can work but who don’t want to work (in fact, that group is SO small in the dataset that it’s subject to sample size issues).There may well be people who want to work but can’t. Someone who is ill but will eventually recover could well be supported back into work AFTER they recover and that recovery could well be sped along by improvements to health and care – but this isn’t a moral failure on the part of the person who is ill. Someone else might be able to work but not able to get that work (a job vacancy for a farmhand in Dumfries isn’t likely to be much use to a former oil engineer in Aberdeen) but that’s an economic rather than moral failure too.And in neither case will they be helped by Starmer cutting their benefits as if he can continue previous Conservative government policy of starving people into submission or that any help folk are given has to be carefully micro-managed because the “fact” of their poverty is already evidence of their poor moral choices and judgement.The solution is the same one as I’ve presented before. Trust people. There hasn’t been a Universal Basic Income study yet that has shown that it discourages people from working EXCEPT the people we probably would PREFER focus on something other than work if it was us (students, carers, parents). Nor has there been a case where giving people money resulted in them “wasting” it on things we think are only acceptable to spend on if we’re rich (and thus moral) enough. The case for a UBI is now beyond arguable and is now a <a href="https://commonweal.scot/ubi-now/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">moral imperative</a>. In fact, a world of a UBI flips the “moral” case for work presented at the start of this article on its head. Rather than forcing people to find purpose in life through their labour like life is an open air work camp, UBI allows people the freedom to find purpose in their life – purpose that may include working (please <a href="https://commonweal.scot/donate/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">donate</a> to Common Weal to allow me and my colleagues to keep doing precisely that) but it equally may involve finding purpose in doing something other than work or doing something that someone else doesn’t consider to be work. Once we’ve done that, we can add in a Job Guarantee Scheme (as I say, we need both) to allow people to turn that freedom to work into an opportunity to work WITHOUT it becoming, as the Conservatives and now Starmer’s Labour would want, an obligation to work.The Labour Party was founded on a principle of supporting workers but I think they’ve forgotten that that means they were founded to support working people (even as they’ve tied themselves in knots trying to include the “right” (read: morally upright) people in that definition and exclude others but not themselves), not to support people to work. They need to stop thinking of people as units of production who push the GDP line up (or who fail to do so). Once that happens, maybe they’ll start to understand where the <a href="http://sir%20keir%20starmer,%20knight%20of%20the%20realm%20and%20man%20of%20the%20working%20people,%20has%20declared%20again%20that%20thou%20shalt%20work%20or%20thou%20shalt%20starve.xn--%20its%20becoming%20an%20increasingly%20common%20political%20line%20in%20the%20uk%20that%20the%20economic%20woes%20are%20all%20caused%20by%20people%20not%20working%20hard%20enough%20and%20there%20is%20particular%20ire%20being%20levelled%20at%20those%20who%20are%20neither%20employed%20nor%20unemployed%20(a%20quite%20narrow%20measure%20of%20people%20who%20are%20not%20in%20but%20who%20are%20actively%20looking%20for%20work)%20but%20who%20are%20economically%20inactive%20%20who%20are%20neither%20working%20nor%20who%20are%20looking%20for%20work-m5307aewcmxckq.xn--%20the%20other%20line%20is%20that%20work%20is%20the%20only%20thing%20that%20gives%20someones%20life%20purpose%20and%20that%20if%20youre%20not%20working%20then%20youre%20a%20lesser%20kind%20of%20person%20than%20someone%20who%20is%20%20a%20failure,%20or%20an%20immoral%20shirker-1614pwsbhb5a.xn--%20i%20want%20you%20to%20consider%20someone%20who%20is%20economically%20inactive-3d94c9c.%20what%20is%20the%20image%20in%20your%20head/?%20According%20to%20some,%20it%E2%80%99s%20a%20sofa-lout%20%E2%80%93%20someone%20who%20would%20rather%20persist%20on%20benefits%20than%20actually%20do%20some%20honest%20labour%20or%20might%20even%20earn%20MORE%20through%20those%20benefits%20than%20someone%20who%20does%20work%20(they%20almost%20certainly%20don%E2%80%99t%20and%20when%20they%20do,%20often%20that%20number%20is%20padded%20by%20housing%20benefit%20that%20goes%20to%20their%20landlord%20to%20pay%20for%20an%20inflated%20house%20rent%20%E2%80%93%20who%20are%20the%20real%20parasites%20on%20the%20taxpayer%20in%20that%20scenario?).%20Or%20it%E2%80%99s%20a%20disabled%20or%20long-term%20sick%20person%20%E2%80%93%20except%20they%E2%80%99re%20not%20REALLY%20ill,%20are%20they?%20They%E2%80%99re%20playing%20things%20up%20to%20avoid%20work,%20or%20they%E2%80%99re%20outright%20faking%20being%20ill,%20or%20they%20have%20a%20mental%20illness%20and%20everyone%20knows%20that%E2%80%99s%20not%20a%20real%20illness%20so%20they%20should%20just%20buck%20up%20and%20stop%20sponging%20off%20the%20taxpayers.%20Just%20work%20it%20off%20and%20it%E2%80%99ll%20be%20fine.%20I%20wrote%20about%20this%20quite%20recently%20in%20terms%20of%20who%20is%20actually%20not%20working%20and%20why%20but%20it%20bears%20repeating%20because%20Starmer%E2%80%99s%20plan%20is%20so%20badly%20wrong%20on%20all%20levels.%20He%20has%20misidentified%20the%20problem%20in%20the%20economy%20as%20%E2%80%98too%20many%20sick%20people%20not%20working%E2%80%99%20and%20misidentified%20the%20solution%20as.and%20therefore%20we%20need%20to%20force%20young%20people%20to%20work%20or%20starve%E2%80%99.%20When%20we%20actually%20look%20at%20the%20numbers%20and%20reasons%20for%20people%20being%20both%20out%20of%20work%20and%20not%20actively%20looking%20for%20work,%20a%20very%20different%20picture%20emerges.%20Yes,%20the%20number%20of%20long%20term%20ill%20people%20has%20risen%20since%20the%20pandemic%20%E2%80%93%20and%20I%E2%80%99ll%20come%20back%20to%20that%20group%20%E2%80%93%20they%20make%20up%20less%20than%20a%20third%20of%20the%20total%20number%20of%20people%20not%20working%20and%20not%20seeking%20to%20work.%20The%20next%20largest%20group%20in%20that%20category%20are%20students%20who%20are%20focusing%20entirely%20on%20their%20studies%20(an%20increasingly%20difficult%20thing%20to%20do%20in%20this%20era%20of%20increasing%20fees,%20costs%20of%20living%20and%20lack%20of%20the%20kind%20of%20support%20that%20the%20people%20increasing%20those%20fees%20got%20when%20they%20were%20students).%20The%20next%20largest%20group%20are%20carers%20%E2%80%93%20who%20really%20should%20be%20paid%20much%20more%20than%20they%20are%20for%20providing%20that%20care%20given%20the%20amount%20of%20unpaid%20benefit%20they%20PROVIDE%20the%20state%20in%20terms%20of%20services.%20As%20I%E2%80%99ve%20mentioned%20during%20discussions%20of%20UBI%20vs%20Job%20Guarantee%20Schemes%20(short%20version:%20do%20both),%20not%20everyone%20who%20cares%20for%20someone%20wants%20to%20turn%20that%20into%20a%20%E2%80%9Cjob%E2%80%9D,%20particularly%20if%20there%E2%80%99s%20even%20the%20hint%20of%20a%20risk%20that%20they%20could%20be%20reassigned%20to%20care%20for%20someone%20else%20%E2%80%93%20on%20the%20other%20hand,%20so%20many%20unpaid%20carers%20make%20do%20with%20so%20little%20support%20that%20both%20their%20and%20their%20cared%20for%20experience%20unmet%20needs%20that%20should%20be%20dealt%20with%20(perhaps%20via%20a%20National%20Care%20Service%E2%80%A6)%20but%20in%20any%20case%20I%20can%E2%80%99t%20imagine%20that%20situation%20being%20made%20better%20by%20telling%20unpaid%20carers%20that%20they%20have%20to%20work%20or%20lose%20their%20benefits,%20especially%20when%20so%20many%20of%20them%20lose%20their%20benefits%20when%20they%20DO%20work.%20We%20also%20see%20homemakers%20and%20early%20retirees%20in%20this%20%E2%80%9Ceconomically%20inactive%E2%80%9D%20group%20which%20really%20shows%20the%20lie%20that%20this%20whole%20exercise%20is%20based%20on.%20We%20simply%20do%20not%20count%20the%20work%20of%20looking%20after%20a%20home%20as%20work%20and%20thus%20we%20devalue%20the%20existence%20of%20anyone%20who%20has%20spent%20their%20life%20doing%20that%20(usually%20women.%20Almost%20always%20women.).%20The%20very%20concept%20of%20GDP%20is%20based%20on%20the%20idea%20that%20a%20woman%E2%80%99s%20unpaid%20homemaking%20has%20a%20value%20of%20zero.%20Literally%20zero.%20The%20illustration%20I%20use%20is%20that%20if%20I%20clean%20my%20house%20and%20you%20clean%20your%20house,%20GDP%20is%20unaffected.%20But%20if%20you%20pay%20me%20%C2%A3100%20to%20clean%20your%20house%20and%20then%20I%20pay%20you%20that%20same%20%C2%A3100%20back%20to%20clean%20my%20house%20then%20no%20one%20has%20profited,%20the%20same%20houses%20are%20just%20as%20clean%20but%20now%20GDP%20is%20somehow%20%C2%A3200%20higher.%20Forcing%20homemakers%20to%20take%20a%20job%20instead%20might%20push%20the%20GDP%20line%20up%20but%20will%20it%20really%20result%20in%20more%20work%20being%20done?%20All%20in%20Starmer%20is%20about%20to%20discover%20what%20previous%20governments%20did%20%E2%80%93%20that%20people%20are%20actually%20on%20the%20whole%20a%20pretty%20good%20judge%20of%20their%20own%20position%20in%20life%20and%20that%20the%20vast%20majority%20of%20people%20who%20aren%E2%80%99t%20working%20aren%E2%80%99t%20working%20for%20a%20very%20good%20reason.%20There%20just%20aren%E2%80%99t%20that%20many%20people%20in%20the%20%E2%80%9Ceconomically%20inactive%E2%80%9D%20group%20who%20aren%E2%80%99t%20working,%20can%20work%20but%20who%20don%E2%80%99t%20want%20to%20work%20(in%20fact,%20that%20group%20is%20SO%20small%20in%20the%20dataset%20that%20it%E2%80%99s%20subject%20to%20sample%20size%20issues).%20There%20may%20well%20be%20people%20who%20want%20to%20work%20but%20can%E2%80%99t.%20Someone%20who%20is%20ill%20but%20will%20eventually%20recover%20could%20well%20be%20supported%20back%20into%20work%20AFTER%20they%20recover%20and%20that%20recovery%20could%20well%20be%20sped%20along%20by%20improvements%20to%20health%20and%20care%20%E2%80%93%20but%20this%20isn%E2%80%99t%20a%20moral%20failure%20on%20the%20part%20of%20the%20person%20who%20is%20ill.%20Someone%20else%20might%20be%20able%20to%20work%20but%20not%20able%20to%20get%20that%20work%20(a%20job%20vacancy%20for%20a%20farmhand%20in%20Dumfries%20isn%E2%80%99t%20likely%20to%20be%20much%20use%20to%20a%20former%20oil%20engineer%20in%20Aberdeen)%20but%20that%E2%80%99s%20an%20economic%20rather%20than%20moral%20failure%20too.%20And%20in%20neither%20case%20will%20they%20be%20helped%20by%20Starmer%20cutting%20their%20benefits%20as%20if%20he%20can%20continue%20previous%20Conservative%20government%20policy%20of%20starving%20people%20into%20submission%20or%20that%20any%20help%20they%E2%80%99re%20given%20has%20to%20be%20carefully%20micro-managed%20because%20the%20%E2%80%9Cfact%E2%80%9D%20of%20their%20poverty%20is%20already%20a%20symptom%20of%20their%20poor%20moral%20choices%20and%20judgement.%20The%20solution%20is%20the%20same%20one%20as%20I%E2%80%99ve%20presented%20before.%20Trust%20people.%20There%20hasn%E2%80%99t%20been%20a%20Universal%20Basic%20Income%20study%20yet%20that%20has%20shown%20that%20it%20discourages%20people%20from%20working%20EXCEPT%20the%20people%20we%20probably%20would%20PREFER%20focus%20on%20something%20other%20than%20work%20if%20it%20was%20us%20(students,%20carers,%20parents).%20Nor%20has%20there%20been%20a%20case%20where%20giving%20people%20money%20resulted%20in%20them%20%E2%80%9Cwasting%E2%80%9D%20it%20on%20things%20we%20think%20are%20only%20acceptable%20to%20spend%20on%20if%20we%E2%80%99re%20rich%20(and%20thus%20moral)%20enough.%20The%20case%20for%20a%20UBI%20is%20now%20beyond%20arguable%20and%20is%20now%20a%20moral%20imperative.%20In%20fact,%20a%20world%20of%20a%20UBI%20flips%20the%20%E2%80%9Cmoral%E2%80%9D%20case%20for%20work%20presented%20at%20the%20start%20of%20this%20article%20on%20its%20head.%20Rather%20than%20forcing%20people%20to%20find%20purpose%20in%20life%20through%20their%20labour%20like%20life%20is%20an%20open%20air%20work%20camp,%20UBI%20allows%20people%20the%20freedom%20to%20find%20purpose%20in%20their%20life%20%E2%80%93%20purpose%20that%20may%20include%20working%20(please%20donate%20to%20Common%20Weal%20to%20allow%20me%20and%20my%20colleagues%20to%20keep%20doing%20precisely%20that)%20but%20it%20equally%20may%20involve%20finding%20purpose%20in%20doing%20something%20other%20than%20work%20or%20doing%20something%20that%20someone%20else%20doesn%E2%80%99t%20consider%20to%20be%20work.%20Once%20we%E2%80%99ve%20done%20that,%20we%20can%20add%20in%20a%20Job%20Guarantee%20Scheme%20(as%20I%20say,%20we%20need%20both)%20to%20allow%20people%20to%20turn%20that%20freedom%20to%20work%20into%20an%20opportunity%20to%20work%20WITHOUT%20it%20becoming,%20as%20the%20Conservatives%20and%20now%20Starmer%E2%80%99s%20Labour%20would%20want,%20an%20obligation%20to%20work.%20The%20Labour%20Party%20was%20founded%20on%20a%20principle%20of%20supporting%20workers%20but%20I%20think%20they%E2%80%99ve%20forgotten%20that%20that%20means%20they%20were%20founded%20to%20support%20working%20people%20(even%20as%20they%E2%80%99ve%20tied%20themselves%20in%20knots%20trying%20to%20include%20the%20%E2%80%9Cright%E2%80%9D%20(read:%20morally%20upright)%20people%20in%20that%20definition%20and%20exclude%20others%20but%20not%20themselves),%20not%20to%20support%20people%20to%20work.%20They%20need%20to%20stop%20thinking%20of%20people%20as%20units%20of%20production%20who%20push%20the%20GDP%20line%20up%20(or%20who%20fail%20to%20do%20so).%20Once%20that%20happens,%20maybe%20they%E2%80%99ll%20start%20to%20understand%20where%20the%20problems%20really%20lie%20with%20the%20economy%20and%20will%20be%20able%20to%20actually%20start%20fixing%20them." rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">problems really lie</a> with the economy and will be able to actually start fixing them.<a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://thecommongreen.scot/tag/benefits/" target="_blank">#benefits</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://thecommongreen.scot/tag/carer/" target="_blank">#carer</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://thecommongreen.scot/tag/carers/" target="_blank">#carers</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://thecommongreen.scot/tag/mental-health/" target="_blank">#mentalHealth</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://thecommongreen.scot/tag/politics/" target="_blank">#politics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://thecommongreen.scot/tag/ubi/" target="_blank">#UBI</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://thecommongreen.scot/tag/ukpolitics/" target="_blank">#UKPolitics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://thecommongreen.scot/tag/work/" target="_blank">#work</a>

Alfred Chow - Maker of Things<a href="https://cupoftea.social/tags/GoodMorningWorlds" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#GoodMorningWorlds</a> I have checked on Mum, and done some chores for her. She was already up and had finished breakfast on her own. She is determined to retain as much independance as she can. At least she is able to move her fingers again today. I will take her some painkillers in a bit, in case she needs them.The car is back in the work carpark in anticipation of scaffolders turning up. Not holding my breath.<a href="https://cupoftea.social/tags/Chickens" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Chickens</a> <a href="https://cupoftea.social/tags/Carer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Carer</a>

Alfred Chow - Maker of ThingsToday we got up really early, And took Mum to hospital for her operation. Did lots of sitting around, While medical staff got around to seeing her. Left Mum to have her operation, And came home to wait. Went back to pick up Mum, With more waiting for her to be discharged. Brought Mum home, And put her to bed to rest. Sorted out her commode, And laundered her clothes. Made dinner for Mum, And helped her up to eat. Back again to clean up, And help Mum wash and brush her teeth. Then put Mum to bed, And wrote instructions for Home care. Trying to unwind with videos, But far too tired. <a href="https://cupoftea.social/tags/NightAll" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#NightAll</a> <a href="https://cupoftea.social/tags/Goats" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Goats</a> <a href="https://cupoftea.social/tags/Carer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Carer</a>

Mike<a href="https://ohai.social/@AAA365a" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@AAA365a</a> There was a discussion about this scheme on the group Teams meeting for the carers at my daughter's hospital a year or so ago (we no longer take part).Opinion was very divided - almost equally as I recall - between those who thought it was a scam - either because they'd got the card and not found it of any use, or we're just plain sceptical, and those who thought it was a wonderful idea - but no one in that group had actually bought the card! I remember the conversation because it was one of the few times that the group call got animated (& quite heated).I've not bought the card because there's a (free) similar card issued by my local authority that does what I need it to do.As ever - YMMV.<a href="https://cupoftea.social/tags/carer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#carer</a>

Alfred Chow - Maker of ThingsMum is home and as well as can be expected. However, she is also being an absolute independent PITA, despite being post op, with her left arm in a sling and unusable for a couple of weeks!I just need her to understand that being independent isn't going to work right now, and trying to be makes caring for her 10x harder for me.Also with the appalling timing of her not having a toilet due to the wetroom works... ....so she is going to have to just get on with using the commode properly as it makes it easier for me to empty and clean out until the wetroom is done.It's only a for a week, Mum, just one week to not drive me over the edge, please!<a href="https://cupoftea.social/tags/Carer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Carer</a>

Alfred Chow - Maker of ThingsTwo hours after leaving the house, Mum has been taken to surgery.There are risks, as always, but hopefully she will be ok. I will have more looking after to do when she is home.Now waiting for the call, around lunch time maybe, to say when we can pick her up.Very tired now, and wishing I could go back to bed.<a href="https://cupoftea.social/tags/Carer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Carer</a>

Alfred Chow - Maker of ThingsI have pumped up the tyre on Mum's wheelchair and put it in the car. She has day surgery tomorrow and needs to be in the hospital before 7am. Another early start.<a href="https://cupoftea.social/tags/Carer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Carer</a>

MikeRant?I struggle to define myself as a <a href="https://cupoftea.social/tags/carer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#carer</a> - but for years I've been 'looking after' both my wife & our daughterMy wife has a number of chronic illnesses & disabilities - mainly related to her heart & to osteoarthritis. She's a lot better now than she was a couple of years ago (medication) but has constant low-level depression which is hardly surprising. I've talked ad-nauseum on here about our daugther's mental health issues so I won't rehash it - except to say that I'm her primary contact for the hospital & her new face-to-face carers; naturally my wife shares in this but I feel the load falls to me.Our local authority recognises me as a 'carer' but the support they provide for carers is laser focussed on those caring for otehrs with dementia in all its forms. At least the LA in my daughter's area has provision for support for carers of those with <a href="https://cupoftea.social/tags/MentalHealth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#MentalHealth</a> health issues.I do wish that there was more recognition that caring is not a one-size thing<a href="https://cupoftea.social/tags/caring" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#caring</a> <a href="https://cupoftea.social/tags/caregivers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#caregivers</a>

Emeritus Prof Christopher MayAn unpaid <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/carer" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#carer</a> tells it like it is: 'it’s galling to hear <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/JeremyHunt" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#JeremyHunt</a> talk about getting people back to work while doing nothing to address this issue'...Yup & you knew I was going to say this: yet more declaratory <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/politics" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#politics</a> from the <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/tories" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#tories</a>. While this is heartfelt as Denise Wilkins knows, she is far from alone in her plight. This is what the <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/carecrisis" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#carecrisis</a> look like!<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/05/social-care-jeremy-hunt-unpaid-carers" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no">https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/05/social-care-jeremy-hunt-unpaid-carers</a>

Alun Kirby'Our Own Coordinates - Poems About Dementia' was launched on Friday with readings from many of the poets involved.It was an emotional, beautiful, brave and loving thing to witness.The whole event can be viewed as and when you wish, here:<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=komlW2_AE6s&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=komlW2_AE6s&feature=youtu.be</a><a href="https://zirk.us/tags/dementia" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#dementia</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/DementiaAwareness" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#DementiaAwareness</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/OurOwnCoordinates" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#OurOwnCoordinates</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/Poetry" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#Poetry</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/PoetryCommunity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#PoetryCommunity</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/PoetryReading" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#PoetryReading</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/MindsAndVoices" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#MindsAndVoices</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/Memory" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#Memory</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/PoetryLaunch" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#PoetryLaunch</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/DementiaCarer" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#DementiaCarer</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/Empathy" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#Empathy</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/Poems" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#Poems</a> <a href="https://zirk.us/tags/Carer" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#Carer</a>

Anna<a href="https://disabled.social/tags/Introduction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Introduction</a> I’m severely <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/disabled" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#disabled</a> by <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/ChronicIllness" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ChronicIllness</a>.I have <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/SevereME" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#SevereME</a> <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/AdrenalDisease" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#AdrenalDisease</a> <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/Hypothyroidism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Hypothyroidism</a> <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/HyperParathyroidism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#HyperParathyroidism</a> <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/Endometriosis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Endometriosis</a> <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/Migraine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Migraine</a> <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/POTS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#POTS</a>/ <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/Dysautonomia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Dysautonomia</a> <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/ChronicPain" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ChronicPain</a> & more, topped off by <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/LongCovid" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#LongCovid</a>. Hi <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/NEISvoid" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#NEISvoid</a> Interests now include not being <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/exhausted" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#exhausted</a>, in <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/pain" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#pain</a>, or rejected by doctors for being too complex a patient. (Know good <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/doctors" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#doctors</a> <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/GPs" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#GPs</a> in <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/Melbourne" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Melbourne</a> taking pain patients?)Need help with <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/housing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#housing</a> <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/NDIS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#NDIS</a> <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/GP" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#GP</a> <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/carer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#carer</a>/ <a href="https://disabled.social/tags/caregiver" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#caregiver</a> & navigating the system. LMK!1/

Piers CawleyI suppose I should do one of those <a href="https://mendeddrum.org/tags/introduction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#introduction</a> posts.I'm Piers, I'm a <a href="https://mendeddrum.org/tags/FolkSinger" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FolkSinger</a> and <a href="https://mendeddrum.org/tags/carer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#carer</a>. I'm also a recovering <a href="https://mendeddrum.org/tags/sysAdmin" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#sysAdmin</a> and <a href="https://mendeddrum.org/tags/programmer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#programmer</a> (recovery wasn't exactly voluntary, but RSI screwed up those career paths).You'll find me singing most Friday nights at <a href="https://youtube.com/pierscawley/live" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://youtube.com/pierscawley/live</a>, or at my infrequently updated blog <a href="https://bofh.org.uk/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://bofh.org.uk/</a>I'm into <a href="https://mendeddrum.org/tags/FolkSongs" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FolkSongs</a>, <a href="https://mendeddrum.org/tags/DwarfFortress" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#DwarfFortress</a>, <a href="https://mendeddrum.org/tags/Pratchett" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Pratchett</a>, <a href="https://mendeddrum.org/tags/Cookery" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Cookery</a>, <a href="https://mendeddrum.org/tags/UnaccompaniedSinging" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#UnaccompaniedSinging</a>, <a href="https://mendeddrum.org/tags/photography" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#photography</a> , <a href="https://mendeddrum.org/tags/looping" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#looping</a> and <a href="https://mendeddrum.org/tags/ttrpgs" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ttrpgs</a> in no particular order.

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