Category: Social Issues

The Basic Living Standard: Not a Fix for a Collapsing Money-Centric System, but the People-Centric Foundation of a New One

Although initially overlooked after I first introduced it in my book Levelling Level, published on Amazon on 31 March 2022, the Basic Living Standard (BLS) has increasingly attracted interest from readers and visitors to my blog.

However, I have noticed that when people search for BLS using AI, a whole chain of stories and information—often including quotes attributed to me—has emerged, much of which is either out of context or entirely fabricated.

This is concerning, especially when those outside the mainstream are trying to share solutions and perspectives that challenge the compliance and blindness of today’s system.

We must recognise that the so-called AI takeover is being built on delivery levels that, in many cases, are no better than the efforts of a lazy teenager responding to an encouraging parent. And the outright creation of false information and narratives—even regarding work from independent voices—is troubling.

Given that AI now tells those seeking a quick overview that the Basic Living Standard is a way to fix our broken economic system, I feel it is time to clarify: while I believe BLS is a pivotal solution, it cannot and will not work within the current economic paradigm.

The integral priority of BLS is to put people, not money, first.

The Basic Living Standard: Not Intended for the Current Economic System

I have never created or published financial models or projections to ‘cost’ or predict the impact of BLS on the current economy or financial system, because the two are mutually exclusive.

BLS was not designed to be part of, or to work within, the existing paradigm, which makes it impossible to do so.

Decision-makers, legislators, and their influencers will not openly admit that our system is structured against equity and equality.

It is only because the system works progressively against these values that the disproportionate levels of wealth and benefits enjoyed by those in power can exist as they do.

Paying Lip Service to Parity

While the National Minimum Wage should be the benchmark or minimum earnings floor necessary for financial independence, the reality is that no person can be financially independent or live free of benefits, charity, or debt on this wage when working a typical 40-hour full-time week.

The current economic and financial system survives because the National Minimum Wage does not reflect the genuine cost of living for the lowest paid, who must then be subsidised by government benefits, seek help from charities such as food banks, or go into debt to meet the growing cost of living.

The FIAT, Neoliberal, Global-Driven Money System: The Perfect Crime?

A hard truth about our broken and collapsing system is that its design centres on wealth transfer and impoverishment, relying on the ongoing creation and addition of new money to the economy.

Currency debasement devalues the worth and ownership of the masses, while creating additional wealth for the elites and enabling them to secure property, public infrastructure, and ownership of everything devalued by their actions.

System Collapse and the Choice We Must Make

The finite lifetime of what may one day be considered one of the greatest ongoing crimes against humanity is fast approaching its end.

How the masses respond to financial and systemic collapse will dictate whether the Basic Living Standard, or a similar benchmark, forms the basis of a new people-centric economic and governance system.

This new system would put people back at the heart of everything, rather than the money-centric focus we have now.

The current system is collapsing because it is fundamentally corrupt and wrong.

Introducing a system like BLS within the current system—even under the name National Minimum Wage—could not achieve its true purpose, because implementing it honestly would speed up, if not immediately collapse the current money-centric system – and that’s why nobody in power today who benefits from this system will ever agree or willingly help for it to be done.

Embracing the Shift: Making Life About People, Not Money

If we accept and adopt an economy and governance system cantered on People, Community, and Environment, we will naturally move away from financial modelling, projections, profit margins, and all the tools that reinforce money as the only important value in life.

The Basic Living Standard provides a clear focus for the paradigm shift from money-centric beliefs to what everyone needs—not wants—and establishes the basic standard for independent living without dependency.

However, BLS is not a policy that can work in isolation or as an add-on to the current system. It is a fundamental building block of the universal change we must choose and embrace, because we cannot fix what cannot be fixed.

The Basic Living Standard: The Basis of a New Way of Living

By restarting, reestablishing, regenerating, reforming, and replacing our economic and governance systems, the Basic Living Standard becomes the benchmark for guaranteeing that the lowest paid can sustain themselves and be financially independent in return for a standard working week.

It requires all businesses, organisations, and systems within a new framework of economy and governance to realign with ensuring that every person experiences this minimum standard as the foundation of society, business, and culture.

Improving lives today really should be as simple as creating a Minimum Wage and changing everything for those who need help in one day. But changing perceptions is not the same as changing the way everyone thinks.

That is why the introduction of a system that genuinely works for everyone cannot be openly embraced before the pain of collapse and the reality it brings.

Everything we know today exists because of a system built around money as a value set—a flawed belief system we have all been conditioned to accept.

Only when this system fails and excludes people, step by step, do those affected awaken to the reality that something is fundamentally wrong.

Yet those excluded are often viewed by those still inside the system as the ones who are guilty and wrong.

Out of Our Problems, an Opportunity Awaits

The collapse offers a moment when the balance can flip, and those who have been excluded may reach a critical mass that signals to everyone participating in the money game that a better, equitable way exists.

However, ordinary people must see, understand, and accept this en masse.

Whatever happens next will lead to wholesale change—whether we choose it or simply go along with it.

Only by being aware and honest about what we need, rather than what we want, can we take the leap of faith necessary to change everything and contribute to the creation of a new system where people, community, and environment come first.

The Basic Living Standard offers a benchmark for the frameworks and opportunities of a new way of living. Yet, it will remain unknown and inaccessible to those unwilling to step away from the comfort of an unsustainable relationship with the past.

Money, democracy, ownership, business priorities, and practices are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the breadth and depth of necessary change.

Everyone must own and be part of the transformation ahead, because the change is about the needs of everyone, not just the wants of a privileged few.

There’s More…

In the coming days, and hopefully as soon as this week, my next book will be published, building on all I have been writing and sharing for over three and a half years.

Evolving directly from Our Local Future, first published in summer 2024, this latest work brings more detail and focus to the mechanics of implementing a new system for economy and governance, while simplifying previous concepts to make them more accessible and relatable.

The Basic Living Standard lies at its heart, and I am confident that we can flip everything to work for People, Community, and Economy, once we see the benefits and share the determination to implement a system and new code for life that truly works with equity and equality for all.

The Basic Living Standard Explained
Our Local Future | FULL TEXT
BLS is not a fix for the collapsing economic system PDF_Vers1_16Nov25Download

Facing the Economic Collapse: the Real Crisis Behind Money, Wages, and Freedom

Facing Uncomfortable Truths

It is regrettable that most people avoid confronting uncomfortable truths about the crisis we’re in.

Many actively ignore or dismiss what they know deep down to be true, preferring comfort over honesty.

But this habit of hiding from inconvenient realities isn’t new. It’s been passed down for generations. People have often chosen what feels good over what’s obviously right, leading us to our current predicament.

Pretending everything is normal, focusing only on ourselves, and letting others make decisions for us has brought us to the brink of systemic collapse.

The comfortable system we rely on is failing, and we must face this reality.

The Source of the Problem: Money

Many prefer to hear hard truths from trusted figures like academics or politicians, but deep down, we know the truth doesn’t depend on who says it.

It’s time to think, research, and analyse for ourselves.

At the heart of our problems is the money system. We’ve been conditioned to believe money is everything, shaping our choices and values around financial cost, reward, and status.

Yet, the money system itself is artificial. A belief system manipulated by private bankers, big businesses, and the politicians they control.

They change the rules to enrich themselves, transferring wealth and ownership away from ordinary people, all under the guise of normality.

Imminent System Collapse

Politicians obsess over “growth.” But for them, growth means increasing the size of the economy (GDP). Not helping small businesses or working people.

Real productivity has vanished as industries and assets have been sold off to those who profit from the system, while jobs have been outsourced.

GDP figures are misleading, counting money created through private finance and government borrowing multiple times. Politicians have tried to spend their way out of trouble, but even that strategy is failing.

With rising unemployment due to AI and unproductive sectors and a government so possessed by fear that they are regularly changing their minds, lenders are now worried the scam will be exposed.

Desperation has set in, and the government seems set to resort to ever-increasing taxes, hoping to keep the system afloat and their secrets hidden.

The System Enriches the Few

Prices keep rising while wages lag behind, making it harder for most people to keep up.

This isn’t new—it’s how the system was designed.

Once, a single working adult could support a family. But now, financial independence is reserved for the wealthy, while dependence and poverty are imposed on the rest of us.

The Myth of the Minimum Wage

The national minimum wage is misleading. It’s not enough to live on, but rather the lowest acceptable wage set by those in power, regardless of the real cost of living.

However, even the average wage isn’t enough for genuine financial freedom.

Financial Freedom Is the Solution

Almost every social problem can be traced back to the fact that the lowest-paid jobs don’t pay enough for people to live independently.

Admitting this would expose the system’s flaws and those who benefit from it.

The system survives by prioritizing money over people. Every decision made by those in power serves the money system. Not human needs.

Choosing People Over Money

If we want a better world, we must redirect government, business, and our rules to prioritize people, not money or the economy.

Unfortunately, our political leaders hide the truth instead of addressing it, covering up the growing cracks in the system.

Collapse Is Inevitable. But We Have a Choice

Systemic collapse is inevitable. But we can choose what comes next and who benefits.

If we do nothing, things will only get worse.

Those who created this mess believe they can protect themselves with wealth and security, but ordinary people will lose freedom.

The powerful will restrict our freedoms to protect their own interests.

Paradoxically, a collapse could be an opportunity.

If we embrace it, we can build a freer, fairer system for everyone. Something only possible when the current corrupt system is removed.

Our Local Future | FULL TEXT
Facing The Economic Collapse PDF_Vers1_14Nov25Download

Technology and Artificial Intelligence Should Only Fill Jobs When No Humans Are Available

The rise of artificial intelligence offers a stark and accessible example of how technology can be misused—driven by profit and control at the expense of people, communities, and the environment.

A difficult truth we must confront is that new technologies—whether in the form of methods, machines, or information—have often been adopted with little regard for the consequences they bring to those displaced by their implementation.

The prioritisation of technology over humanity has not only led to the loss of jobs, businesses, and local economies. It has also ushered in more exploitative and dehumanising working conditions for both adults and children. In many cases, human lives have been treated as expendable, so long as the final product appears perfect and profitable—concealing the harsh realities of its creation.

Technology and innovation themselves are not the enemy. The real threat lies in the motives of those who pursue profit and power, seeking to build a world tailored to their own interests while disregarding the value of others. What could have been a golden age for humanity is instead becoming a moment where humanity’s very existence is at risk.

If we continue to allow technology to be controlled by narrow interests—those who manipulate governance systems to serve themselves—we risk a future where human life is increasingly devalued.

Even the few who currently hold power may find that the very technologies they’ve harnessed will ultimately destroy them, or the environment they’ve shaped for their own survival.

The evidence of technological misuse is already clear. We must not allow systems that enable such manipulation to persist.

Future frameworks for governance must quietly but firmly embed safeguards that protect people.

These systems should make it clear that jobs and community contributions are more valuable than any technology designed to eliminate them.

The worth of human work and its role in society must always outweigh the perceived convenience or efficiency of technological replacements.

No matter how advanced technology becomes, the importance of meaningful work—for every individual and for the health of our communities—must always surpass the allure of automation.

Our Local Future | FULL TEXT
Tech and AI Should Never Replace Humans PDF_Vers1_13Nov25Download

Why People Can’t Just “Get a Job”

This morning, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivered her pre-budget statement ahead of the Autumn Budget, scheduled for 26th November.

Despite mounting welfare costs, Reeves offered no meaningful solutions — only strong hints that taxes will rise, paired with blame deflected onto everything and everyone except the government itself.

It’s no surprise, then, that Nigel Farage rushed out a bold announcement promising welfare cuts if Reform wins the next general election yesterday, while Tory leader Kemi Badenoch quickly followed Reeves with an online broadcast that, in substance, amounted to much the same.

As the government flounders, it seems poised to announce little of substance of savings on benefits or public services — yet millions already trapped in a financial vice not of their own making will see the cost of living rise again, working harder for ever-diminishing returns.

The Tories — who helped engineer the current crisis over their 14-year tenure up to summer 2024 — and Reform — now visibly undergoing their own establishmentisation makeover — aren’t offering help to people either. They’re offering help to the economy.

And that’s precisely where the problems began for those whose lives revolve around the benefits system today.

There are hard truths here. Truths that many untouched by poverty still find just a little too uncomfortable to believe.

There will always be people who are:

• Out of work for valid reasons

• Unable to work due to illness, disability, or caring responsibilities

But there are also many people who want to work and are able to work — yet still can’t. Why? Because:

• They can’t find jobs that match their experience

• They can’t find roles that fit their qualifications

• They simply don’t “fit” the mould employers are looking for

It’s easy to assume that anyone who wants a job can get one — any job, at any time. And it’s just as easy to judge those who don’t take “any job” as lazy, entitled, or abusing the benefits system.

But those who make these judgments often haven’t experienced what it’s like to be unemployed and dependent on state support.

The Reality of Benefits

Let’s be clear: basic benefits are not enough to live on.

We’re surrounded by comforting myths — stories we rarely question unless we’re forced to confront the truth. One of the most dangerous myths is that the National Minimum Wage is enough to live on independently.

Here’s the reality in November 2025:

• Universal Credit: Between £316.98 and £628.10 per month, depending on your circumstances

• Minimum Wage: £12.21/hour. For a 40-hour week, that’s about £2,116.40/month

• Actual cost of living: To live independently, a single person likely needs £16–£17/hour — around £2,773.33/month

That’s a shortfall of over £600/month, even for someone working full-time on minimum wage.

The Impossible Choice

Now imagine you’re unemployed, with no savings or support, and your only option is to claim £628.10/month. What do you do?

• Take a job that still doesn’t cover your basic needs?

• Or claim every benefit you can, just to survive?

For many, working full-time in a low-paid job — often under poor conditions and public judgment — while still needing benefits just doesn’t make sense.

The Myth of the “Benefits Culture”

The idea that claiming benefits is an easy ride is a myth. Genuine claimants are treated the same as those gaming the system. The rules are rigid, often making it harder — not easier — to find meaningful work.

Pushing people into low-paid jobs that still leave them reliant on benefits, food banks, or debt might reduce one type of welfare cost. But it could as easily increase the others — through the problems that an ill-considered attempt to push everyone into ‘work’ will create, like mental health issues, workplace burnout, and long-term poverty.

The AI Displacement Problem

A growing wave of joblessness is being driven not by lack of talent, but by the unnecessary and unchecked takeover of roles by artificial intelligence.

Skilled, experienced professionals — once vital to their industries — are being sidelined by automation that prioritizes cost-cutting over human value.

As more capable workers are pushed into the job queue, many will find themselves forced to claim benefits, not because they lack ability, but because the system no longer has space for them.

The Bigger Problem

Most people on benefits aren’t lazy — they’re surviving.

When life becomes a daily struggle, the benefits system can feel like the only option.

But simply cutting benefits without creating real alternatives — like jobs that pay enough to live on — risks pushing thousands into homelessness and crisis.

The Psychology of Work and Pay

Most people don’t need prestige — they need security.

If lower-paid or less challenging jobs guaranteed that workers could meet all their financial obligations and live with dignity, many would take them without hesitation.

The problem isn’t the work itself — it’s that the pay doesn’t match the cost of living.

When people know they can cover rent, bills, food, and essentials every month, they’re far more willing to contribute, even in roles that society undervalues.

What Needs to Change

We can’t fix the benefits system without fixing the economic system that creates the need for it.

If we want fewer people on benefits, we must:

• Build an economy where full-time work pays enough to live on — without top-ups

• Stop supporting a system that enriches a few by impoverishing the many.

Until the government legislates for a fairer system — one where the lowest-paid can live independently on a full day’s work — poverty will persist.

That’s where real change begins.

Did you know that Statistical Averages suggest we need to earn about £9.41 an hour net to live. But the real-world figure is probably £14+?
The Basic Living Standard Explained
Our Local Future | FULL TEXT
Why People Cant Just Get a Job PDF_Vers1_4Nov25Download

The Basic Living Standard Explained

The Basic Living Standard is a foundational guarantee that ensures every individual earning the lowest legal weekly wage can afford all essential costs of living—without falling into debt, relying on welfare, or turning to charity.

It defines the minimum threshold of financial independence, where core needs—such as food, housing, utilities, healthcare, transport, clothing, communication, and modest social participation—are fully covered by earned income alone. It also includes provision for savings, unexpected costs, and fair contributions to society.

This standard is not aspirational—it is structural. It affirms that full-time work at the lowest wage must equate to full dignity, autonomy, and security.

***

No food banks. No emergency loans. No skipped prescriptions or unpaid bills. Just a life that’s livable, sustainable, and free from poverty.

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