Hamps you really do under estimate the human spirit and capacity to make reasoned choices. I started out with nothing along with millions of others in this nation. I chose not to constantly blame others for the poverty around me but decided to work bloody hard and aspire to better myself. Every child has this choice to make but there are those unfortunately who want to be dependent on the state and are too bone idle to get off their backsides and work! There are plenty of families on benefits with 6 or more kids, having a foreign holiday every year at my expense. Labour created a huge dependancy culture in this country and hoodwinked people into believing that a life on benefits is merely a lifestyle choice. I applaud this government for capping benefits to the average annual wage of 26K. Why should the workshy and feckless be rewarded above those that are strivers and aspire to better themselves? Sport and healthy living is available to every one in this country and it is up to the parents to teach their offspring of the benefits of Sport. We have this unpleasant undercurrant in this country of people like you who are quite happy to despise people who have made a lot of money out of the fruits of their labours! I happen to applaud these people as more often than not they are the tryers in our society who take great risks to make a payroll every month. I want a society that is compassionate to those who genuinely can't work, encourages and helps those that want to aspire to greater things and to punish the workshy and feckless.
Sums it all up really. I admire people who work hard and do good for others, regardless of what they earn. I despise people who do harm by others. They are worse than those who sit around doing nothing. How hard you work is not correlated with how much you earn.
JWM was that a copy and paste job from little Johns column in the Mail?? Whilst there is some merit in what you said, it was obnocious and completely fails to take a balanced view but I geuss this just somes up all your arguments!! Yes some people scrounge of the state and take advantage!! People need to take responsibility but this "I'm alright Jack" thing actually makes me want to vomit and is exactly part of the reason why we are in this mess, because there were far too many people out for themselves showing a lack of compassion. It wasn't the scroungers who caused this mess it was the rich being greedy!! Just because you've done it doesn't mean everybody else can. Some kids don't have the choice and from day one are in an environment which exudes failure!! I've no problem with people getting filthy rich at all, just as long a people are responsible and show compassion for who they serve, this IMO due to this Thatcherite attitude was what caused the crash!! Lack of compassion and remembering who it is who you serve, not just trying to make the fast buck, responsible capitalism is the way forward and capatalism with compassion is the only way we will avoid future crashes!!! People should be at least be in the position to have an opportunity to do what they want to do in life and get that drive to succeed in life, at the end of the day it comes from the self but some people given the environment they are in are unable to flourish!! I think you forget it's very easy to get stuck in a rut in life!!
Get a grip? I rather thought that he had.I don't know whether you were actually at the scene of the accident that was Thatcherism JWM.I was and well remember the ramping up of the "Big Bang" on the stock exchange that began the helter skelter ride to oblivion for the financial services sector.It was reminiscent of the Dutch Tulip madness where everything got inflated until it burst. Then she sold off the council houses so that the next generation of unskilled had nowhere to live.But never mind some people got rich from letting bedsits to Social Security for them to live in,so that was alright wasn't it? Of course that brought in it's train drugs and lawlessness but I don't suppose that is problem,certainly we don't see a lot of iot here in Southwold.Just loud mouthed London based weekenders acting as if they own the place..oh hang on a minute they do.Bought with their bank bonuses of course.
Think JWM's last sentence ' I want a society that is compassionate to those who genuinely can't work, encourages and helps those that want to aspire to greater things and to punish the workshy and feckless' probably sums up my attitude. I have no issues helping those who genuinely cant (whether this is down to either disability, illness or an actual lack of work) but I dont like the fact that we pay for those that cant be bothered and want an easy life. The problem comes from the fact that you can pick out parts of each side of the coin to back up your own overall argument. Those wanting a harsher state would point out the 15 year old who becomes a single mum so she gets a flat when she leaves school and god knows how many benefits. Those that want a more compassionate state will point out the poor people who have to give up work to look after an ill partner and struggle by on a weekly basis. There are people who genuinely struggle and those that rip the system off for all it is worth but with a one system fits all policy you have to decide if your going to be harsh on those that need help or lenient on those that dont. A completely new set off benefits individually tailored to needs would be impossible to administor. I think this is the problem which has come about as a result of the original posts issues. Do you throw on classes at council funded sports centres for handball/ volleyball/ badminton where 5 person turn up a week and use a whole hall or do you keep going with dancing/ football/ gymnastics whereby the whole hall will be used and it will be popular. Do you find a privately run badminton hall (used to be one next to my high school, could still be there) and subsidise the under 16s that turn up? Do the people that run these privately owned sports clubs want all the crap that relates to CRB checks etc or do the government put money into to funding these sports teachers of minority sports. If they do fund them do you withdraw funding from other areas (libraries, schooling, lolly pop ladies etc) or do you keep building up a national debt for ever and a day? In Ipswich for example there is at least 4 council run sports centres. Do you set up a kids volleyball club at each of them or only one? how do you choose which area gets the funding as not everyone can travel easily (my parents dont drive for example so getting across town on a saturday morning would have meant at least two buses in each direction) There is also a parents role in this. There are a selection of parents that dont show that much interest in how and what there kids are up to. There are those that are currently willing and able to provide their kids with the private handball lessons currently around. You have the larger 'every day joe' parents who would be willing to if their child was to show great interest, if they could afford to and if they had time to (ie what time and where classes are) maybe a government incentive would be effective in the right areas but who knows to what degree. You also have to take into account travelling expenses (maybe negliable) and equipment costs for said sport which can be horrendous. How many parents have brought ballet shoes and the daughter has decided its not for her after a month or 2! should the government supply free ballet shoes for all 5 year girls? You also have schools in the equation. I had games lessons each week which included many sports and gave us a taste of those more obscure sports but most of us just wanted to play football/ basketball etc. The last problem is the childs dedication and more importantly time (which I think is the most difficult area) its fine having a one hour lesson a week to keep you happy and active in a random sports. Its very different putting in the serious training that happens before you can become a top top sportsman. It can involve getting up at 6 in the morning and having a session before school and then again afterwards. If its a team game and your 'that' good then you will probably need to travel even more to join a successful team to continue your training more seriously. Working this around schoolwork is difficult and I wouldnt fancy that life. I used to play football with my mates in any spare time I had but it wasnt serious, It was down the park a kick about a laugh and plenty of messing around. The energy levels were mininum and I didnt have a coach barking orders at me ever other minute. There is a major difference between keeping kids active and making us an sportingly successful country and both have a massive time, money and effort difference. Again its a major issue of balance.
Southwold eh Cruyff T...one of my favourite places, and oh yes, how it has changed over the years. Great for sailing and fine local pubs abound! Nice that Adnams got the Town beer sponsorship. I think it is time for us all to move on from these fine words and essays, and do think it a great credit to us to engage in such a debate on this Board... but back to footie! Happy Xmas everyone!
Yes mate I remember TAX rates of 98% on unearned income back in the days of the Callaghan Government and unions taking 40% pay rises to prevent them from striking. With Mrs Thatcher's help I set up my first business, bought my first house and I bought my Mum's Council house under the right to but scheme. After years of being held to ransome by left wing union barons who were unelected, she threw off the shackles and had the balls to take on the vested interests that made our country so uncompetitive. She saw off the Argies and played a massive part in winning the cold war. Much bigger achievements than Blair and his illegal war in Iraq wouldn't you say? If her policies were so unpopular and caused all of our current ills why is it that she won 3 landslide elections and why is it that none of her main policies have ever been reversed? Her downfall was down to the simple fact that she had so successfully slayed the Socialist dragon and she had run out of causes to fight! Brought down by the pygmies in her cabinet who weren't fit to even clean her shoes.
I am shocked! I've never before read a reasoned argument in favour of The Iron Lady! I would differ with your last point about her downfall though. The reason she fell out of favour was that, in order to allow those with the means to buy their council houses, set up businesses and benefit from relaxed business practices, she disenfranchised an entire demographic of future voters. The unskilled workers of the future who grew up under the Tories made it clear that they weren't going to work on Maggie's Farm in '97. The strikes were in retaliation to working conditions (builders, miners, etc) that wouldn't be accepted in the third world today. No sanitation, no healthcare, shocking mortality rates, no regard for employees' well-being at all. The anger at rolling blackouts and uncollected bins was enough to keep Labour out until as late as '97. We don't have a choice in this country any more. We have a government which consists of the party who didn't get enough votes to win and the party who came 3rd. The world is run by the USA - a country in which the 2 richest people have more personal wealth than the poorest 25% of the population combined - a fact which makes me want to vomit.
