Because you're baiting me.
Well maybe getting you to say anything of substance is like trying to get blood out of a stone. Anyway, the maximum wage is a daft idea right?
Chat Forum
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The Tories - for those of us old enough to remember 1st hand
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Posted 2 years ago #
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However, if I do make an effort I'll run rings around you.
Hmm. The last time i noticed your efforts you were claiming that having a relative on Sky TV gave you more credentials to speak on the miners' strike than anyone else. For Michael Howard it was the night, might it be the playground for your good self? If not, I think it's time for one of the little white tablets and a lie down.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I can't remember the tax paid in Thatchers day but I can remember the growing costs today.
Before April the 1st my car tax was £175 a year. Now its £200. Ontop of this I damaged the suspension on my car recently (£150). Then theres the massive tax on fuel, NI going up, Council tax rises, water rate rises, gas bill massive rises, food thats increasing.
You name it. Vote for who ever you want but my criteria would be to vote on current performance. I don't think Labour is covering itself in glory.
Yet again he Conservatives (remember Hague) are being led by an empty suit so it looks like Labour again. Depressing.
Posted 2 years ago # -
>so it looks like Labour again.
You're voting Labour ?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Never. Im saying the Conservatives arent helping themselves. They picked a safe leader who doesn't seem to have anything leadership-wise/inspiring' about him
Posted 2 years ago # -
hora,
I've tried to make this point already, but there is more to this than politics.
Things are getting more expensive due to the fundamental limits of economic growth on our planet.
In the last 20 years the world population has grown from less than 5 billion to nearly 7 billion AND those of us in the west in particular are consuming ever more resources. We are running short of wood, fish, water, space and perhaps most importantly, oil.
It is not possible to legislate to increase any of these things. IMO the party to vote for is the one that is most likely to accept that these things are becoming problematic rather than peddling the story that economic growth can go on indefinitely.
I'm afraid it's inevitable that many things will become increasingly expensive in the future, whoever is in power.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Can someone define "rich" for me? I need to know if I should be envious or smug.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Ok, so I'll finally wade into this... and not on one side or the other..
RPRT - are you familiar with the trickle down effect?
Posted 2 years ago # -
I'm familiar with the term, yes. But you'll be unsurprised to hear that I don't subscribe to the thoery.
Posted 2 years ago # -
But you'll be unsurprised to hear that I don't subscribe to the thoery.
Can't say that I blame you; it was one of those ideas that people got very excited about in the late 80s and early 90s and is now taken about as seriously as Francis Fukuyama's 'End of History' thesis.
Mind you, people still read Ayn Rand and find 'truth' in it so there's no hope really.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Things are getting more expensive...
Which things? Food, travel, motoring, computing, telecoms, clothes etc have never been cheaper.Posted 2 years ago # -
Which things? Food, travel, motoring, computing, telecoms, clothes etc have never been cheaper.
Just to take one example - but an important one I think - petrol/diesel?
Some people might include that as a cost in your categories of travel and motoring, but of course it is having a knock on effect into ALL of the other areas.
Happy to go through them one by one, but maybe someone else would like a go?
Posted 2 years ago # -
This used to say something deeply profound that would have transformed this country. But re-reading earlier posts, I can't see the point now.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Good price comparison chart at the bottom of the page of this weblink
Posted 2 years ago # -
luked2,
Can you try making your point again - not sure what you mean.
Posted 2 years ago # -
But you'll be unsurprised to hear that I don't subscribe to the thoery.
Purely interested here - why does it not work? All the money that is 'made', where does it go?
Posted 2 years ago # -
EDIT: would you beleive the rich keep it to themselves,they dont enegae in great acts of philanthrophy, but they keep it to themselves. Perhaps you could explain why it trickles down?
I like the fact that tiger roach just posted questions on every one of their posts and never answered anything.... a rather poor debating technique.I dont get that link re inflation either.
This notion that everyne who is wealthy has worked hard for it, with the implication that everyone poor is lazy and has not worked hard is BS. The trickle down effect is also complete BS as well.
FROM WIKI: in his Cross of Gold speech 1896, Democrat William Jennings Bryan said:
There are those who believe that, if you will only legislate to make the well-to-do prosperous, their prosperity will leak through on those below. The Democratic idea, however, has been that if you legislate to make the masses prosperous, their prosperity will find its way up through every class which rests up on them.
Posted 2 years ago # -
molgrips,
Have a look at "money as debt" on youtube - it explains how money becomes concentrated in the hands of the already wealthy.
You need to understand how money is created before you can understand why it doesn't "trickle down" from the wealthy to the poor.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Well surely if rich people make a ton of money, they spend it in the economy? And if they hoard it in banks, well then that's extra capital for the banks to use money to make even more, no?
Yes of course the rich make a lot, but they don't keep it as gold bullion in a safe forever, do they?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Junkyard - well that ain't true and as I didn't get answers I kept pushing then got bored.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Robert Tressel's "Great Money Trick" springs to mind
"Money is the real cause of poverty," said Sipho.
"Prove it," said Thandi.
"Money is the cause of poverty because it is the
device by which those who are too lazy to work are
enabled to rob the workers of the fruits of our labour."
"Prove it," repeated Thandi.
Sipho slowly folded up the piece of newspaper he
had been reading and put it into his pocket.
"All right," he replied, "I'll show you how the Great
Money Trick is worked."
Sipho opened his lunchbox and took from it two
slices of bread, but as these were not enough, he
asked that anyone who had some bread left should
give it to him. They gave him several pieces, which
he placed in a heap on a clean piece of paper, and,
having borrowed the knives they used to cut and eat
their lunches with from Nkosi, Thandi and Abendigo,
he addressed them as follows:
"These pieces of bread represent the raw materials
which exist naturally in and on the earth for the
use of all people; they were not made by any human
being, but were created for the benefit and suste-
nance of all, the same as were the air and the light
of the sun."
"Now," continued Sipho, "I am a capitalist; or
rather, I represent the bosses and landlords; the
Capitalist Class. That is to say, all these raw materials
belong to me. It does not matter for our present
argument how I got possession of them: the only
thing that matters now is the admitted fact that all the
raw materials which are necessary for the production
of the necessaries of life are now the property of the
Capitalist Class. I am that class: all these raw materials
belong to me."
"Now you three represent the Working Class.
You have nothing, and for my part, although I have
these raw materials, they are of no use to me. What
I need is the things that can be made out of these
raw materials by work: but I am too lazy to work for
myself. But first I must explain that I possess some-
thing else besides the raw materials. These three
knives represent all the machinery of production: the
factories, tools, railways, and so forth, without which
the necessaries of life cannot be produced in abun-
dance. And these three coins" - taking three 5 cent
pieces out of his pocket - "represent my money, capital."Sipho proceeded to cut up one of the slices of
bread into a number of little square blocks.
"These represent the things which are produced
by labour, aided by machinery, from the raw materials.
We will suppose that a week's work is worth one
Rand."
Sipho now spoke to the Working Class as represented
by Nkosi, Thandi and Abendigo.
"You say that you are all in need of employment,
and as I am the kind-hearted Capitalist Class, I am
going to invest all my money in various industries, so
as to give you plenty of work. I shall pay each of you
one Rand per week, and a week's work is that you
must each produce three of these square blocks.
For doing this work you will each receive your
wages; the money will be your own, to do as you like
with, and the things you produce will of course be
mine, to do as I like with.
You will each take one of these machines and as
soon as you have done a week's work, you shall
have your money."
The Working Class accordingly set to work, and
the Capitalist Class sat down and watched them. As
soon as they had finished, they passed the nine little
blocks to Sipho, who placed them on a piece of
paper by his side and paid the workers their wages.
"These blocks represent the necessaries of life.
You can't live without some of these things, but as
they belong to me, you will have to buy them from
me: my price for these blocks is, one Rand each."
As the Working Class were in need of the neces-
saries of life and as they could not eat, drink or wear
the useless money, they were compelled to agree to
the kind capitalist's terms. They each bought back,
and at once consumed, one-third of the produce of
their labour. The Capitalist Class also devoured two
of the square blocks, and so the net result of the
week's work was that the kind capitalist had con-
sumed two Rand's worth of the things produced by
the labour of the others, and reckoning the squares
at their market value of one Rand each, he had more
than doubled his capital, for he still possessed the
three Rands in money and in addition four Rands
worth of goods. As for the Working Class, Nkosi,
Thandi and Abendigo, having each consumed the
Rand's worth of necessaries they had bought with
their wages, they were again in precisely the same
condition as when they started work - they had nothing.This process was repeated several times: for
each week's work the producers were paid their
wages. They kept on working and spending all their
earnings. The kind-hearted capitalist consumed
twice as much as any one of them and his pool of
wealth continually increased. In a little while, reckoning
the little squares at their market value of one
Rand each, he was worth about one hundred Rand,
and the Working Class was still in the same condition
as when they began, and were still tearing into
their work as if their lives depended upon it.
After a while the rest of the crowd began to laugh,
and their merriment increased when the kind-heart-
ed capitalist, just after having sold a Rand's worth of
necessaries to each of his workers, suddenly took
their tools, the machinery of production, the knives,
away from them, and informed them that as owing to
over-production, all his storehouses were full-to-
bursting with the necessaries of life, he had decided
to close down the works.
"Well, and what the bloody hell are we to do
now?" demanded Thandi.
"That's not my business," replied the kind-hearted
capitalist. "I've paid your wages, and provided you
with plenty of work for a long time past. I have no
more work for you to do at present. Come round
again in a few months' time and I'll see what I can do
for you."
"But what about the necessaries of life?"
Demanded Nkosi.
"We must have something to eat."
"Of course you must," replied the capitalist, in a
friendly way; "and I shall be very pleased to sell you
some."
"But we haven't got any bloody money!"
"Well, you can't expect me to give you my goods
for nothing! You didn't work for me for nothing, you
know.
I paid you for your work and you should have saved
something: you should have been careful like me.
Look how I have got on by being careful!"
The unemployed looked
blankly at e a c h other, but the rest of the crowd
only laughed; and then the three unemployed
began to abuse the kind-hearted capitalist, demanding that he
should give them some of the necessaries of life that
he had piled up in his warehouses, or to be allowed
to work and produce some more for their own needs;
and even threatened to take some of the things by
force if he did not agree with their demands. But the
kind-hearted capitalist told them not to be cheeky,
and spoke to them about honesty, and said if they
were not careful he would have their faces battered
in for them by the police, or if necessary he would
call out the army and have them shot down like
dogs, the same as he had done before at many other
places.Posted 2 years ago # -
Posted 2 years ago # -
Uplink - so they started out with nothing and ended up with nothing? Also, the capitalist has a surplus of products which are depreciating in value as demand far exceeds supply. Are there no other capitalists to give them work? Or a state to tax them all in order to provide support when they need? Or a bank to loan them the money to go into business for themselves?
Posted 2 years ago # -
tiger roach, it's a parable.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Let's just remember that without capitalism we would all still be hunter gatherers.
Bad or not? You decide.
Posted 2 years ago # -
molgrips, have you watched that video yet?
Posted 2 years ago # -
tiger that was completely lost on you wasn't it[rhetorical point in case that was lost in you too]. As RPRT said it is a parable and the message is clearly lost on you.
Perhaps you could read the parable of the sower and reconsider your view that everyone who succeeds has done it from their own endevaours ?Posted 2 years ago # -
No I'm at work.
Posted 2 years ago # -
FFS I'm just saying that it is irrelevant.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Just duck next time something like that comes along tiger
Posted 2 years ago # -
par·a·ble /ˈpærəbəl/ Show Spelled[par-uh-buhl] Show IPA
–noun
1.a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.
2.a statement or comment that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy, or the like.
I would have thought the message of the parable was fairly clear for any reader.
I initially thought your response to it was sarcasm but I over estimated you ...wont let it happen again.Posted 2 years ago # -
ar·gu·men·ta·tive /ˌɑrgyəˈmɛntətɪv/ Show Spelled[ahr-gyuh-men-tuh-tiv] Show IPA
–adjective
1. fond of or given to argument and dispute; disputatious; contentious: The law students were an unusually argumentative group.
2. of or characterized by argument; controversial: an argumentative attitude toward political issues.
3. Law . arguing or containing arguments suggesting that a certain fact tends toward a certain conclusion.Posted 2 years ago # -
I stopped reading at the bosses too lazy to work bit.
Socialist clap trap.
Posted 2 years ago # -
bastard [ˈbɑːstəd ˈbæs-]
n
1. Informal, offensive an obnoxious or despicable person
2. Informal, often humorous or affectionate a person, esp a man lucky bastard
3. Informal something extremely difficult or unpleasant that job is a real bastard
4. Old-fashioned or offensive a person born of unmarried parents; an illegitimate baby, child, or adult
5. something irregular, abnormal, or inferior
6. Talkemada
7. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Breeds) a hybrid, esp an accidental or inferior one
adj (prenominal)
1. Old-fashioned or offensive illegitimate by birth
2. irregular, abnormal, or inferior in shape, size, or appearance
3. resembling a specified thing, but not actually being such a bastard cedar
4. counterfeit; spurious
[from Old French bastart, perhaps from bast in the phrase fils de bast son of the packsaddle (that is, of an unlawful and not the marriage bed), from Medieval Latin bastum packsaddle, of uncertain origin]
Posted 2 years ago # -
con·de·scend·ing bell·end Spelled[kon-duh-sen-ding bell-en-de]
–adjective
1. showing or implying a usually patronizing descent from dignity or superiority:
2. Junkyard
Posted 2 years ago #
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