Very sad news

[Amateur]

No, but if I was King I'd sort everybody out in no time!

as bonkers as you may think it is,
you are the kind of person that today could make to to No10.

 

[Amateur]

as bonkers as you may think it is,
you are the kind of person that today could make to to No10.

He said with a smile on his face

 

[Doug B]

as bonkers as you may think it is,
you are the kind of person that today could make to to No10.

Go for it @Jacob you’re not too old look at Biden if he can get elected at 78 you’ve every chance if you pledge to reduce the duty on beer you’ve got my vote

 

[MIGNAL]

I don't consider it privileged living at all.
Sometimes I wonder if folk could actually get out of bed on a daily basis and do what they do.

I often wonder if they could get out of bed in a morning and do what I do (and countless thousands of others). Someone earlier stated that DoE had served his country, done his duty and how many on here can say that? (or words to that effect). That's complete and utter nonsense, ridiculously condescending. Every single day people 'do their duty' and serve their fellow human beings. It's nearly always without fame, wealth or thanks, often poorly paid.

 

[Jacob]

Go for it @Jacob you’re not too old look at Biden if he can get elected at 78 you’ve every chance if you pledge to reduce the duty on beer you’ve got my vote

Right ho I'll look into it! Coincidentally, free beer for the workers was my first thought. Could be a winner.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Which of course makes them economic, but in another part of the economy.
Just nit picking here - too much text for me this early in the morning!

So subsidising something makes it economic? Why not just subsidise everything. Job done.

 

[Woody2Shoes]

......
There's more to profit than a balance sheet. ........

Exactly what I was telling you about the monarchy! You were listening after all!

 

[Woody2Shoes]

Right ho I'll look into it! Coincidentally, free beer for the workers was my first thought. Could be a winner.

Socialism is all about promises to give away 'free stuff' (having confiscated it from others first, mind)...

 

[Fergie 307]

1 British steel needed it 2 it paid the wages of the miners 3 kept pits open, and so on
There's more to profit than a balance sheet. The UKs biggest and most successful industry, the NHS, makes no profit at all!

Not sure The NHS is a fair comparison. This falls into the category I was talking about earlier, where the benefits to society outweigh the cost. Not sure you can make the same argument in favour of mining. When the price of tin collapsed the industry in Cornwall largely shut down as the cost of getting the stuff out of the ground exceeded its commercial value. That is the harsh economic reality. The only reason many pits remained open for so long was because the whole operation was subsidised by the taxpayer. I have no objection to that in principle, but there has to be a limit. The alternative is to continue to pay people to produce something nobody wants, the butter mountain springs to mind. This is just plain daft. The longer you put off the inevitable, the harder the fall tends to be, coal being a good example. If you subscribe to the view that these industries should be kept going no matter what to safeguard the jobs involved where does that end? Are you going to have a government subsidised factory making, I don't know, steam engines?

 

[Jacob]

So subsidising something makes it economic? Why not just subsidise everything. Job done.

Good idea but it's not that simple. Subsidising something may make a profit, but somewhere else, not necessarily on a balance sheet either e.g. NHS makes an enormous profit in terms of the value of peoples' health.

 

[Jacob]

Socialism is all about promises to give away 'free stuff' (having confiscated it from others first, mind)...

True (ish) but taking from those who have too much and giving it to those who have too little.
Like Robin Hood, but without the bows and arrows (all being well!)

 

[MIGNAL]

Socialism is all about promises to give away 'free stuff' (having confiscated it from others first, mind)...

How did those 'others' get it in the first place? Given that land is power and wealth I guess you know the rest.
My guess is that it was 'confiscated' at the end of a sword or gun.

 

[Jacob]

How did those 'others' get it in the first place? Given that land is power and wealth I guess you know the rest.
My guess is that it was 'confiscated' at the end of a sword or gun.

There is an argument that people should be able to own what they created for themselves.
I agree to some extent: nobody created the land hence nobody should own it.

 

[G S Haydon]

True (ish) but taking from those who have too much and giving it to those who have too little.
Like Robin Hood, but without the bows and arrows (all being well!)

No bows and arrows!

 

[Fergie 307]

How did those 'others' get it in the first place? Given that land is power and wealth I guess you know the rest.
My guess is that it was 'confiscated' at the end of a sword or gun.

How did those 'others' get it in the first place? Given that land is power and wealth I guess you know the rest.
My guess is that it was 'confiscated' at the end of a sword or gun.

A classic example was the oil industry in Russia. Pre revolution they were producing something approaching three quarters of the entire world supply. Post revolution the commissars turned up and took everything into state ownership. Some of the business owners, Nobel for example, were allowed to leave, only because the workers rallied round and protected him. Most were put up against a wall and shot as enemies of the people. those who survived were offered no compensation and were lucky to get out with the clothes on their back. the party hierarchy helped themselves to the assets of the former owners, and new managers were appointed based primarily in their political reliability. All production bonuses and other worker incentives were abolished as being unpatriotic. The result? Within a few years production had slumped by over 90 % and the whole industry was in chaos. The Communiststs were forced to swallow their principles and engage the filthy capitalists in the form of Esso and Shell to sort the mess out, which they did.

 

[D_W]

You did it yourself, in spades, a while back. Proclaimed you were "out" and then continued to post the usual three thousand word essays.

Yes, as all of us do. My new favorite is to say "I've had enough! I'm leaving until I change my mind!", though the guy here earlier threatening to quit with 14 total posts. I mean, what will the board do without those.

 

[D_W]

I don't consider it privileged living at all.
Sometimes I wonder if folk could actually get out of bed on a daily basis and do what they do.

I would never be able to. At some point, some of us would like to have bad manners and tell everyone to f.o.. not doable there. Can you imagine the cell phone videos?

 

[D_W]

They existed at all because of the failures of the businesses which preceded them.
Should have been a lot better financed but there's always been a British prejudice against state control.
As a result we have no coal industry, virtually no motor industry and Europe's most expensive railways. They are replaced by imports and/or managed by foreign businesses often state controlled themselves but by foreign states with more imagination than poor old Britain.
Also British tendency to blame those at the bottom for failure at the top. The motor industry was hopelessly mismanaged and underinvested before the big strikes, coal was shut down as a political decision - the miners were fighting to keep the business going, rail was underinvested and the subsequent privatisation very problematic.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveke...-owned-by-other-eu-countries/?sh=838a68e208f2

Reality is tough, huh? When labor is at the table with people pleasing business leadership, the conclusion is always the same.

 

[Doug B]

I would never be able to. At some point, some of us would like to have bad manners and tell everyone to f.o.. not doable there. Can you imagine the cell phone videos?

He did & the videos are out there along with his racist quotes

 

[D_W]

How long ago are these videos?