David Camerons big Society

[wigit]

well the Government have at last made a decent appointment in Larry the cat who is chief rat catcher, so if i was Nick Clegg i'd be worried 

[RedRobin]

^^^^
Wow!! A political discussion on this forum! I don't think I've ever read one here before.

Those who have a strong belief in one political party over another one will never reach agreement about whose fault it is etc. I think it's always a matter of choosing the lesser of two (or three?) evils. Like TC I never voted for years but I did vote for Cameron this time and have no regrets. I think the LibDems are keeping them honest (just!) and I don't have faith in how Labour would have handled the current situation if they were in power, nor the LibDems.

Whoever is in political power we ain't ever going to be that happy. I tend to rather selfishly carry on living in my own bubble and not let myself get stressed by what's going on or whose fault it might be. Within my bubble I treat others as I would wish to be treated myself, which means I try to be a good human being and help those around me.

[RedRobin]

.
I've probably told this story before but one of the directors of my limited company was a true gentleman called Richard Cooper-Driver, R.I.P., (and yes he was a car enthusiast and his father had raced old Bentleys). Educated at public school and Cambridge, he was a true blue Tory and he religiously read the newspapers and listened to the news every single day and had strong opinions. He suddenly became ill with Leukemia and I went to visit him at St.Thomas's hospital. He had a private room and the most stupendous view of the Houses of Parliament across the river. When I commented on the view and joked that now he could see where it was all going on, he said: "You know, Robin, all that interest I've had in politics now means diddlysquat".

I'm not suggesting that no-one should take an interest but only to keep it all in perspective and not get wound up. 

[Gene Hunt]

^^^^
Wow!! A political discussion on this forum! I don't think I've ever read one here before.

Those who have a strong belief in one political party over another one will never reach agreement about whose fault it is etc. I think it's always a matter of choosing the lesser of two (or three?) evils. Like TC I never voted for years but I did vote for Cameron this time and have no regrets. I think the LibDems are keeping them honest (just!) and I don't have faith in how Labour would have handled the current situation if they were in power, nor the LibDems.

Whoever is in political power we ain't ever going to be that happy. I tend to rather selfishly carry on living in my own bubble and not let myself get stressed by what's going on or whose fault it might be. Within my bubble I treat others as I would wish to be treated myself, which means I try to be a good human being and help those around me.

..........i do go along with most of this Robin & '' yes'' treat others as i would like/expect to be treated BUT it makes my p**s boil when people tell me it's tough & you won't get a pay rise this year & my take home pay is  worth less & less & these rich MP's are not effected by any of it. I bet not one of them will refuse there expence account to help repay the defecit quicker?.

[Richn83]

Completely agree with the comment about them needing to live in the real world to appreciate the affect there decisions have on real people, some examples would be:

Commuting between there house and place of work under there own finances from the wage they get paid for said job (not expenses) would also force some of them to use public transport so they can appreciate the terrible state that most of it is in.

Stay in hotels in London or B&B's rather than buying an overly expensive house on expenses (giving money to local businesses and reducing unnecessary cost to tax payer and not profiteering.

Its a good philosophy Robin and im sure most of us are or want to be in the same place, I certainly used to bubble along happily not caring but I find I am increasingly enraged by the whole thing either the amount of taxation on everything and the messed up housing market with years of over inflated prices due to easy credit and lending restrictions which means I now cant get a mortgage without saving up £30k is very infuriating!  

[Janner_Sy]

The MPs are on around 60k per year, about the same as most mid range company executives would be on.  The PM is on £142k  per year iirc.  Now considering his job and role i think he should be on a lot more when you consider what other CEO's of many companies etc are on. Ultimately hes in charge of running the country after all

[RedRobin]

..........i do go along with most of this Robin & '' yes'' treat others as i would like/expect to be treated BUT it makes my p**s boil when people tell me it's tough & you won't get a pay rise this year & my take home pay is  worth less & less & these rich MP's are not effected by any of it. I bet not one of them will refuse there expence account to help repay the defecit quicker?.

....Although I am very lucky and am less effected than you and many others I do appreciate your predicament. Through it all though it's helpful to understand that no matter how well off you are, there'll always be those who are better off, be it materially or in health. And also always those who are worse off. Boiling your piss hurts you more than anyone else. There are things which make my piss boil too but not politics - It's things like registered blind people having to pay a TV licence even if reduced, the shocking treatment of some of those leaving the armed services, etc.

[Gene Hunt]

..........i do go along with most of this Robin & '' yes'' treat others as i would like/expect to be treated BUT it makes my p**s boil when people tell me it's tough & you won't get a pay rise this year & my take home pay is  worth less & less & these rich MP's are not effected by any of it. I bet not one of them will refuse there expence account to help repay the defecit quicker?.

....Although I am very lucky and am less effected than you and many others I do appreciate your predicament. Through it all though it's helpful to understand that no matter how well off you are, there'll always be those who are better off, be it materially or in health. And also always those who are worse off. Boiling your piss hurts you more than anyone else. There are things which make my piss boil too but not politics - It's things like registered blind people having to pay a TV licence even if reduced, the shocking treatment of some of those leaving the armed services, etc.

.......      

[RedRobin]

The MPs are on around 60k per year, about the same as most mid range company executives would be on.  The PM is on £142k  per year iirc.  Now considering his job and role i think he should be on a lot more when you consider what other CEO's of many companies etc are on. Ultimately hes in charge of running the country after all

....Agreed. And it's a 24/7 job too with enormous pressures. Extremely physically demanding and a very diminished private life. Even risk of being shot at or rotten eggs/tomatoes thrown at you. Whoever is Prime Minister is the figurehead and the one whom the populus view as responsible for most of their grievances. Again, I'm not saying don't get angry or don't express your views - It is a democracy, or as close to one as we can get.

[neg]

I agree cuts have to be made and we'll all benefit further down the line... just how long is the line, will I see the end of it.

Lets keep it simple, if they would just drop fuel prices back 20p I'd be happier LOL

[Janner_Sy]

i think if they did that they would get a huge amount of support.

[VC]

paint it like you will but...

i know someone on benefits who was given a four bedroom house in a postcode i cant afford because she pushes out kids by her unemployed husband.

she's currently pregnant with her eighth and is set to move into a new build in an even more prestigious postcode with larger houses so they can all have space.

she drives a 3 month old minivan paid for by disability allowance due to a weak pelvis from pushing the kids out and gets more per week into her bank account than i get in a whole month.

this isnt something im making up either 

theres quite a few new cars in the school run car park, the owners living in very nice houses and have never worked a day in their life. Mrs cherry is good friends with one woman who has four kids, a brand new house and car and wont work as she would get less a month if she did so doesnt see the point.

like TC i dont vote, but thats because i dont see anything worth voting for not because i dont want to

and by the way, those that know me also knows that my dad is a lib dem MP..... and i dont see eye to eye with him either

[/rant]

[cmdrfire]

well the Government have at last made a decent appointment in Larry the cat who is chief rat catcher, so if i was Nick Clegg i'd be worried 

I hear the cat is a Liberal.

I hear that the cat is also an excellent ratter; one must wonder whether he will will also chase the two-legged kind.

[dTEA]

Don't disagree with a lot of the comments but the main gripe I have is the BS they spouted at election time and almost immediately dropped their manifesto and went on with what appears to be their true plans. Lib Dems are almost like a timid cat never mind that ratter! I don't see Cleggy doing much to keep em in check...WTF is with the wholesale of the forests and despite petition they are going ahead. They are only dropping 15% of the original planned sale, but even that is on retention following consultion which will no doubt still go through. Where will our heritage and national treasures be? In the pockets of the rich and don't forget we bailed several banking elements out which means we sunk a huge deficit into them and yet they still go relatively unregulated from huge bonuses at the top. And we ALL must suffer?

Like it means summat. And when you say the vulnerable should be taken care of I work in the social care field Nd the cuts are huge. Manchester is losing 2000 jobs. Salford is hit, an these places have some of the biggest amounts of elderly and vulnerable children about. Plus all the disability cuts affecting disability kids...expect to see a load of them be placed in care as families crumble without their support networks
  rant over!!

[SO8]

Too much too fast .. we're all doomed (in the voice of John Laurie / Pte Fraser from Dad's army)