Nasty Tories at it again

Cougar; I’m extremely flattered that you’ve waded through forum posts from five years ago, to find something that you believe ‘proves’ I’m someone I’m not. That person must have meant an awful lot to you, for you to dedicate so much time and energy on. I’ve no doubt they’d also be extremely flattered, were they aware of your efforts. I do hope you are being paid well for your time.

You could, had you wanted, chosen to email me directly, if you had any issue with my presence on this forum. Instead, you’ve effectively ‘taken sides’ in this debate, which as a moderator, I think most people would expect you to remain neutral.

But you know what? You’ve done me a favour. The thought of you spending so much time, looking for something to prove your ‘point’ (whatever that was, who knows?), made me realise just how much time I have personally wasted on this forum, arguing with people who are unlikely to move from their deeply entrenched positions, fed no doubt by their own insecurities. People such as the apologist for racism and xenophobia, Ninfan. The deluded, utterly closed-minded fools such as Jambalaya. Those, like THM, who cannot begin to comprehend anything that isn’t presented as a list of numerical figures. And the rants of Binners; what on earth fuels those (I wonder if Binners has a ‘sinus problem’. 😉 )? And for what? What’s to be gained from such ‘debates’, other than to reinforce what you already knew, that some people are simply ****. And that you should never get into an argument with an idiot; they will only drag you down to their level.

A wise man once said:

“A lesson I learned far too late in life is, life is too short to spend in the company of arseholes.”

Quite.

Life is too short. And I simply don’t have the time to waste, like some on here (seriously, how the **** can you spend your entire **** life on here?!?!). I need to get on with other things.

I came for the bike advice, and stayed for the nonsense. More fool me. 😆

Still, some of it’s been fun. So, without further ado;

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

X

A flounce – how was that missed.

And that you should never get into an argument with an idiot; they will only drag you down to their level.

The ‘accused’ will remember that for your next new login. Until then, “au revoir, mais a bientot sans doute!”

Does a flounce still make a noise, even if no-one’s around to hear it?

I’m gonna flounce Binners got a mention in the resignation speech…..

Does a flounce still make a noise, even if no-one’s around to hear it?

😀

I did get an insult/accusation followed by a winky/smiley face.

Surely the ultimate act of passive aggression?

And therefore the perfect way to accessorise a flounce?

I’ll take that up with him upon his return

Give it a week

wonder what that post delete was for?

not that I am asking, mind… 😉

I saw it, THM. The forum didn’t need it.

is the thing that dare not be mentioned a danger to humankind?

it could have at least given a hint to the questions posed above?

first world economy for some, the rest well…..

Life is good. Stop arguing as life is too short.

Even shorter when youre freezing and starving to death

try living of £70 per week and not having your rent or council tax covered and having to pay all bills and food from that and then get back to us

I mam sure life is good for most of us on here we have ikes and a disposable income of varying degrees but there is a world outside your bubble if you look

Yep been there thanks. I’m struggling with what benefit does continual political topics have on a bike forum.

Plus Junkyard, aren’t you supposed to melloe. Stop being soo bloody angry and negative.

then may i politely ask that you dont bother to read them nor contribute on them and i will melloe as a result?

The reality is we dont all have it good and the rise of food banks and homelessness are clear indicators of this

As for angry and negative I am not angry – though clearly i care about injustice and suffering more than some and it does disappoint me- and its really not my fault the facts are more negative than your optimism supports.

I’m struggling with what benefit does continual political topics have on a bike forum.

Chat Forum

Ohhh, i’m bloody angry, the naked unashamed inequality in this country, tax breaks for the rich at the expense of the low waged and unwaged.
The crass ignorance of the “i’m ok, pull the ladder up” set
The “been there, but it doesn’t effect me now” complacency
The constant attacks and demonisation of the poor and unwaged by the UK mainstream media and political classes
The cronyism in politics
The wholesale destruction of rights, housing, welfare and healthcare hard won by our grand parents after the horrors of WW2.

I’m angry, but i dont let it consume my life 24/7 – until ignorance or complacency is displayed in regards to the state that this country is in, despite being the 5th or 6th strongest economy in the world
That tends to spark me up a bit

and the article refers to a period covering three main parties in power in one form or another – which one is to blame do you reckon?

is it capitalism and the way some turn the other cheek to the excesses of the rich and defend low taxes and “competitiveness”

The wholesale destruction of rights, housing, welfare and healthcare hard won by our grand parents after the horrors of WW2.

No really….

capitalism

Without this there would be no welfare nor an NHS. Without Capitalism JY you would have no job. The non-for-profit sector can only exist as Capitalism supports it.

tax breaks for the rich at the expense of the low waged and unwaged.

Some examples ? The tax breaks I am familiar with benefit the country as a whole and thus in particular the lower paid. The top 1% pay 30% of the taxes. You only have to watch a programme like Victorian Slums to see how much better off the poor are today. As a minimum they have full access to the NHS. Taxes on the “rich” are substantially higher than they where in 2006

Some examples ? The tax breaks I am familiar with benefit the country as a whole and thus in particular the lower paid. The top 1% pay 30% of the taxes. You only have to watch a programme like Victorian Slums to see how much better off the poor are today. As a minimum they have full access to the NHS. Taxes on the “rich” are sunstantially hogher than they where in 2006

You would hardly expect people on minimum wage to pay most of the taxes would you?
The point is that the poor pay more in tax as an overall % (not helped by blanket VAT) and they are the least able to afford it.
Who cares if they are better off than 100 years ago, are they supposed to thank anyone for that?

The only impact to the richest paying a high % of tax means they end up with a Bentley instead of that Rolls they really wanted

Is a couple of years old but worth you reading this https://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/jun/16/british-public-wrong-rich-poor-tax-research

Without this there would be no welfare nor an NHS. Without Capitalism JY you would have no job. The non-for-profit sector can only exist as Capitalism supports it.

The Soviet Union had universal healthcare, welfare and full employment. Evidently these things are not dependent on a capitalist system.

Philanthropy existed before the guilty rich found it to be the perfect salve for their consciences or an oft bragged about example of their largesse.

Equating it with capitalism makes about as much sense as the idiots who claim moral and ethical standards are a direct consequence of religious belief.

The Soviet Union had universal healthcare, welfare and full employment. Evidently these things are not dependent on a capitalist system.

Please can you provide an update of how this progressing?

The Soviet Union also needed watchtowers with machine guns to keep its population from escaping and everyone* was much poorer than they would otherwise have been.

Not really a great example for us to follow now, is it ?

* except of course for those party members who crawled to the top.

The top 1% pay 30% of the taxes.

Given they also own 24% of the assets, and the constant barrage of statistics about how inequality has never been higher, I don’t see a problem with that at all…

Without this there would be no welfare nor an NHS

.

Dont confuse the fruits of hard work and a progressive society with capitalism. Capatilsim will dismantle the NHS.

Cuba has a good health system.

you would hardly expect people on minimum wage to pay most of the taxes would you?
The point is that the poor pay more in tax as an overall % (not helped by blanket VAT) and they are the least able to afford it.
Who cares if they are better off than 100 years ago, are they supposed to thank anyone for that?

You are correct. Too much is said about taxation as opposed to wages as a bench mark of a successful economy.

Not really a great example for us to follow now, is it ?

It was said you can’t have the NHS without capitalism. Lots of countries have other issues besides.

The non-for-profit sector can only exist as Capitalism supports it.

You’re conflating all sorts of things. Not for profit can exist in all sorts of economic environments. It’s never capitalism that’s supports it, just hard work.

As a minimum they have full access to the NHS.

… for now. Come back in twelve months.

and the article refers to a period covering three main parties in power in one form or another – which one is to blame do you reckon?

worth a second attempt – any answers?

so income inequality over past decade – under which administration did it rise the most, stay the same and/or fall – Labour, the Tory/Lib-dem coalition, Tories?

You only have to watch a programme like Victorian Slums to see how much better off the poor are today

.

The point is that sort of benchmark is hardly indicative of where we should be. The thing that existed in Victorian times that still exists today is the concentration of wealth and control over the poor, and the mindset that bottom rung deserve all they get.

We ought to be way way ahead how we treat each other.

Without Capitalism JY you would have no job

FFS not this again we live in a mixed economy capitalism needs healthy people who are well educated with roads to get them to work and police and prisons to keep them safe etc so without the state neither would you.

Its a symbiotic relationship within a mixed economy to claim only the private sector helps makes money is fatuous BS as they work together

Capitalism requires me as much as I require it whilst I live under the yoke of capitalism

Anyway you were meant to be convincing me it distributed resources adequately and evenly between all people to end hunger and want…try that approach will you rather than – as its is you its hard to tell if it was deliberate- completely miss the point i made.

the reality is some folk dont GAS about the needy and the hungry and are comfortable with a vast disparity in wealth that capitalism creates they dont mind a massive yacht or multiple billionaires as long as it others paying the cost by having to live in poverty unable to heat their homes or feed their kids. Lucky for us its not our kids.

We cannot all care about the less fortunate as you have demonstrated numerous times

Again I dont GAS about capitalism- though clearly it does produce great inequities if unregulated- i only care about ending suffering keep capitalism just spread the money around fairly as it stops people dying from things we could end

WHy do you not want to stop children dying from poverty Jamby?

The point is that sort of benchmark is hardly indicative of where we should be. The thing that existed in Victorian times that still exists today is the concentration of wealth and control over the poor, and the mindset that bottom rung deserve all they get.

Not true. Income inequality is still below the norms of the 19C and early 20C. It fell in early 20C (no shit Sherlock) and then rose steadily and then faster under she-wh-cannot-be mentioned. It is not high under long term standards – it is better.

Income inequality is still below the norms of the 19C and early 20C

Why are we still struggling then? Apart from the fact that our toilets are inside.

I wasn’t using inequality in this example, more the make-up of society.

In general we are not. In some case we are. Overall life is much, much better, but that isn’t such a good narrative for a rant is it? Have we done foodbanks recently?