I can quite understand Jonny Cope wanting to be positive talking up the local economy and especially in talking about youth unemployment.
It’s fair to say that I found it pretty hard to cope, pun definitely intended, when, like many middle aged men with families to support, it took time to get back into work after being made redundant.
Having got back into employment your benefit gets cut immediately so when you are waiting for your first pay cheque you can struggle even to pay for travel to work and to settle other bills.
Promises of politicians to smooth the way back to work have not been delivered.
Taxing the benefits received that you originally paid for through national insurance is also very hard when your personal finances have been so badly damaged by a long period of unemployment.
Talking up the economy should only go so far when Office of National Statistics figures show that in the period to September that more than one in 10 Croydon males were out of work and that the median real terms Greater London wage has collapsed by over 20 per cent since the financial crisis.
Things may be picking up but for everyday people financial times are a lot harder than they used to be and it’s rather hurtful of political commentators to neglect that thought when boasting of a supposedly booming economy which a lot of us are not actually personally enjoying.
Patrick Ratnaraja; Croydon
What do you think? Leave a comment below or send your letter to: letters@croydonguardian.co.uk.
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here