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so what would you do with £50billion

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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    No, it's manageable...

    There will be 'forces at play' trying to sort out the economy with all this in mind, but the front end government are always going to be 'It's under control, we're all happy chappy's'.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    So whilst the government is saying "everything's absolutely brilliant right now", everyone else will be saying "you're fucked, I'm fucked, we're all completey fucked". Business as usual, then.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kermit wrote: »
    For some people it is a lifeline and they are the ones who should keep it. Anyone on a passporting benefit should get free travel, IMHO (that's income support, guaranteed pension credit and income-based JSA) and those who are in receipt of working tax credit at any rate should also get free travel.

    Travel costs are often the difference between staying on benefit or returning to work. If the Government are serious about getting people off benefit then discounted or free travel will encourage people to start work.
    I think that is a brilliant idea.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    GhostGirl wrote: »
    I think that is a brilliant idea.
    I'm not so sure. A couple of years ago, I went to a charity in my area which helps people with mental health problems find jobs. I took this job working a trial period for a shop. To get to and from the place each day cost me an average of £5 a day. Whilst I was doing this trial period, I was getting all my travel expenses refunded. (just to make clear, the charity was giving me money they got from the job centre in fees) When I started being paid, they stopped paying it for me. Understandable enough, in my eyes. However, I can see some people deciding to give this up after noticing they have to pay their own costs. I explicitly say some here - a small hardcore. Might need some stick to prop up this carrot.

    Personally, I think that subsidised driving lessons might be a better idea. To get to my previous job at the arcade (six days per week) costs me around £30 per week in bus fares. Using my own car, I was effectively paying around one-third of that on petrol per week. Even with fuel costs currently being criminally high, I would still find it far cheaper to drive to work than use buses. Must admit this solution would be little use for those in the big cities, though.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    stargalaxy wrote:
    For someone who goes to one of the best universities in the country, I'm amazed you could come out with that statement. Tax cuts, far from destroying the economy, would actually be a great help. It would mean people have more of their own money available. They could use it to help pay some bills, maybe put it aside to help on a rainy day, do whatever they want with it.
    QUOTE]

    Putting money aside for a rainy day, would help the economy in no way at all, and if everyone had stashed of money on hand, inflation might start rising.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    stargalaxy wrote: »
    Personally, I think that subsidised driving lessons might be a better idea. To get to my previous job at the arcade (six days per week) costs me around £30 per week in bus fares. Using my own car, I was effectively paying around one-third of that on petrol per week. Even with fuel costs currently being criminally high, I would still find it far cheaper to drive to work than use buses. Must admit this solution would be little use for those in the big cities, though.

    Erm i spend £20 a week on bus fares, and thats cheap as to what it would cost me in petrol.

    You must have been driving very far to work then, spending £2 each day on fuel? And when you take the car payments into consideration, and the insurance, and the tax

    it isnt all that cheap.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    stargalaxy wrote: »
    I'm not so sure. A couple of years ago, I went to a charity in my area which helps people with mental health problems find jobs. I took this job working a trial period for a shop. To get to and from the place each day cost me an average of £5 a day. Whilst I was doing this trial period, I was getting all my travel expenses refunded. (just to make clear, the charity was giving me money they got from the job centre in fees) When I started being paid, they stopped paying it for me. Understandable enough, in my eyes. However, I can see some people deciding to give this up after noticing they have to pay their own costs. I explicitly say some here - a small hardcore. Might need some stick to prop up this carrot.

    Personally, I think that subsidised driving lessons might be a better idea. To get to my previous job at the arcade (six days per week) costs me around £30 per week in bus fares. Using my own car, I was effectively paying around one-third of that on petrol per week. Even with fuel costs currently being criminally high, I would still find it far cheaper to drive to work than use buses. Must admit this solution would be little use for those in the big cities, though.
    Yes but it isnt just petrol that funds a car is it. You have tax, insurance, mot, parts, wear blah blah.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Oh, what's the point of trying to explain all this to city dwellers? :banghead:
    MrG wrote: »
    You must have been driving very far to work then, spending £2 each day on fuel? And when you take the car payments into consideration, and the insurance, and the tax, it isnt all that cheap.
    Not many forms of transport are particularly cheap nowadays, in fairness.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    stargalaxy wrote: »
    Oh, what's the point of trying to explain all this to city dwellers? :banghead: Not many forms of transport are particularly cheap nowadays, in fairness.
    excuse me?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    stargalaxy wrote: »
    Personally, I think that subsidised driving lessons might be a better idea.

    Driving isn't a right of some sort. So why should the government pay for people to be able to learn to drive?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Melian wrote: »
    Driving isn't a right of some sort. So why should the government pay for people to be able to learn to drive?

    :yes: People should learn to drive when they can afford it and afford to maintain a car as well. I dont live in a city area and the public transport links are good enough I dont need to learn to drive.

    And what would be your suggestion for those that either dont want to drive or cant drive for some medical reason? Why should there taxes have to pay for subsidesed driving lessons?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ShyBoy wrote: »
    No, it's manageable...

    There will be 'forces at play' trying to sort out the economy with all this in mind, but the front end government are always going to be 'It's under control, we're all happy chappy's'.

    :lol: yeah yeah it's contained, we've heard that one before...

    the only forces at play are the PR and media madly trying to spin the blame on america and the 'subprime' mess, problem is much deeper than everyone wants to admit and truth is we're actually worse off than america in the long run because private and public debt per capita is higher and without london the UK is fubared. the americans still have agriculture and the military to fall back on, and they can always annex canada if they need more natural resources.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    :lol: yeah yeah it's contained, we've heard that one before...

    the only forces at play are the PR and media madly trying to spin the blame on america and the 'subprime' mess, problem is much deeper than everyone wants to admit and truth is we're actually worse off than america in the long run because private and public debt per capita is higher and without london the UK is fubared. the americans still have agriculture and the military to fall back on, and they can always annex canada if they need more natural resources.

    What I mean is that we'll cope, the world isn't going to end, there are ways to head out of the situation we're in, if slightly painful and slow.

    You'll find plenty of 'market commentators' / journalists who will happily announce with conviction that we're in for a future of strife and poverty because we've hit a trough in the market. They're nothing new and in 50 years we'll be better off than we are now. There are only a few exceptional economies that don't follow this rule.

    I'd still put my money towards access to education for all. I mean, I'd love to stay at uni doing different degrees and learning about everything until I'm 35 but unless I get 'hardcore' and do Doctoral studies and get sponsored it's not going to happen. (And that probably won't happen because I'm not a genius, just have a thirst for learning ;)) Brainpower / expertise is imo vastly undervalued by the UK 'establishment'.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Melian wrote: »
    Driving isn't a right of some sort. So why should the government pay for people to be able to learn to drive?

    In Asia a lot of job contracts come with a transport allowance. If we're going to moan at anyone about transport to and from work, surely it should be them? But tbh, I'd rather have UK wages and pay for my own bus than Chinese wages and get a free bus to work every day.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ShyBoy wrote: »
    I'd still put my money towards access to education for all. I mean, I'd love to stay at uni doing different degrees and learning about everything until I'm 35 but unless I get 'hardcore' and do Doctoral studies and get sponsored it's not going to happen. (And that probably won't happen because I'm not a genius, just have a thirst for learning ;)) Brainpower / expertise is imo vastly undervalued by the UK 'establishment'.

    i agree, university is becoming painfully expensive and soon it will be beyond the reach of many, wouldn't be this way if they had kept it old school instead of allowing every fool with a foundation access course in.

    learning continues long past formal education though i've learned more about psychology, economics, finance, politics etc through self-education than i was ever taught, in fact if i had £50 billion i would give everyone an amazon book voucher.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i agree, university is becoming painfully expensive and soon it will be beyond the reach of many, wouldn't be this way if they had kept it old school instead of allowing every fool with a foundation access course in.

    learning continues long past formal education though i've learned more about psychology, economics, finance, politics etc through self-education than i was ever taught, in fact if i had £50 billion i would give everyone an amazon book voucher.

    They'd just spend it on Harry Potter books though :razz:

    I am always second guessing which course I want to do because I want to do them all!!! Particle physics, mathematics, computer science, aeronautical engineering, economics and economy history, architecture, sociology, theology, every language on the planet... and so on. Heh. One of my friends said I should just go to other lectures, but I'd feel a bit weird. But it could be a plan :thumb:, I'm paying £3k a year (topped up by the government after that) for the pleasure anyway.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ha if you can find the time, you'll be surprised what you can figure out on your own without some old boff reading off a script....if i went to uni again i would study mathematics, because it influences every aspect of life and i would love to have a higher level of understanding so i could do things like program black boxes using quantitative modelling and analysis on the stockmarket. when you look at something as simple as how elliott wave theory and the fibonacci series predict human behaviour in trading it's pretty crazy shit.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I was doing maths for the same reason but really didn't like the way it was taught.

    To use my provost's words: "It annoys me because there used to be a real ethos of tuition and the role of a supervisor and how they were responsible for their supervisee, now they don't even know your name"

    At least on some courses, students are just a paycheck.
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