[Closed] picket line with a Starbucks coffee and your iphone...You are having a laugh !

No, they should be able to choose what they spend their money on. The strike isn't claiming poverty, it's complaining about unfair treatment.

(I'm not really on either side on the strike - in some ways I agree, in others I don't. FWIW, it directly affects me as Mrs Clubber works in the NHS)

Yeah, and all those mad capitalists. Using. The. NHS. Good grief! Next thing they'll be using public roads and not private ones. Is there no end to this madness!

[img] [/img]

1/10
poor effort.

Dry them

Ah right - so people should only strike when they are living in complete poverty?

They shouldn't cause a fuss if the government try to completely shaft their pensions because they can still afford a coffee?

Also

a tariff for an iphone costs min of £40 per month

Erm.. no it doesn't.

Stalin would be very upset indeed.

Starbucks probably gave them the coffee for free as it's good promotion, you want to start shopping around as iPhones can be had for a lot less than that. Add to that what clubber said.

"Now that really is taking the p*ss after all we all know starbuks cost the earth and a tariff for an iphone costs min of £40 per month ! Shouldnt they be saving their money for a pension..."

My i-phone costs me 18 quid a month, and lets be honest, drinking starbucks is practically a punishment. Stop talking arse, there's a good chap...

freedom of speech !

its very rude to call some one a retard ! not very PC ! (prezet -d*ck)

ah, so late - sorry

well done (almost) 😉 everyone

I can't wait til I make my first million and then I'll finally be able to get an iphone and a coffee

I am old enough to apologise prezet

Tell you what, next time you need hospital treatment, should we means test you and turn you away if you earn too much?

you can hiss all you like having an iphone is a luxury we all know if you want the latest one it either costs upfron or the tariffs are expensive...obvously if you have a trampy 3gs then you are laughing !

*i still run my trusty old blackberry

I refuse to acknowledge anything short of this

[img] [/img]

As a 'proper' strike

Protesting against pensions/unfair wealth distribution != protesting aginast capitalism

barnsleymitch now that is astupid thing to say ! really !

That's me binners, second from the right, with the police officers testicles in my hand!

mrsconsequence has an iphone (costs less than 30 a month with insurance) and occasionally treats herself to a starbucks hot choccy. as a result she sacrifices other luxuries to make do on her poor public sector (probation) wage.

she's in work today, like all her colleagues in the prison.

out of interest, what do you do for a job mr geezer? do you own a smart phone and have you ever had an expensive coffee?

Now I am not supportive of this strike in any way. But why coffee and Iphones are relevant to you I'm not sure, they are just the trappings of modern society. The miners might have had colour TV in the 70's for example.

Are you saying the only people who can strike are those that can't afford coffee or iphones or only those that consume inconspicuously can strike?

What do you think of strikers who have parked their beemer oir 4X4 round the corner?

[img] [/img]

you can hiss all you like having an iphone is a luxury

so they shouldn't be allowed to complain about pensions?

what if it is a 3g?

what about nokia 3310 - nobody should have to put up with a pension that means you use a nokia 3310.

ok you lot win !

i hang my head in shame !

yes we are all entitled to have what we like...iphone bmw coffee...etc etc

still no sympathy though...

Where can I get an Iphone 4s for less than £40 a month on 18 month contract?

what about nokia 3310 says it all take a hike to carphone warehouse

"barnsleymitch now that is astupid thing to say ! really !"
Just to clarify - you appeared, in your opening post, to be saying that if people appear to have material wealth (i-phones, starbucks coffee), then they have no right to strike. What I meant with my, admittedly, tongue in cheek reply, was that ... tell you what, I cant be bothered.

geezer: You seem deeply confused about the purpose of these strikes and, well, strikes in general.

They are not saying [i]"We don't have enough money to afford food".[/i]

They are saying that [i]"The government want me to pay 25% more towards my pension, then give me 12% less when I retire, and they want me to work in a physically demanding job until I am 68. And that's not a very fair deal."[/i]

How does having coffee or smartphones alter that?

barnsleymitch nor can I !

im going on strike ! oh sorry I meant on my trike...

iPhone FFS!

The new Google Nexus FTW.

When did Starbucks start selling coffee?

Where can I get an Iphone 4s for less than £40 a month on 18 month contract?

How do you know they were a 4s? How do you know what contract they had?

i never said 4s...

i never said 4s...

Yes I know that'll be why I didn't quote you.

unfitgeezer - your sympathy, or lack of it, is completely immaterial to me. A little understanding, however, would be much appreciated. As a registered psychiatric nurse with about twenty five years experience, I'm not on a bad wage (about twentynine grand a year). However, it's not about the money. I currently work in an environment where I stand a fair to middling chance of getting my head kicked in on a daily basis by some twenty year old with a personality disorder and a heavy crystal meth habit. This, as anyone who works in this field will tell you, is not that unusual. I am fifty one, and the thought of having to do this in my late sixties is a bit of a worry.

i never said 4s...

Well you're more wronger then.

Quick check shows you can have an iPhone 4 for £18.50 a month on O2 (and I'm sure there are better deals out there).

The real issue here is there do seem to be an awful lot of people about who seem to think that because they personally have been treated poorly that everyone else should be treated at least as badly if not worse, otherwise they are not entitled to complain. Monty Python "You're lucky, we used to live in a shoe box on't A1" Stylee

I had a very similar conversation yesterday with my bookkeeper, who seems to think that because her policeman ex husband is an utter cock then all other public service employees are too.

All a bit weird if you ask me.

i never said 4s...

on their brand new iphones

By implication, that's [i]exactly[/i] what you said. Frankly, I think you're talking cobblers. I don't support the strike, but the whole point is that they think they're being screwed for the future. I accept the point, just think we're all in this together.

The first and, hopefully, the last time I'll ever quote DC.

my iphone is provided by my public service employer, and I can use my employers credit card at starbucks

Unfitgeezer everytime you start one of these posts you look a little bit more ridiculous.

The real issue here is there do seem to be an awful lot of people about who seem to think that because they personally have been treated poorly that everyone else should be treated at least as badly if not worse, otherwise they are not entitled to complain.

^^ This is exactly the attitude I've come across too. I work in the private sector, yet I fully respect the hard work put in daily by our teachers, doctors, nurses, police etc. People who have put in years of life to helping others.

I wish more people in the private sector would stand up for their rights in a similar way we're seeing the public sector do. They should be an inspiration to us. Rather than just rolling over and taking it like the private sector do.

We don't live in a poor country. Quite the opposite, however the money is all in the wrong places - look at bankers bonuses, large corporate directors wages etc. Yet it's easy for the tories to take a slice from the public sector than face the wrath of the private one, the sector that funds it's own party.

Ultimately the Tories want to privatise education and the NHS. It's already happening quietly behind the scenes. If that happens we're all going to be screwed - just look at the US for an example of how a privatised health care system fails to work.

we're all in this together

Ahh yes, of course we are.

Radio 4 interviewed Gideon to Gormless this morning.

Gideon was taliking about the unprecedented size of the hole, and the austerity measures...

Talking through the "austerity", the inerterviewer put it to him that we weren't, actually, all in this together - citing that the top 1% of the country had increased their wealth by 30% [b]over the last 12 months...[/b]

Interestingly, Gideon finally moved away from the cringeworthy previous line they had been spouting about "Labour's recession"

Yeah, been thinking about that. IMO part of the problem with that is that lots of people have been pissed off by public sector workers (be that the council, bin men (I know...), hospital staff, whoever and people tend to remember that more than all the other public sector workers who've delivered them good service. Add in the 'I'm paying your wages for you to be useless' factor and you've got perfect conditions for non PS people to have a grudge against the PS as a whole.

I'm suprised that no one has pointed out the government is at the same time as screwing over peoples pensions/reirement age it is also increasing the amount of money available to people claiming benefits. Some of the people claiming benefits are young and able bodied enough to work and contribute to the tax system. That is a bit of an injustice and probably a biter pill to swallow.

We don't live in a poor country. Quite the opposite, however the money is all in the wrong places - look at bankers bonuses, large corporate directors wages etc. Yet it's easy for the tories to take a slice from the public sector than face the wrath of the private one, the sector that funds it's own party.

It's a bit lazy to point the finger at bankers, directors etc. Already there's a 52% tax rate for the highest earners, so they're paying a stack more in than they're ever going to draw.

The real point here, and it's both good and bad, is that we're living much longer. If you're going to have twice the period in retirement than you could have expected even fifteen years ago, then that's got to be paid for. Seems like it's shafting people - and it is - but there's not much alternative.