In the 1980’s, I visited a small factory on the Wirral producing black plastic sacks. Granules in, rolls of sacks out. Just two men managed the whole plant. Automated manufacturing and automated process engineering was, even then, having a devastating effect on working man. How would the unemployed occupy themselves day in, day out?
I came away concerned.
Forty years on, we have not fully tackled nor solved that situation and now the scale is even greater. We have a huge social and health problem as a result. Clearly, there are pockets of social initiatives aimed at easing the domestic problems, and astute entrepreneurs are reinventing ‘Cottage Industries’. The fact remains, being unemployed does not put adequate food on the plate; does not allow man to hold his head high with pride, to enjoy comradeship and reward. We are also in danger of educating our young for a level of employment that will no longer exists whether it is in retail, manufacturing, or commerce.
These are some of my observations on today’s world which prompted me to put pen to paper and write the group of Observational Poems laid out in my book – Poems By An Old Codger.
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