Re: No More Arguments: Austerity is Working! : Mon Apr 21, 2014 10:52 am  

Lord Elpers wrote:

Still nothing to refuted the recovery and growth evidence then?

Simple question

Which economy?


and if it is possible, answer my others as you made the assertions.


As mentioned previously, the replies or, lack of, really elucidate the comments made.

The sad part is really that you have been let down by the current system and you don't know why.

Re: No More Arguments: Austerity is Working! : Mon Apr 21, 2014 1:12 pm  

rumpelstiltskin wrote: Howzabout this specimen as an asylum seeker then Mr Chicken. Black....illegal.....and now apparently so gay, he would find his life endangered back home. I should imagine that would tick enough boxes to get the usual suspects on here to start waving their PC placards. Shame about the drug dealing and murder though, eh? You missed the last piece of The Mail jigsaw of outrage - the 16 year old that he murdered was Somalian and also a refugee, probably seeking asylum. Mr Middle-England would explode with rage over his cornflakes if he read the whole of that report, illegal immigrant kills asylum seeker, serves life sentence at our expense, then can't be deported because he's gay and the European Human Rights people say it would be cruel. Unless he now wants to marry a gay man in a church I think all the bases are covered there, I expect that Mr Farage is drawing up his leaflet campaign at this very moment.

rumpelstiltskin wrote: Howzabout this specimen as an asylum seeker then Mr Chicken. Black....illegal.....and now apparently so gay, he would find his life endangered back home. I should imagine that would tick enough boxes to get the usual suspects on here to start waving their PC placards. Shame about the drug dealing and murder though, eh? You missed the last piece of The Mail jigsaw of outrage - the 16 year old that he murdered was Somalian and also a refugee, probably seeking asylum. Mr Middle-England would explode with rage over his cornflakes if he read the whole of that report, illegal immigrant kills asylum seeker, serves life sentence at our expense, then can't be deported because he's gay and the European Human Rights people say it would be cruel. Unless he now wants to marry a gay man in a church I think all the bases are covered there, I expect that Mr Farage is drawing up his leaflet campaign at this very moment.

Re: No More Arguments: Austerity is Working! : Mon Apr 21, 2014 2:50 pm  

Ajw71 wrote: It's not propaganda though is it. Getting things for free is popular. Is the 'outrage' regarding the Daily Mail article because it so easily counters the 'you must be referred' rhetoric? The a quote from the Trussell Trust seems to sum this up nicely - "We'd rather feed 10 Daily Mail journalists than see someone with a need go hungry" http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01xqh7t

Ajw71 wrote: It's not propaganda though is it. Getting things for free is popular. Is the 'outrage' regarding the Daily Mail article because it so easily counters the 'you must be referred' rhetoric? The a quote from the Trussell Trust seems to sum this up nicely - "We'd rather feed 10 Daily Mail journalists than see someone with a need go hungry" http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01xqh7t

Re: No More Arguments: Austerity is Working! : Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:07 pm  

As self-serving as this may sound, having recently returned to the UK, my observations on the general state of things that affect me are as follows:

Petrol is cheaper than when I left. Or perhaps my car just has a smaller tank than the one I used to drive.

My mortgage has gone down. Probably because I came off the fixed-rate deal I entered into a few years ago. Best get it fixed on a 5 year deal before interest rates go back up next year.

When I visit a coffee shop in London, the chances are the parking meter outside earns more than the person serving me.

£5 for a pint of Peroni. In a 'normal' bar in Derby. Really?

House prices (and subsequently rent) in the south-east are, frankly, ridiculous. There is no way on earth a single person can get on the property ladder here without parental help. (For many people houses are no longer seen as homes or places to put down roots. They are seen as buy-to-let investments.)

Long distance train fares are a complete and utter joke unless you book well in advance.

Quite a few of the civil servants that worked at my place when I was seconded abroad 2 years ago have been made redundant, or not replaced after they moved on. This is a good thing. Since most of them were completely useless.

Despite the claimed need for austerity, someone has found the money to install gantry cameras on large sections of the M1. I find this somewhat bizarre, since we are constantly told cameras are about safety and motorways are our safest roads.

[DaveO]

Re: No More Arguments: Austerity is Working! : Tue Apr 22, 2014 11:58 am  

The Video Ref wrote:

£5 for a pint of Peroni. In a 'normal' bar in Derby. Really?

Was in London on Saturday. Went to an old watering hole near Covent Garden I used to frequent after work quite often and a pint of Peroni was £5.14.

House prices (and subsequently rent) in the south-east are, frankly, ridiculous. There is no way on earth a single person can get on the property ladder here without parental help. (For many people houses are no longer seen as homes or places to put down roots. They are seen as buy-to-let investments.)

We were staying in Teddington and the house prices there are nuts. A four bedroomed house similar in many ways to mine in Chester (which is probably worth about £300K) was going for £1,395,000. That represented the lower end of the price range for such properties as well.

The cheapest rent being quoted in the same estate agents window was £1,350 per month for a pretty grotty looking two bedroom flat. To rent a house the prices ranged from about double that to £4,700 per month.

Re: No More Arguments: Austerity is Working! : Thu Apr 24, 2014 11:03 pm  

The cost of housing in London is ridiculous. Soon, only the ultra rich and those on benefits/in work benefits will be the only people who can afford to live there as anyone earning what would be classed as a good/reasonable salary elesewhere in the country will be priced out of both owning and renting property in London.

Re: No More Arguments: Austerity is Working! : Fri Apr 25, 2014 6:20 am  

dr_feelgood wrote:

The cost of housing in London is ridiculous. Soon, only the ultra rich and those on benefits/in work benefits will be the only people who can afford to live there as anyone earning what would be classed as a good/reasonable salary elesewhere in the country will be priced out of both owning and renting property in London.

I know people in their late 20s and early 30s in London who are living in shared accommodation because they simply cannot afford their own place. Some of these people are earning £60K+!

It does seem somewhat perverse that you can be a qualified professional and have to 'slum it' in a house-share whilst people who churn out kids on benefits, with no intention of ever working, can obtain a house through their local council.

And this folks is why a majority of the public support benefits being capped at £500 a week.

Re: No More Arguments: Austerity is Working! : Fri Apr 25, 2014 6:54 am  

The Video Ref wrote:

I know people in their late 20s and early 30s in London who are living in shared accommodation because they simply cannot afford their own place. Some of these people are earning £60K+!

It does seem somewhat perverse that you can be a qualified professional and have to 'slum it' in a house-share whilst people who churn out kids on benefits, with no intention of ever working, can obtain a house through their local council.

And this folks is why a majority of the public support benefits being capped at £500 a week.

No Daily Wail stereotypes in that post eh?

Re: No More Arguments: Austerity is Working! : Fri Apr 25, 2014 6:00 pm  

Have a play with this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23234033 It is truly frightening. Assume you want a 3 bed mid-market property. £20K down and £700 a month on your mortgage. On paper 37% of the UK's housing stock is available to you. Yet you will get nothing south of Northampton and most of what you can afford is in cabbage-patch land, where no-one wants to live. Which is probably why it is so cheap.

Have a play with this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23234033 It is truly frightening. Assume you want a 3 bed mid-market property. £20K down and £700 a month on your mortgage. On paper 37% of the UK's housing stock is available to you. Yet you will get nothing south of Northampton and most of what you can afford is in cabbage-patch land, where no-one wants to live. Which is probably why it is so cheap.

Re: No More Arguments: Austerity is Working! : Fri Apr 25, 2014 9:23 pm  

The Video Ref wrote:

I know people in their late 20s and early 30s in London who are living in shared accommodation because they simply cannot afford their own place. Some of these people are earning £60K+!

It does seem somewhat perverse that you can be a qualified professional and have to 'slum it' in a house-share whilst people who churn out kids on benefits, with no intention of ever working, can obtain a house through their local council.

And this folks is why a majority of the public support benefits being capped at £500 a week.

Capping benefits isn't the solution.

London needs more houses to be built, both private and council and the buy to let landlords need bringing to heel. Maybe a higher rate of tax should be imposed on earnings from property rental or capital gains from investing in property. This would make property investment less lucrative and hopefully result in people buying houses for a home for themselves rather than an investment.