I think some of this is down to a drip, drip, drip of measures by successive governments that have made money king and seriously disadvantaged those without it. My memory stretches back as far as Thatcher but I'm sure there's folks here who can fill in the blanks. In no particular order...

Thatcher's "Everyone's out for themselves" attitude - The cacky old witch destroyed society and what was left of local democracy so now there's no pride in your local community and neighbours don't hold each other in check. I think this also goes some way to explaining why people don't take responsibility for their actions these days. If there's no one around to judge you and you can try it on with a court case - like that guy who sued William Hill because they didn't stop him betting - then some people obviously think it's worth trying it on.

Getting rid of grammar schools - Not perfect, but they were often the only way for poor kids to get out of the rut they were in. Streaming in schools wasn't ideal either but at least it gave kids who wanted to try the opportunity to better themselves.

Debasement of the teaching profession - More paperwork, less recognition for teachers etc so who could blame them when they stopped supporting after school sports and other clubs. And where can you hold lessons after Mrs Thatch sold off countless school playing fields?

Abolition of student grants - If you have to borrow £££ to go to university it's not surprising many from poorer backgrounds don't bother these days.

The government not accepting the EU's minimum wage recommendations in full - Labour bowed to big business and slashed the amount employers had to pay. Shame on them!

Unfair and bureaucratic tax system - There's been a massive shift in the tax burden from rich to poor over the last 20 years. Why this government scrapped the 10p tax band rather than clamping down on fat cats is beyond me.

Lack of role models/ wrong ones - Footballers and WAGS have replaced anyone of substance. If you can snag a sports star why bother with your exams? Besides, academics get paid a pittance anyway.

Nothing for kids to do these days - If you have to get a police check to run a Scouts group, say, then why bother? Also most folks are out for themselves these days (see first point above) so the thought of doing something for their local community wouldn't occur to them.

I could go on all day. I think it's easy to say 'birch kids', 'bring back National Service' or 'blame the PC brigade' but in my humble opinion the situation we find ourselves in is way more complicated than that. Hence this long post (well done if you've got this far).

I agree that every generation has a problem with its youths, but where do they get their ideas from other than all of us? My lad's an empty vessel - he's learning from me, his mum and society as a whole. We get the kids we deserve.