Last week hundreds of thousands of public sector works went on strike across the country in protest over their pay and conditions.
The industrial action closed hundreds of schools and many public services ceased to function for a whole 24 hours.
Some commentators have claimed that the action was politically motivated and the aim was to make a statement about the Coalition Government and its policies.
However, there is no doubt that people in public sector jobs such as teaching and local government have seen a real cut in wages and tougher working conditions. But the reality is that we have all had to endure some tough times as a result of the financial crisis and the downturn.
Redundancies have been kept to a minimum and that is largely as a result of depressed wages over the last six years.
We have all been forced to tighten our belts and hopefully we will start to enjoy the rewards as the economy starts to recover and get back to the position we enjoyed in the immediate years before 2008.
The reality is that we were spending far too much on our public sector and something had to be done to redress the balance. Private wealth and capital create wealth not Government investment, that has been proved time and time again.
In fact you do not have to look far to see the full effect of failing to keep control on Government spending. Many of our neighbours on the Continent are still struggling to recover from the downturn because they have still to get the balance right between public and private.
Here in the UK we are looking at an economy that is growing faster than many other countries in Europe. There is still a long way to go but we are looking in a stronger position than many of our traditional rivals to take full advantage of the economic recovery.
But getting the conditions right for a strong and sustainable economy is not just about Government policies and fiscal strategies it is also about individuals taking personal responsibility.
If we are going to retain our position as an economic power house we all need to play a part in the process.
Hopefully, we have all learned some lessons from what has taken place over the last five years. Government, business and our financial institutions all have a role to play and need to make sure the mistakes of the past are not repeated.
It is important when the boom returns not to slip back into the complacency and bad habits which were at the root of the financial crash of 2008.
But it is also important that all of us adopt the right attitude, we can no longer afford to live in a country where people are not prepared to play an active part in creating a stronger economy.
We all need to be asking ourselves what we can bring to the table as individuals rather than asking what the country should be doing for us.
Hamilton Bradshaw 