Our countries leader's

[AmericanRam]

Just been reading a lot of political stuff today.What are the main policies,laws, and more about England or just the UK in general would you like to see put forth by the leaders of your country and changed?If not living in US or UK feel free to talk about other countries also.

For the US, I would like to see major overhauls in our gun laws, more emphasis on grade-school literacy,stricter sentences for certain crimes,etc.Hopefully the leaders here can do some of this.

Thoughts?

[Badlands]

Minimum wage and Living wage are the biggies for me.

 

I count myself lucky at being in a relatively secure, just above minimum wage job straight out of Uni. I can pay my rent and bills, and can live a relatively comfortable life. That said the chances of having any savings by the time i'm in my late 20's, and looking at buying a house, settling down etc, are zero. 

 

Zero hour contracts are a disgrace

Job opportunities for young people are a disgrace

Graduate schemes are a myth, the company i work for had 50,000 applicants for 25 positions, good luck with that. 

 

Like i said i count myself very lucky, most people i went to University with have moved back home and are struggling for any element of work. I feel very fortunate that i have no desire, within the next year or two at least, to properly grow up thus

[i-Ram]

I didn't read the article Badlands, as your post was depressing enough. .. And by that I am not taking the pi$$; it is just a very depressing picture you paint. My only bit of advice is not to consider yourself very fortunate you have no desire to properly grow up. You are at an age now that despite the difficulties out there in the job market you really need to make an impression. You seem to be one step ahead of a great many already. Get out there mate, and push to be 2 or 3 steps ahead. Nothing wrong with work or ambition in a dog eat dog world.

[Dale The Ram]

I want a working class person in power Aram! Don't like any of them! Plus I don't have a say in the General election until im 21!!!

[eddie]

There's certainly no room for a 'comfort zone' work-wise. 

[Day]

Education

• Scrap student loans
• Scrap BS Uni courses
• Modernise GCSE's, introduce subjects that we use in everyday life, not Religious education, reading Shakespeare or prime numbers in maths. DIY skills, how to control your finances, applying for jobs and IT should no longer be optional etc.
• Reduce school holidays 

Work & Benefits

• Flat rate minimum wage for all ages
• 6 Months free on Job Seekers Allowance, after that you must do 3 days voluntary work or work for the council cleaning streets, parks and other public areas to receive money
• Bums that will never work issue vouchers to pay utility bills, food and clothes. Vouchers need to be redeemed with photo ID and cannot be sold.
• Pregnant women are not put to the top of the housing list unless they have been in 1 years employment and still employed when they fell pregnant
• No special housing treatment for immigrants either, house them in hostels 

Internet & Social Media

• You must be 18+ to be on any form of social media including forums
• Internet Police, long overdue

Other Stuff

• Make prostitution legal with designated areas covered by CCTV, prostitutes must have a valid working pass which includes medicals every 6 months. If they want to sell their bodies, let them.
• Marijuana legalise it for 21 and over, illegal to smoke in public, no mini Amsterdam over here or anything but in your own home fine, can be bought from smoking shops.
• Alcohol and cigarettes minimum age 21 years old
• Ban women from football grounds

[RLACML]

Why scrap student loans Daveo? I completely agree that far too many people go to Uni so they need to cut the bs degrees but no loans means less advantaged people couldn't go. You need to give the opportunities to all, then only the best should go.

Minimum wage is bull, let the market sort out prices.

Voucher benefits, with no gambling, alcohol or cigarettes allowed.

I'd like many NHS reforms but that won't happen.

Plastic bag tax is coming in next year. Not sure where the money will go but it should go to dealing with environmental issues.

[VulcanRam]

I'd prefer leaders in America to place more emphasis on teaching the correct use of an apostrophe.

[Posh Ram]

I really want to see a greater devolution of power amongst the four countries of the UK. And for Cameron to be strong and stand up to UKIP - he wants us to stay in the EU yet is being so weak on the issue, just letting Farage bully him into holding a referendum when the majority of the British public don't know enough about the issue to make an informed decision.

[Day]

Why scrap student loans Daveo? I completely agree that far too many people go to Uni so they need to cut the bs degrees but no loans means less advantaged people couldn't go. You need to give the opportunities to all, then only the best should go.

 

It will sort the real students out from the ones there just for the lifestyle, having to go into the real world, work their arses off and save to afford to go into further education. (Uni courses would be far cheaper and accommodation deals for students put in place) It's not taking opportunities away from anyone but it shouldn't be handed to people on a plate, oh pay us back when you start earning x amount, no, far too easy and starting life out in debt isn't sending out the right message.

 

It's not right that students can come out say 21 having never worked a day in their life and in thousands of debt with a degree in farmer giles piles.

[R@M]

Agree with most of the stuff mentioned.....which is rare.

But......Zero hour contracts can be an excellent opportunity to take control of your work/life balance. Eg: working mums, part time jobs, people who are also carers as you can decide when and how much you work.

Sorry Daveo, but Shakespeare is a fundamental building block to understanding the English Language. But agree with the religious ed bit. The amount of time wasted on that could be incorporated into the current general studies sausage and used for the stuff you mentioned.

My only real political annoyance is that people continue to vote Labour. They bankrupted the nation. The fact their chief appointed economist ( and future unelected prime minister) sold all our gold reserves is bad enough, but to announce he was going to do this before hand is crazy, it reduced the value of gold to the point that when he then sold it, it was worth literally billions less.

Vote for anyone....I don't care....but not that bunch of muppets.

[Dr. Gonzo]

our country is "lead" by the least amongst us

[May Contain Nuts]

Public flogging to be reintroduced for misuse of apostrophes

[Anon]

The university situation is a complete mess. I didn't mind the old system where the top 15% were funded by the tax payer and I have to wonder who exactly the new system benefits. You now need a degree for fairly low level positions because >50% go to university, so the degree is worth much less than it used to be, but costs so much more.

 

When I went to my sister's graduation a few years ago the dean spent the majority of his speech talking about how profitable the university was. It was quite bizarre.

[AmericanRam]

<p>

Education

• Scrap student loans
• Scrap BS Uni courses
• Modernise GCSE's, introduce subjects that we use in everyday life, not Religious education, reading Shakespeare or prime numbers in maths. DIY skills, how to control your finances, applying for jobs and IT should no longer be optional etc.
• Reduce school holidays

Work & Benefits

• Flat rate minimum wage for all ages
• 6 Months free on Job Seekers Allowance, after that you must do 3 days voluntary work or work for the council cleaning streets, parks and other public areas to receive money
• Bums that will never work issue vouchers to pay utility bills, food and clothes. Vouchers need to be redeemed with photo ID and cannot be sold.
• Pregnant women are not put to the top of the housing list unless they have been in 1 years employment and still employed when they fell pregnant
• No special housing treatment for immigrants either, house them in hostels

Internet & Social Media

• You must be 18+ to be on any form of social media including forums
• Internet Police, long overdue

Other Stuff

• Make prostitution legal with designated areas covered by CCTV, prostitutes must have a valid working pass which includes medicals every 6 months. If they want to sell their bodies, let them.
• Marijuana legalise it for 21 and over, illegal to smoke in public, no mini Amsterdam over here or anything but in your own home fine, can be bought from smoking shops.
• Alcohol and cigarettes minimum age 21 years old
• Ban women from football grounds

Some great points,especially about the student loans and minimum wage.The US minimum wage is just 7.25 and that is way below several other countries.

Student loans? Well I myself owe over 40k due to loans I got during my undegrad and grad degrees.Was it worth it? I think so as I have a good job now.However, the same cannot be said for others.For instance I know a few people who owe tons more than I do because they attended an extremely high college.Also bad degree choices as well.

Student loans are the only way a lot of people can attend college; that was easily the case with me.No way I or my parents could afford to pay out of pocket for me or my brother.However,I would like to see stricter guidelines on getting student loans: Your GPA has to be a certain number,your degree must be relevant to current job trends,etc.Alas the US wants that money it seems and not sure what can be done to help the thousands or perhaps millions of college grads in debt.

[Mafiabob]

Agree with most of the stuff mentioned.....which is rare.

But......Zero hour contracts can be an excellent opportunity to take control of your work/life balance. Eg: working mums, part time jobs, people who are also carers as you can decide when and how much you work.

Sorry Daveo, but Shakespeare is a fundamental building block to understanding the English Language. But agree with the religious ed bit. The amount of time wasted on that could be incorporated into the current general studies sausage and used for the stuff you mentioned.

My only real political annoyance is that people continue to vote Labour. They bankrupted the nation. The fact their chief appointed economist ( and future unelected prime minister) sold all our gold reserves is bad enough, but to announce he was going to do this before hand is crazy, it reduced the value of gold to the point that when he then sold it, it was worth literally billions less.

Vote for anyone....I don't care....but not that bunch of muppets.

At yet they still are ahead in the opinion polls....

Some might say the other way around.... That the Tories create a decisive nation.... Bringing the NHS to its knees again.

Zero hour contracts are a big one for me also. Worked at places where people don't know if they are working the next day or not pleading for work.

Seen people in tears being told they are not needed the next day.

Bedroom tax may be in theory practical. But doesn't take into account one main thing. And for me this is the biggest flaw.

Imagine a family growing up in a council house, kids have moved out... Either Mam or Dad have died... Yet they are the oy one living there.

Lived there twenty/thirty years turning into a home from a house.... Built up memories and been kept a loving home for all of time.

Now the single occupant has to move because a tax has been put on there underused bedrooms.... And are forced to move out into a flat where they no know one, maybe miles from there relatives.

Now tell me where's the compassion in that?

Don't get me wrong Labour have got there faults I will admit that.... But every other party have to.... Including UKIP.

[RLACML]

Our progressive tax system is one of the biggest injustices in society today. I'd like it changed

[ossieram]

Just watch Prime ministers question time and ask yourself if you would trust any of those ***** to bring in any sensible policies that are for everybody in the country and not just their target voters.

Anybody asking a sensible question gets shouted down and then are answered with a question.

I'd sack all the ***** and start again.

[EastKentRam]

Our progressive tax system is one of the biggest injustices in society today. I'd like it changed

 

Being taxed at all is the biggest injustice in society today. 

[EastKentRam]

And instead of scrapping student loans, why not just make education free for everyone.