With the amount of junk food consumed in the US, the rates of diabetes must be sky high. So that's just plainly a bad move for thousands of Americans. Money comes first though in the cut throat world of health insurance The UK needs to resist this **** from the US, especially when it comes to any trade deals. Because there are US health firms who see the UK as prime bait to carve up the NHS in favour of a insurance based system.
I always try or rather tried to make any purchases that were British made, especially household items, nay on impossible nowadays.
You just have to love how the big conglomerates make billions by making our nations obese and unhealthy with the processed and fast foods etc they sell us. Then they make billions by selling us the drugs to try and keep us alive longer.
The problem in the US isnt that they have to pay for medical care, its HOW MUCH they have to pay for medical care. If Big Pharma and the insurance companies werent colluding to **** over the customers, then healthcare would be reasonably priced. Its costs $2000 for an ambulance ride in the US. How in the **** is that value for money? An overnight hospital stay for a pregnant woman giving birth $10,000! Does it **** cost that much!
Yeah health care CAN be delivered via an insurance based system if that's the way you really want to go. France do it but it's within the means of French wages and done via employer based contributions and state provision. But in the US it's just pure wild west capitalism. I have friends in California who pay something like $1200 per month (as a couple) and that's just for emergency treatment, so trips to the doctor and meds are extra on top of that.
I used to buy Clark's shoes for that reason (and also because they were good quality). Now they outsource everything. There used to be dozens of shoe makers in Northampton, now they're nearly all gone. Only found that out when I took a pair of Loakes in to be resoled and the guy in the shop told me.
Finding that more and more with walking boots, some companies are 'British' but the boots are usually made in China or Italy
Even though i generally disagree with a lot of what you say Saffy, this is proper bang on (in most cases).
A relatively small number of 'Doc Martens' products are still made in Wollaston (near Wellingborough) - 'Made In England' range - but the majority are made overseas, although the quality remains very high due to pretty rigorous quality controls etc...
This is an interesting comment by Reggie D Hunter. https://x.com/esherukwaku/status/1882754847805698475?s=46&t=GjXW4PhG0s7kgSMl8GkTkw still can’t get Twitter links to work right, but it’s funny and current.
The Americans love to **** themselves over. The poorest in the US seem to have voted for Trump. He is ditching as much of the affordable care act/obama care. He is getting tax cuts for his billionaire friends, he isn’t helping g most Americans. He just wants the stock market to look good, that’s his boast.
Yeah, I bought a pair of DM shoes for work last September, quite happy with the quality and wear so far. They even did that old-school DM thing of turning my feet into two bloody stumps in the first fortnight, before eventually moulding themselves into the comfiest shoes ever. The Made in England range is almost a 50% mark up on price
Things i agree with Saf on: Mental health treating the elderly with respect Gambling is fun Newcastle are gay I probably should add in the disagreement is more on the politics than anything else. I'll remember to make it longer
I'm curious, why do you want inheritance tax to go up? I've never had a problem with people keeping their inheritance, unless the inheritance was built up through tax dodges that's different, then yeah make them pay. Although I agree that £325k is an awful lot of money that is tax free. My concern would be, someone living in their parents home, but the parents die, if the house is worth over £325k and they are in the South, then unless the parents gift the house (7 years) you are up the creek without a paddle.
It was Trump who negotiated the US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan and Trump stupidly believed it when they said they would do it in an orderly fashion. The reality was that, once the agreement for withdrawal was signed the Afghans went back on there word. From then on it was a complete cluster ****, which Trump has repeatedly blamed Biden for leaving equipment behind. Trump was as much to blame for that as Biden
My thoughts are a bit all over the place so it might lack coherency. 1. I think wealth distribution isn't quite right in that the rich will just get richers and the poor will stay poor (money makes money), especially for those who have big property portfolios. When your young to middle aged person is struggling to get their foot onto the housing ladder (in the south) and rents are ridiculous because we don't have enough council housing. Not sure in practice inheritance tax will fully re-distribute especially amongst the mega wealthy as they just put it in trusts which don't get taxed. I guess my main issue is with families building empires. 2. If someone had to sell their half a million pound house to pay for inheritance and downsize, it might seem a bit harsh but they are going to be doing better than most. 3. I think looking at the current situation of people in their 20s-30s (I'm off the age where people have done well buying a house well who are young, or people are earning a lot so can afford a house) and i can see that in the south, the people who will be able to enjoy a nice house will be those who have inherited them or been able to sell a house to upsize. If i had to pick a side who can afford a house, i think i would choose the ones who are currently earning more than someone having been born into an inheritance. Ideally we'd have more housing for all to buy/rent but not enough house building, not enough builders and too many nimbys mean that isn't an asnwer. At the end of the day though, it's just my opinion, what happens to it doesn't really affect me, i don't expect to receive much from my mum and as much as i love my nieces and nephews (no kids yet), i think because i have "made" it in my life (not very materialistic so i don't spend much) without having had an inheritance, i think anything anyone receives from an inheritance should be a bonus than a perk. I guess it's nice to leave them stuff but when i'm gone, i'm gone and i don't want my family to think that they can rely on inheritance even though it will be nice. They need to go out and make for themselves. Anyway, if you have a spouse, its 700k you can pass tax free and if you are really ballsy/want to avoid it, cash, additional properties etc you can just gift to whoever you want to pass it to as long as you don't die within 7 years. think my comment was a bit flippant as i think what we have now isn't too bad. I think people should be able to pass stuff on, i think the thresholds right now could be raised abit higher (maybe a million per couple) but its more the enforcement of it for the mega wealthy i would prefer really.
Yup, makes a lot of sense Bobby, and yes I read it all, just don't tell CK. I like to think I'm always willing to learn and take in other peoples ideals, it all adds to my thought process.
