Comrade 86 Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 4 hours ago, Grumpy Git said: When I asked him what he thought about "Obamacare", he went on a rant and accused Barack Obama of being a Communist. Sounds like a few on here then. Does he post? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EtoileSportiveDeDerby Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 1 hour ago, cstand said: Well the wife has just come back after completing the holy grail........ a pack of four toilet rolls no less. Mine gave away 9 rolls to neighbours in need (the nice soft one from Costco), if he asks again they can have the wife I am keeping the bog rolls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstand Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 49 minutes ago, EtoileSportiveDeDerby said: Mine gave away 9 rolls to neighbours in need (the nice soft one from Costco), if he asks again they can have the wife I am keeping the bog rolls My neighbours are ok she could have bought a 9 pack bag from the small shop she found selling them but left them for other folk who require that amount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sith Happens Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 18 minutes ago, cstand said: I never had the chance to go university at 16yrs old I had no choice but to get a full time job. You mean back in the day when people who went to uni were proper clever and not like today were lots go just to put off having to go to work??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comrade 86 Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 32 minutes ago, cstand said: I never had the chance to go university at 16yrs old I had no choice but to get a full time job. The point I'm making as I'm sure you are aware, is that if you come from a generation that paid duck all for a University education you need to stop bleating about kids having a few quid wiped off the huge debts they incur these days. Even in 'normal times' I'd take no issue but these are anything but. It's one thing to be bothered about folk getting something you had to work for, it's another altogether when said thing was available to you free of charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstand Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 6 minutes ago, Paul71 said: You mean back in the day when people who went to uni were proper clever and not like today were lots go just to put off having to go to work??? Back in my day I can remember two class mates whose parents expected them to go to uni they had no choice, one of them hated it, when he finished got a job as a policeman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstand Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 40 minutes ago, 86 Schmokes & a Pancake said: The point I'm making as I'm sure you are aware, is that if you come from a generation that paid duck all for a University education you need to stop bleating about kids having a few quid wiped off the huge debts they incur these days. Even in 'normal times' I'd take no issue but these are anything but. It's one thing to be bothered about folk getting something you had to work for, it's another altogether when said thing was available to you free of charge. No it’s not about that it’s about the dangers of telling young people that debt can easily be written off when they are thinking of starting uni I don’t mean folk who have been to uni who have debt and don’t have a job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comrade 86 Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 55 minutes ago, cstand said: No it’s not about that it’s about the dangers of telling young people that debt can easily be written off when they are thinking of starting uni I don’t mean folk who have been to uni who have debt and don’t have a job. I'm sorry but this makes literally zero sense to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ariotofmyown Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 7 hours ago, King Kevin said: There is a god after all. Hope you are doing ok Kev. It's a tough time for lots of people. Please reach out to someone if you are struggling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 On 18/03/2020 at 13:51, ariotofmyown said: Scandinavia seems to have done pretty well on most measures after usually left leaning governments over a number of years. Depends on how you define looking after the majority of people. America seems to have loads of very serious social problems, but a high GDP so it's all good. I don’t think it is right or scientific to use Scandinavia as an example. These are countries with large land masses and few people. Often with substantial natural resources and low national debt. .. they have space and wealth. I have no problem parking, just be like me it’s much less stressful, but then again .. I’ve got a big driveway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highgate Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 35 minutes ago, jono said: I don’t think it is right or scientific to use Scandinavia as an example. These are countries with large land masses and few people. Often with substantial natural resources and low national debt. .. they have space and wealth. I have no problem parking, just be like me it’s much less stressful, but then again .. I’ve got a big driveway. Denmark is a small country with a reasonably high population density (more than 3 times that of the US) and few natural resources. They are far from perfect, but I don't see why their model couldn't be scaled up to a larger population size if desired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of Clough Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 15 hours ago, Grumpy Git said: Just think about this little fact: Anyone with a student loan (which was sold-off to a private company), is now paying 5,300% more interest than the Bank of England base rate. (5,300% NOT a typo)! A typical £50,000 student loan would cost approximately £2,700 in interest for the first year (@ 5.4%) A £50,000 loan at the BoE base rate would cost £50 in interest in the first year (@ 0.1%). I wonder who is trousering the £2,650 difference? So little is paid off, it should actually be called a tax on education rather than a loan 14 hours ago, cstand said: So we as a country are telling young people don’t worry about your student loan it will just get written off if not repaid god help us. Basically, but the motivation should be with the person to earn as much as they can to benefit themselves and their family, and pay as much off as possible as a result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of Clough Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 10 hours ago, cstand said: No it’s not about that it’s about the dangers of telling young people that debt can easily be written off when they are thinking of starting uni I don’t mean folk who have been to uni who have debt and don’t have a job. They still have to worry about living (food accommodation, bills, etc) and often it's the first time they're living independently. It's hardly like they're given an unlimited pot of cash and can spend it how they want - they still have to budget themselves. But, after a certain point, the loan is just a number. Despite being in the top 30% of taxpayers, the interest on my loan in the last month is equal to the amount I've repaid in the last year! To simply pay off the interest, I have to be in the top 2.5% of earners (taxpayers only). It's a floored system but it's not as if student don't have to pay anything back. It's also cheaper for the government if people to go to university rather than be unemployed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamworthram Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 15 hours ago, EtoileSportiveDeDerby said: Mine gave away 9 rolls to neighbours in need (the nice soft one from Costco), if he asks again they can have the wife I am keeping the bog rolls You can afford to give away 9 rolls? You haven’t been stockpiling have you?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstand Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 26 minutes ago, Tamworthram said: You can afford to give away 9 rolls? You haven’t been stockpiling have you?? Since my two kids have flown the nest toilet roll usage has decreased dramatically we used to stockpile in case of a Kevin and Perry teenage tantrum if we ever dare run out, now they live in the real world and probably feel guilty they often ask us if we need anything when they go shopping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 12 hours ago, Highgate said: Denmark is a small country with a reasonably high population density (more than 3 times that of the US) and few natural resources. They are far from perfect, but I don't see why their model couldn't be scaled up to a larger population size if desired. It’s population density is considerably lower than England it also has had a balance of trade surplus for the last 20 plus years and as a result one of the lowest debts/GDP ratio in Europe. Norway has something like £ 100k per citizen in the national bank/sovereign wealth fund .. it has no debt. Sweden has one of the largest arms industries amongst other things. Most of the Scandinavian countries apart from Sweden have a marked anti immigration stance. I do share your desire for a liberal caring society, and there are things we can learn from the Scandies but scaling it up isn’t that simplistic until we reach a point where we sell more than we buy we will always struggle to provide the society we all want, regardless of political affiliations ( except the extreme ideologues on both sides ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EtoileSportiveDeDerby Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 2 hours ago, Tamworthram said: You can afford to give away 9 rolls? You haven’t been stockpiling have you?? Nope went to Costco before it all kicked off, I told her these things we wipe our a**e with are the new bitcoins! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highgate Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 2 hours ago, jono said: It’s population density is considerably lower than England it also has had a balance of trade surplus for the last 20 plus years and as a result one of the lowest debts/GDP ratio in Europe. Norway has something like £ 100k per citizen in the national bank/sovereign wealth fund .. it has no debt. Sweden has one of the largest arms industries amongst other things. Most of the Scandinavian countries apart from Sweden have a marked anti immigration stance. I do share your desire for a liberal caring society, and there are things we can learn from the Scandies but scaling it up isn’t that simplistic until we reach a point where we sell more than we buy we will always struggle to provide the society we all want, regardless of political affiliations ( except the extreme ideologues on both sides ) Of course, simply scaling up is over-simplification. but as political models go, the Scandinavian countries are doing quite a bit right. Each country is different and faces it's own set of challenges, but in many respects I think the Scandies can be seen as a positive example to others. Also I think the national balance of trade is not necessarily as crucial as many people think it is. Incidentally the population density of England on it's own it's 430 people per square kilometre, which is incredibly high. Higher even than the Low Countries. Not including tiny islands and city states Only Bangladesh, Lebanon and South Korea have higher population densities in the entire world. Maybe you should be modelling yourselves on Singapore ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 @Highgate .personally I think that balance of trade is absolutely critical for a nation to be able to afford the things we (well most of us) want to see in society Net Exporting countries don’t all do the right thing, but I suspect if you looked at the world in a broad sense, the countries that have a trade surplus are more likely to have more people living well or seeing improving living standards year on year there is an issue as to what defines an export when we get to services but as a rule of thumb it stands up. it is no accident that since the U.K. has been running out of North Sea Oil, no longer has a significant a manufacturing base that imports cheap raw materials and exports higher value manufactured goods it has been in decline. The same applies to most larger “old” European power houses. Germany has hung on but I sincerely believe it is a shift that has been happening at a level above party politics and deck chair moving economics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Ram for All Seasons Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 38 minutes ago, Highgate said: Most of the Scandinavian countries apart from Sweden have a marked anti immigration stance. Very true. The Danes seem to have the attitude that everybody from south of about Hamburg is a Roman Catholic pickpocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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