Bolitics The New Condem Government

[darrenm]

I'll be brave and show my political party. I say my party as I've started it and I'm the sole candidate

 

http://www.healthandfitnessparty.org.uk/

 

I don't know nearly enough about politics to actually attempt to start a party by myself, but it's what I believe in and there isn't a party already out there which reflects my views so I registered the domain and put a few thoughts down as the start of a manifesto. My hope was that other like minded people would see it and perhaps it could pick up a bit of traction and others who know more about politics would get involved etc.

 

I'm sure it'll just die a death. It's just what I think are the most important things for a functioning society. Healthy people are happy, make good decisions and don't suck resources out of the NHS. I understand fully that there are many people who don't fall under the aims of this ideology through no fault of their own. I'd just like to encourage more exercise and less chips, chinese and smoking in general.

[villaajax]

I'm sure you'll unsettle Sajid Javid's stronghold on the Bromsgrove constituency.

[darrenm]

shh. I was trying to keep it quiet that he was voted in here. I voted Lib Dem of course, the only sensible choice at the time.

[MakemineVanilla]

Is that the global average income for developed countries or does it include 3rd World countries and countries that make use of sweatshops?

 

It includes everyone from the people who grow the cocoa to make the chocolate to the sweatshop workers who produce the clothes for Primark.

 

When Primark opened a store in Berlin the crowds who gathered were told about the conditions of exploitation and they didn't give a damn, and they were from the top 10% not the top 1%.

 

If people from top 10% cared about exploitative wages and conditions, Walmart would go out of business, but it doesn't, it prospers.

[peterms]

I've put this here rather than the child rape thread because it's about the relationships between the Tory party and the police, not about yet another MP raping children and getting away with it.

My point is simple. In the 80's, the Tories knew to keep the police onside. Putting up police pay was (I think) the second thing that the vile cow thatcher did, after relaxing capital controls. As a direct result, they could rape and bugger away to their hearts' content, with no fear of being troubled by impertinent questions, as this Mail story reminds us.

But along the way, they've lost the plot. They are proposing to cut the plod by 40% or more.

Are they mad? Has the boy George been sharing the sherbert in the Commons khazis? What's happening?

[bickster]

You know those nice lovely pie charts that we're going to get to tell us how much of our taxes were spent where… The government appear to have lumped teachers pensions in with Welfare… agenda? much?

[MakemineVanilla]

You know those nice lovely pie charts that we're going to get to tell us how much of our taxes were spent where… The government appear to have lumped teachers pensions in with Welfare… agenda? much?

 

But aren't the future liabilities of public sector pensions the greater part of the financial iceberg, when it comes to government debt?

[choffer]

You know those nice lovely pie charts that we're going to get to tell us how much of our taxes were spent where… The government appear to have lumped teachers pensions in with Welfare… agenda? much?

 

 

I posted this a wee while ago on the very subject.

 

 

 

This story is nearly a week old but haven't seen this posted yet.

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/to-help-fuel-their-propaganda-machine-against-the-poor-our-government-has-now-decided-to-redefine-the-word-welfare-9873127.html

 

 

Across the country this month millions of us will be receiving tax returns from the government with colourful, sexy-looking pie charts on them, helpfully outlining where all our tax is being spent. This is, according to George Osborne, a revolution in transparency over how people’s money is being used by the government.

 

My own tax return, its shiny little pie chart practically glowing with a sense of its own transparency, arrived through the door yesterday. The first thing that struck me and shocked me about it was that the largest part – a whole quarter – was taken up by the term "welfare". Could it really be true that welfare receives more money than any other part of the public sector? More than health? More than education? Something seemed untransparent here.

 

Like everyone else's, my pie chart shows the largest segment of tax going on welfare (24.5 per cent) followed by health (18.9 per cent), education (13.2 per cent) and state pensions (12.1 per cent). But what is the definition of welfare here? Is it consistent with previous Government definitions of the word? Does it contain spending that the average person would normally associate with the word welfare? Does it include spending that should, more logically, be grouped into other categories?

 

In fact the document makes all of the above misrepresentations. Firstly, according to the independent fact checking organisation,fullfact.org, the definition of the term "welfare" as a spending category was created especially for this statement. The government previously defined the term "welfare" when it introduced the welfare cap.

 

However the new definition is different, containing more spending categories than before. These new inclusions comprise things like "personal social services" (like home care and child protection), and, perhaps most glaring of all, a category called "other pensions" which includes teachers’ and other state employees’ pensions. How does that make sense, especially when there is already a separate category for pensions? I don’t know about you, but teachers’ pensions are not something that I have ever associated with the term "welfare".

 

Another misrepresentation is lumping fire services in with "criminal justice", handily bulking up the amount of money that seems to be spent on crime. Then there’s the category called "environment" which, although not big, is at least reassuringly visible, until you find out that 73 per cent of this is "waste management" or rubbish collection. I must remember to hail my bin man as an environmental worker when he comes tomorrow.

 

These statements are being delivered through the doors of 24m tax payers at a cost of £5m of our own money (will future pie charts have a segment labelled "cost of these pie charts"?) That’s 24m people across the UK who will be opening these letters and thinking, “That’s a lot of money to spend on the unemployed. Maybe the Tories are right; maybe we do need to make more cuts to welfare spending.” What a nice coincidence then that this comes after George Osborne signalled that he wants to make a further £12bn worth of cuts to welfare spending.

 

Who knows, it might even get people thinking, “Maybe I should vote Conservative after all, rather than Labour or Green who’d only increase spending on welfare.” Again, a coincidence that these pie charts come winging through our doors in the run up to the general election? Don’t be silly, this is all about transparency, right?

 

The word "transparency" in the mouth of the Tory government is like the words “won’t feel a thing” in the mouth of a dentist. These "transparent" tax returns are nothing more than targeted pamphleteering for government propaganda, designed to make us believe their hype that cutting money to the poor and needy and giving it to the rich is good for the country.

 

 

TL:DR: We're still being lied to.

 

[TrentVilla]

Always knew this would be the case with the 'statements' of creation but to see it spelled out quite so much just underlines for me why the Tory party simply can never be trusted. They are inherit liars.

[Risso]

You know those nice lovely pie charts that we're going to get to tell us how much of our taxes were spent where… The government appear to have lumped teachers pensions in with Welfare… agenda? much?

 

It's actually ALL public sector pensions that are included in that definition.  Whether you agree with the definition is an argument worth having, but yet again, the teachers are making the most noise about it.

[lapal_fan]

The age of information and data in which we're now living in, will of course unearth a lot of old, bad things.  Everything was much easier to control if it's flammable.

 

I'm glad that there has been a small amount of justice to some of the things that happened when the famous/powerful society were all huddled up in their little comfort cocoon.. Gives the average Joe something to shout about.

[meregreen]

 

You know those nice lovely pie charts that we're going to get to tell us how much of our taxes were spent where… The government appear to have lumped teachers pensions in with Welfare… agenda? much?

 

It's actually ALL public sector pensions that are included in that definition.  Whether you agree with the definition is an argument worth having, but yet again, the teachers are making the most noise about it.

 

Good for them.

[TrentVilla]

 

You know those nice lovely pie charts that we're going to get to tell us how much of our taxes were spent where… The government appear to have lumped teachers pensions in with Welfare… agenda? much?

 

It's actually ALL public sector pensions that are included in that definition.  Whether you agree with the definition is an argument worth having, but yet again, the teachers are making the most noise about it.

 

 

Bicks isn't a teacher, or at least not in the traditional definition

[Risso]

 

 

You know those nice lovely pie charts that we're going to get to tell us how much of our taxes were spent where… The government appear to have lumped teachers pensions in with Welfare… agenda? much?

 

It's actually ALL public sector pensions that are included in that definition.  Whether you agree with the definition is an argument worth having, but yet again, the teachers are making the most noise about it.

 

 

Bicks isn't a teacher, or at least not in the traditional definition

 

 

Never said he was!  I know what Bicks does for a living, he's a professional Scouser!

[CVByrne]

 

You know those nice lovely pie charts that we're going to get to tell us how much of our taxes were spent where… The government appear to have lumped teachers pensions in with Welfare… agenda? much?

 

It's actually ALL public sector pensions that are included in that definition.  Whether you agree with the definition is an argument worth having, but yet again, the teachers are making the most noise about it.

 

 

 

I was going to say this. "Social Welfare" includes all state paid pensions - I know that's the way it's always been in Ireland, I understand the word "welfare" has a different cache meaning here in the UK. I think it's linked to the "benefits" etc..

 

Pie charts usually slice it into 4 items, Social Welfare, Public Sector pay, Capital Expenditure, Servicing Debt. 

 

Obviously you can dig down more granular. 

[Jon]

Tory party simply can never be trusted. They are inherit liars.

They certainly know a thing or two about inheriting power and wealth, so this post works. I'd have gone with 'inherent' though ;-)

[Amsterdam_Neil_D]

I've put this here rather than the child rape thread because it's about the relationships between the Tory party and the police, not about yet another MP raping children and getting away with it.

My point is simple. In the 80's, the Tories knew to keep the police onside. Putting up police pay was (I think) the second thing that the vile cow thatcher did, after relaxing capital controls. As a direct result, they could rape and bugger away to their hearts' content, with no fear of being troubled by impertinent questions, as this Mail story reminds us.

But along the way, they've lost the plot. They are proposing to cut the plod by 40% or more.

Are they mad? Has the boy George been sharing the sherbert in the Commons khazis? What's happening?

 

Cameron sent a tweet out yesterday saying the Government are working with the Internet companies to make the UK a safer place for children.  How about you close the Tory party once and for all,  that IMO would increase all kids safety by incredible amounts long term.  One can only imagine what the Tories were up to in the 80's but it's proper nightmare stuff.  Maggie and Jimmy sitting in a tree.....

 

Anyone who supports the Tories now is a brave brave person IMO.

[drat01]

 

You know those nice lovely pie charts that we're going to get to tell us how much of our taxes were spent where… The government appear to have lumped teachers pensions in with Welfare… agenda? much?

 

It's actually ALL public sector pensions that are included in that definition.  Whether you agree with the definition is an argument worth having, but yet again, the teachers are making the most noise about it.

 

So what?

 

The fundamental issue is still there that this Gvmt led by the Tory party is basically spewing out lies and deceit - all part of this vindictive agenda they have. They have always been a party of greed and deceit and nothing changes

[omariqy]

I still can't believe Osborne got away with saying that the deficit has halved.  Talk about twisting the truth.

[snowychap]

Face-sitting protest outside parliament against new porn rules

 

 

Sex workers and campaigners have gathered in front of parliament to protest against changes to UK pornography regulations.

Organiser Charlotte Rose called the restrictions “ludicrous” and said they were a threat to freedom of expression.

Protesters say the list of banned activities includes “face-sitting”, and campaigners planned to carry out a mass demonstration of this while singing the Monty Python song Sit On My Face.

 

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