Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

welfare system and its cost
it is abundantly clear, except to the likes of fred and corbyn, that it is totally unsustainable in its present form, and if left alone, the problem can only get worse

however, there is equally no doubt that any attempt to cut the costs will be met with great cries of grief and horror, not only from the usual suspects but also, not necessarily unreasonably, from the recipients whose benefits are affected

from a firsthand perspective (my tenant), after a huge struggle and about 3 years, he managed to secure a part-time job, albeit on minimum wage ...... i think his partner has also found some hours in child-minding or similar

as it stands, they are actually little or no better off, but emotionally and psychologically, they are both chuffed to bits that they are getting themselves off the benefits roundabout

the chap is keeping his fingers crossed that, in a few months time, he will have shown himself as a good and hard worker and will become full time .... also in april (i think) the minimum wage increases, so then his perseverance will indeed show fruit

I'm beginning to wish Labour had won ,maybe Fred would have lightened up .

It seems obvious the problem lies in the reflections by yourself!

Unless you are a neo-con, the following remark may be worth considering!

“The world has enough for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed.”

I'm with you Fred , and most politicians are tossers ,it's just do you need to post day after day after day .

fred and corbyn may want to raise taxes to the sky to fund a lovely cotton-wool welfare system, and fondly believe that this will not be counter-productive ...... history shows otherwise

A good account of what Labour under Corbyn will be like.

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/jeremy-corbyn-is-a-stranger-to-responsibility-and-will-loathe-leadership-10471438.html

That article could just as well be about Call Me, he's never done a real job, just a series of placements engineered by the chaps.

MaxK
The difference with Cameron is that he was shadow minister of Education. He has experience of government. And was leader of the opposition for quite a time. He has a First in Economics.

Corbyn has no experience of government and had voted against his party 500 times. He has no degree, just a short time at a polytechnic with no qualification.

you don't need qualifications to make a very successful entrepreneur and business man, so why should it be needed in politics?

as for economists ...... oh hahahaha! ...... none of them really knows or can know anything, and assuredly such a qualification is certainly not a prerequisite for being a good (and lucky) chancellor

Actually, I think you'll find that David Cameron's degree is in PPE, rather than in Economics.

True. I was just stressing the Economics aspect.

More likely this is what he was trained as an apprentice to wear:

ComRes’s monthly poll has topline figures of

CON 42%, LAB 28%, LDEM 8%, UKIP 9%, GRN 6%.

Is somebody lying!

Tory ideology against morality.

What a tacky government we have

I like the new mobsters list of peers.

Reminds me of the Mafia and its good deeds.

David Cameron may be rueing his "no ifs, no buts" pledge to reduce immigration, the press says

i was very interested to hear on the wireless an analysis yesterday of the immigration figures

far and away the majority of the influx are courtesy of the eu which allows member citizens automatic right of entry ...... of these immigrants, a very high % were from the dreaded bulgaria and romania and the like, for whom uk is like the land of milk and honey

uk also remains very weak at chucking out students once they have finished their courses, though there is also a very good argument that says we should be trying to employ these graduates - always assuming they have decent degrees from decent unis

asylum seekers apparently make up just 4% of the influx

university realism slowly waking up
i'm unsure where it comes from, but it seems that at long long last, a great many school leavers and indeed employers are championing the idea of "learning on the job" - aka internships and apprenticeships

the building industry is chronically short of skilled labour, but certainly until now, it has been nigh on impossible for course graduates (bricklaying, plumbing, sparks etc) to get the necessary field work and experience

much of the problem almost certainly lies with the plethora a very small trade-companies who do not have the time or money or indeed the inclination to take on extra staff ..... i dare say that some of this is born of the fear of introducing more competition into their locale