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By Breaker (Fri Jul 18, 2008 at 10:30:12 AM EST) (all tags)
Having read the latest in the Union's demands I find myself in a quandry.


I actually agree with a significant number of the demands listed in this article.

Does this mean I have woken up this morning to find myself a communist?

From the article I have listed most points as good, bad or WTF:

Good

  • scrapping NHS prescription charges
  • bringing all hospital cleaning back in-house
  • a new council house building programme
  • extending the adult minimum wage to 18- to 21-year-olds and apprentices
  • changes that would to allow councils to negotiate procurement contracts that include fair employment clauses
  • staff in city academies to be paid at the same rates as other school staff
  • the right to five days a year paid educational leave for all workers
  • free school meals for all children in primary schools
  • all firms bidding to run public services to be required to give guaranteed apprenticeship numbers
  • extend the "not-for-profit model" to passenger train operators as franchises expire
  • break up the dominance of the six major energy companies
Bad
* includes a right to take supportive strike action
The 70's called, they want their power to cripple the country back.

WTF?
* wants withdrawal from Iraq
Without a description of how to achieve this I find this a little too headline grabbing.
* and a 50p income tax rate on those earning more than £100,000
Class warfare, yet again.
* new agreement on public sector pay with the Treasury
Ah, the higher tax to pump up government revenues so they can give the cash to the unions.  Tell you waht, surrender your finalsalary pensions and then we'll talk public sectopr pay increases.
* place a duty on individual company directors to "take all reasonable steps to ensure health and safety"
I can't see how this is going to actually work in the real world, better than it does under existing laws
* new union environmental reps with similar rights to safety reps
Jobs for the boys.  Why not add this to the list of responsibilities of the safety reps?  Or is it another ploy to get another official that can call a strike "on environmental grounds"?
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"Brown has already angered the unions by characterising some of their proposals as a return to the 1970s".  And more and moe journos are queuing up to take a pop.

Surely the fact that I appear to be to the left of GTLSB is a cause for concern?

How much longer before there is a backbench revolt to rid NuLabia of albatross killer Brown?

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Heh by gpig (4.00 / 1) #1 Fri Jul 18, 2008 at 10:47:21 AM EST
How much longer before there is a backbench revolt to rid NuLabia of albatross killer Brown?

How much longer until they have a viable alternative to take over as PM?

At the moment getting rid of him would be suicide for the party. Not that the Labour party has never shot itself in the footface before, of course.
---
(,   ,') -- eep
"This option is deprecated, as it is conceptually flawed." -- man psql


But also at the minute by Breaker (4.00 / 1) #4 Fri Jul 18, 2008 at 11:03:06 AM EST
Keeping him on isn't really doing them any favours either, is it?

Milliband or Balls I reckon.  Balls will probably get the support from the Sun, largely because the headline editors can see a rich seam of comedy in having Prime Minister Balls.


[ Parent ]

Powerpacks by Phage (4.00 / 1) #7 Fri Jul 18, 2008 at 11:53:18 AM EST
Sorry been very busy.
Bigwig from Us expected on MOnday. Much polishing of decks underway. I haven't forgotten

The Czar of Accounting. No Nit Too Small To Pick
[ Parent ]

Don't worry by gpig (2.00 / 0) #13 Fri Jul 18, 2008 at 07:07:24 PM EST
I'd assumed it was something like that. Good luck for Monday.
---
(,   ,') -- eep
"This option is deprecated, as it is conceptually flawed." -- man psql
[ Parent ]

a description of how to achieve this by wiredog (4.00 / 2) #2 Fri Jul 18, 2008 at 10:50:47 AM EST
Saigon, 1975.

Earth First!
(We can strip mine the rest later.)



Been a long time since I was 19 by Breaker (4.00 / 1) #3 Fri Jul 18, 2008 at 11:01:25 AM EST
Nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-NINETEEN!


[ Parent ]

Eh? I strongly disagree on a couple of those. by hulver (4.00 / 1) #5 Fri Jul 18, 2008 at 11:07:30 AM EST
    *  scrapping NHS prescription charges

WTF! Why? People who can't afford them already get them for free. Why devalue them further.
Take the example of my FIL. He's old, practically house bound and blind. He's worked hard most of his life and is a real penny pincher.
As he's a pensioner he gets his prescriptions free.
He's got boxes of drugs in his house. He gets them on prescription, but often doesn't use them all, so he carries on using the old box while the new just keep piling up. Complete waste. If he had to pay even a nominal amount for them you can bet your life he wouldn't do that.
You want to extend this behaviour?

    * free school meals for all children in primary schools

Why? Again, people who can't afford this get free school meals. I pay £18 a week for school meals for my kids. I'd rather that the quality of the food they get be increased than they get it for nothing.

Where's the money going to come from for these freebies?
--
smart, pretty, sane. pick two - georgeha


Well. by Breaker (2.00 / 0) #6 Fri Jul 18, 2008 at 11:47:26 AM EST
Free NHS prescriptions to equalise it across the UK.  Is your FIL typical?  I don't know, but it's a valid point.  Would you rather he had to pay for the prescription?  Or perhaps, he had to pay but could then claim the cash back through an "NHS Credits" scheme?

Free school meals - would it have to be done on the cheap?

The money will come from the magical money tree GTLSB planted in his 2006/7 budgets.  Our taxes are going to rocket from 2009-2012.


[ Parent ]

FIL by hulver (4.00 / 2) #8 Fri Jul 18, 2008 at 12:02:23 PM EST
I'm not sure if he's typical, but it certainly fits the pattern of people not valuing stuff they don't directly hand over some cash for.

School meals. Currently, if I don't like what my kids are getting, I can stop paying and make them lunches to take. If it was free I wouldn't be able to do that at all.

It would be better if it wasn't done on the cheap, but of course it would be.
--
smart, pretty, sane. pick two - georgeha
[ Parent ]

Let's form another quango by Breaker (2.00 / 0) #9 Fri Jul 18, 2008 at 12:18:02 PM EST
And investigate!

How about subsidised school meals which parents can top up?  (Those that can't afford it get it free though).

Wishful thinking on my part thinking not to do it on the cheap I suppose.

Stalin and Lenin are on a train to Glasgow.  Lenin sits down in the 2nd class carriage, Stalin goes and sits in the 1st class.  Lenin goes and finds him: "Comrade!  What are you doing, with the capitalistic pig dogs lording over the common man?"
"Ah, comrade" replies Stalin "in the communist utopia, everyone travels first class".


[ Parent ]

The thing is by Herring (4.00 / 2) #10 Fri Jul 18, 2008 at 02:02:37 PM EST
if, instead of "socialism" you say "fairness" then it suddenly seems more reasonable. Similarly, if instead of "political correctness" you say "politeness" then it maybe isn't such a bad thing.

On they missed, and the thing that really makes my blood pressure hit the roof is when the govt signs a multi-billion pound contract with some company, but can't reveal the details due to "commericial confidentially". Hello? That's my fucking money and I think I deserve to see the details. Wankers.

I'm English, and as such I crave disappointment. - Bill Bailey


But at what point by Breaker (2.00 / 0) #11 Fri Jul 18, 2008 at 02:16:06 PM EST
Does "fairness" become "tax the moderately well off and the rich until their pips squeak"?

Oh yeah, I am totally with you on the contract thing.  Mr Gieve has a lot to answer for.


[ Parent ]

I don't think it's defined like that by Herring (4.00 / 1) #12 Fri Jul 18, 2008 at 02:38:28 PM EST
In terms of who you tax and how much. I should be defined in terms of how much you need to support those who need the help. If a single mother of a disabled child needs 14 hours of care a week to hold down a full time job (good for her, good for the economy) then it's in the interest of society as a whole to pay for it. Similarly, 15 year old Dwayne - shall we pay for his training to do a useful job, or shall we pay to clean up after his crimes? Maybe Dwayne will never have the same chances as Rupert, but he could be given a chance.

I don't think any government thinks in terms of taxing as much as possible. What would be the incentive? Unless private enterprise was involved.

To be honest, I am mostly against things like the Working Family's Tax Credit. Basically you and I are subsidising the profits of companies (like LCC) by allowing them to get away with paying low wages that are then topped up by our tax. I would prefer a much higher minimum wage.

That was incoherent. I may have been drinking.

I'm English, and as such I crave disappointment. - Bill Bailey
[ Parent ]

Taxation is theft. End of story. n/t by dmg (2.00 / 0) #15 Fri Jul 18, 2008 at 08:03:21 PM EST

--
Hard work is morally wrong.
[ Parent ]

so is property [nt] by infinitera (4.00 / 1) #18 Sun Jul 20, 2008 at 06:50:32 PM EST

[…] a professional layabout. Which I aspire to be, but am not yet. — CheeseburgerBrown
[ Parent ]

two wrongs by dmg (4.00 / 1) #19 Mon Jul 21, 2008 at 08:11:10 PM EST
don't make a right!
--
Hard work is morally wrong.
[ Parent ]

Neo-Liberalism is not the only option... by dmg (2.00 / 0) #14 Fri Jul 18, 2008 at 08:02:10 PM EST
There's a lot to be said for bringing back a bit of personal responsibility and stopping the State from stealing almost all our money.
--
Hard work is morally wrong.


The thing is by Herring (4.00 / 1) #16 Sat Jul 19, 2008 at 12:12:37 PM EST
we are, allegedly, a democracy. People who think like you are clearly in the minority.

I'm English, and as such I crave disappointment. - Bill Bailey
[ Parent ]

Even If I am a minority of one by dmg (2.00 / 0) #17 Sun Jul 20, 2008 at 10:24:32 AM EST
truth is still the truth.
--
Hard work is morally wrong.
[ Parent ]

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