i’ve seen a pandemic 

and recessions, 

i live in the aftermath 

of depression 

i’ve seen inequality 

rise inexorably, 

a corresponding decline 

in provision

of the services required 

for the good of all of us 

so extinguish the myth 

of the self made man 

and his false profits

life has been tough for my generation. i graduated in 2008 into the great financial crisis. then we had a decade of austerity. then the culture wars – scottish nationalism, brexit, covid, anti-trans fearmongering. now we have the ai bubble and falling standards of living. and all this while the rich have got significantly richer. 

inequality destroys societal cohesion. it makes societies inefficient. it makes people poor and insecure. and it is a political choice. every impoverished child, every person sleeping rough and begging – are decisions people have made about the allocation of resources.