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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The latest Politicalbetting/Polling Matters podcast: Conser

SystemSystem Posts: 11,694
edited October 2015 in General

imagepoliticalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The latest Politicalbetting/Polling Matters podcast: Conservative Conference special

Polling Matters is back and Keiran discusses the Tory Party conference with Asa Bennett of the Telegraph and Rob Vance. Just how strong are the Conservatives right now? Who succeeds David Cameron? And what will the London Mayoral race tell us about the wider political situation in Westminster in the longer term?

Read the full story here


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Comments

  • Options
    Moses_Moses_ Posts: 4,865
    First
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    CyclefreeCyclefree Posts: 25,221
    Second
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    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    Richard the Third!
  • Options
    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
  • Options
    JackWJackW Posts: 14,787
    Yet more blue movies on PB.
  • Options
    JackWJackW Posts: 14,787
    England already losing to Uruguay in the rugby .... titter .... :smile:
  • Options
    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    FPT:

    As I recall it was Tony Benn's father who was made a Viscount, in the era before life peerages, in thanks for political services rendered. The Wedgewood-Benn's were not blue blooded aristocrats.
    JackW said:

    MattW said:

    kle4 said:

    Cyclefree said:

    kle4 said:

    My favourite teenage politico has to have been Emily Benn.

    I know young Ms Benn. She does do stuff other than politics and is a very nice and thoughtful person.

    I'm sure she is and that she does.
    That background most resembles a cross between the Milibands and Charlie Gilmour, though perhaps more sensible than the latter.

    Massively connected / privileged, and many millions cascading down the generations.

    Who were the last 3 members of the family who worked in normal jobs outside the political or public sectors?
    I've always wondered about the transmogrification of the first Viscount Stansgate into Anthony Wedgwood-Benn, then Tony Wedgwood-Benn then Tony Benn. Did this voluntary travel down the escalator of class signify a growing realisation of the virtue of humility and a better understanding of the problems facing the hoi poloi?
    Tony Benn was not the first Viscount Stansgate but the second. He succeeded his father in 1960. During his life he was (via Wiki) :

    Anthony Wedgwood Benn, Esq. (1925 – 12 January 1942)
    The Hon. Anthony Wedgwood Benn (12 January 1942 – 30 November 1950)
    The Hon. Anthony Wedgwood Benn, MP (30 November 1950 – 17 November 1960)
    The Rt Hon. the Viscount Stansgate (17 November 1960 – 31 July 1963)
    Anthony Wedgwood Benn, Esq. (31 July – 20 August 1963)
    Anthony Wedgwood Benn, Esq., MP (20 August 1963 – 1964)
    The Rt Hon. Anthony Wedgwood Benn, MP (1964 – October 1973)
    The Rt Hon. Tony Benn, MP (October 1973 – 9 June 1983)
    The Rt Hon. Tony Benn (9 June 1983 – 1 March 1984)
    The Rt Hon. Tony Benn, MP (1 March 1984 – 7 June 2001)
    The Rt Hon. Tony Benn (7 June 2001 – 14 March 2014)

    ........................................................................................

    Benn's elder brother Michael would have inherited the title but died on active service during WWII. In 2014 Tony Benn's eldest son Stephen succeeded to the title as the third Viscount. His younger brother is former Labour cabinet minister Hilary.

    The Benn's are also in remainder to the Benn baronetcy of The Old Knoll in Surrey.




  • Options
    NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,352
    Genuinely interesting piece without obvious propaganda on healthcare in different countries:

    http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/10/nhs-workers-from-abroad-coming-over-here-saving-our-lives
  • Options
    JackWJackW Posts: 14,787

    FPT:

    As I recall it was Tony Benn's father who was made a Viscount, in the era before life peerages, in thanks for political services rendered. The Wedgewood-Benn's were not blue blooded aristocrats.

    JackW said:

    MattW said:

    kle4 said:

    Cyclefree said:

    kle4 said:

    My favourite teenage politico has to have been Emily Benn.

    I know young Ms Benn. She does do stuff other than politics and is a very nice and thoughtful person.

    I'm sure she is and that she does.
    That background most resembles a cross between the Milibands and Charlie Gilmour, though perhaps more sensible than the latter.

    Massively connected / privileged, and many millions cascading down the generations.

    Who were the last 3 members of the family who worked in normal jobs outside the political or public sectors?
    I've always wondered about the transmogrification of the first Viscount Stansgate into Anthony Wedgwood-Benn, then Tony Wedgwood-Benn then Tony Benn. Did this voluntary travel down the escalator of class signify a growing realisation of the virtue of humility and a better understanding of the problems facing the hoi poloi?
    Tony Benn was not the first Viscount Stansgate but the second. He succeeded his father in 1960. During his life he was (via Wiki) :

    Anthony Wedgwood Benn, Esq. (1925 – 12 January 1942)
    The Hon. Anthony Wedgwood Benn (12 January 1942 – 30 November 1950)
    The Hon. Anthony Wedgwood Benn, MP (30 November 1950 – 17 November 1960)
    The Rt Hon. the Viscount Stansgate (17 November 1960 – 31 July 1963)
    Anthony Wedgwood Benn, Esq. (31 July – 20 August 1963)
    Anthony Wedgwood Benn, Esq., MP (20 August 1963 – 1964)
    The Rt Hon. Anthony Wedgwood Benn, MP (1964 – October 1973)
    The Rt Hon. Tony Benn, MP (October 1973 – 9 June 1983)
    The Rt Hon. Tony Benn (9 June 1983 – 1 March 1984)
    The Rt Hon. Tony Benn, MP (1 March 1984 – 7 June 2001)
    The Rt Hon. Tony Benn (7 June 2001 – 14 March 2014)

    ........................................................................................

    Benn's elder brother Michael would have inherited the title but died on active service during WWII. In 2014 Tony Benn's eldest son Stephen succeeded to the title as the third Viscount. His younger brother is former Labour cabinet minister Hilary.

    The Benn's are also in remainder to the Benn baronetcy of The Old Knoll in Surrey.




    Tony Benn's paternal grandfather was Sir John Benn Bt, a noted London politician who was of solid middle class stock. It would be fair to say the family became part of the left establishment during the 20th century.

  • Options
    SquareRootSquareRoot Posts: 7,095
    How did tony benn end upnso wealthy.. inheritance?
  • Options
    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 32,027

    Genuinely interesting piece without obvious propaganda on healthcare in different countries:

    http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/10/nhs-workers-from-abroad-coming-over-here-saving-our-lives

    Today's editorial very good, too.
  • Options

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Only once they have reached the "excess income" threshold..it's still 80% till then.
  • Options
    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 32,027

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
  • Options
    JackWJackW Posts: 14,787

    How did tony benn end upnso wealthy.. inheritance?

    Capital growth of Inflated London property prices over the decades, journalism and other writing.

  • Options
    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,496
    FPT

    Yes, we must stop the Russians killing Islamists and flying on the edge of Turkey before it's too late.

    Flying over the edge of Turkey, as they admitted.
    The Russian Defence Ministry said on Monday that an SU-30 fighter aircraft had entered Turkish airspace along the border with Syria "for a few seconds" on Saturday
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/06/us-mideast-crisis-syria-turkey-russia-idUSKCN0RZ0FT20151006

    Now, I know that's Reuters, and therefore the MSM that you hate and disbelieve, but there it is for everyone else.

    And NATO's view from Al-j. I don't know if Al-j is an evil MSM outlet in your mind, but here goes:
    "I will not speculate on the motives ... but this does not look like an accident, and we have seen two of them," Stoltenberg said of the air incursions over Turkey's border with Syria. He noted that they "lasted for a long time".
    http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/10/nato-rejects-russian-explanation-turkey-incursion-151006130012896.html
    If not an accident, what purpose do NATO ascribe to them? I'm all ears.

    All ears, but no eyes or sense.

    If not an accident, then on purpose, obviously.

    If the multiple incursions are accidental, then it doesn't say much for Russian airmanship, does it?

    Yes, on purpose. So to what purpose?

    We don't believe the first incursion was due to bad weather (the second incursion has not been admitted so is subject to debate), so why? A dangerous motive has been hinted at, so what is that dangerous motive? I'm not asking for chapter and verse, merely any vague indication of what this bad thing that Russia intends to do that would be helped by deliberate incursions into Turkish airspace.
  • Options
    flightpath01flightpath01 Posts: 4,903

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    It must be if you think about it. It will be taken into account when calculating any benefits and an employer will be in breach of the law if he does not pay it.
  • Options
    DecrepitJohnLDecrepitJohnL Posts: 13,300
    The podcast includes the suggestion that in the London mayoral election, both Zac and Sadiq will think they've got the perfect opponent. Some interesting angles on the Conservative leadership stakes too.
  • Options
    flightpath01flightpath01 Posts: 4,903

    How did tony benn end upnso wealthy.. inheritance?

    Silly lefties packed halls to hear him speak.
    It's the same method that made Jimmy Carr a millionaire. There are lots of millionaire leftie stand up comedians who have exploited this loophole.
  • Options
    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 32,027

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    It must be if you think about it. It will be taken into account when calculating any benefits and an employer will be in breach of the law if he does not pay it.
    So the difference between that and the Minimum Wage is?
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,985

    FPT

    Yes, we must stop the Russians killing Islamists and flying on the edge of Turkey before it's too late.

    Flying over the edge of Turkey, as they admitted.
    The Russian Defence Ministry said on Monday that an SU-30 fighter aircraft had entered Turkish airspace along the border with Syria "for a few seconds" on Saturday
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/06/us-mideast-crisis-syria-turkey-russia-idUSKCN0RZ0FT20151006

    Now, I know that's Reuters, and therefore the MSM that you hate and disbelieve, but there it is for everyone else.

    And NATO's view from Al-j. I don't know if Al-j is an evil MSM outlet in your mind, but here goes:
    "I will not speculate on the motives ... but this does not look like an accident, and we have seen two of them," Stoltenberg said of the air incursions over Turkey's border with Syria. He noted that they "lasted for a long time".
    http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/10/nato-rejects-russian-explanation-turkey-incursion-151006130012896.html
    If not an accident, what purpose do NATO ascribe to them? I'm all ears.
    All ears, but no eyes or sense.

    If not an accident, then on purpose, obviously.

    If the multiple incursions are accidental, then it doesn't say much for Russian airmanship, does it?

    Yes, on purpose. So to what purpose?

    We don't believe the first incursion was due to bad weather (the second incursion has not been admitted so is subject to debate), so why? A dangerous motive has been hinted at, so what is that dangerous motive? I'm not asking for chapter and verse, merely any vague indication of what this bad thing that Russia intends to do that would be helped by deliberate incursions into Turkish airspace.

    Probably to see if Turkey detects them flying in their airspace, testing their defences.
  • Options

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    The National Living Wage replaces the Minimum Wage and is mandatory from next April (2016)
  • Options
    flightpath01flightpath01 Posts: 4,903

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    It must be if you think about it. It will be taken into account when calculating any benefits and an employer will be in breach of the law if he does not pay it.
    So the difference between that and the Minimum Wage is?
    How they are spelled? You tell me.
  • Options
    AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670
    edited October 2015

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    It must be if you think about it. It will be taken into account when calculating any benefits and an employer will be in breach of the law if he does not pay it.
    So the difference between that and the Minimum Wage is?
    It's just renaming the minimum wage.

    If you've heard the term living wage before it refers to a different thing calculated by a non government body.
  • Options
    JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 39,056
    edited October 2015

    Yes, on purpose. So to what purpose?

    We don't believe the first incursion was due to bad weather (the second incursion has not been admitted so is subject to debate), so why? A dangerous motive has been hinted at, so what is that dangerous motive? I'm not asking for chapter and verse, merely any vague indication of what this bad thing that Russia intends to do that would be helped by deliberate incursions into Turkish airspace.

    Look, a few minutes ago you were saying that they were flying on the edge of Turkey. You now seem to admit they were flying 'over'. We are, at least, making progress.

    Two answers seem possible to me:
    Projection of power and control of airspace (edit: right up to the border).

    But there could be many others.

    Now back to the missiles, which you have gone rather silent on ...

    Edit: DecrepitJohnL's answer above is better .
  • Options
    DecrepitJohnLDecrepitJohnL Posts: 13,300

    FPT

    Yes, we must stop the Russians killing Islamists and flying on the edge of Turkey before it's too late.

    Flying over the edge of Turkey, as they admitted.
    The Russian Defence Ministry said on Monday that an SU-30 fighter aircraft had entered Turkish airspace along the border with Syria "for a few seconds" on Saturday
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/06/us-mideast-crisis-syria-turkey-russia-idUSKCN0RZ0FT20151006

    Now, I know that's Reuters, and therefore the MSM that you hate and disbelieve, but there it is for everyone else.

    And NATO's view from Al-j. I don't know if Al-j is an evil MSM outlet in your mind, but here goes:
    "I will not speculate on the motives ... but this does not look like an accident, and we have seen two of them," Stoltenberg said of the air incursions over Turkey's border with Syria. He noted that they "lasted for a long time".
    http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/10/nato-rejects-russian-explanation-turkey-incursion-151006130012896.html
    If not an accident, what purpose do NATO ascribe to them? I'm all ears.
    All ears, but no eyes or sense.

    If not an accident, then on purpose, obviously.

    If the multiple incursions are accidental, then it doesn't say much for Russian airmanship, does it?

    Yes, on purpose. So to what purpose?

    We don't believe the first incursion was due to bad weather (the second incursion has not been admitted so is subject to debate), so why? A dangerous motive has been hinted at, so what is that dangerous motive? I'm not asking for chapter and verse, merely any vague indication of what this bad thing that Russia intends to do that would be helped by deliberate incursions into Turkish airspace.

    Checking Turkish reaction times and radar, probably. The same reasons Russia flies close to other Nato airspace, including ours. Then up a notch -- violating airspace with no reaction sends a warning to other countries, especially the ex-Soviet republics, not to rely on Nato to defend them.
  • Options
    Alistair said:

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    It must be if you think about it. It will be taken into account when calculating any benefits and an employer will be in breach of the law if he does not pay it.
    So the difference between that and the Minimum Wage is?
    It's just renaming the minimum wage.
    Technically but at a much increased hourly rate rising to £9.00 plus in 2020
  • Options
    Alistair said:

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    It must be if you think about it. It will be taken into account when calculating any benefits and an employer will be in breach of the law if he does not pay it.
    So the difference between that and the Minimum Wage is?
    It's just renaming the minimum wage.

    If you've heard the term living wage before it refers to a different thing calculated by a non government body.
    To be fair the Low Pay Commission - which recommends the actual National Minimum Wage - is also independent of government
  • Options
    RazedabodeRazedabode Posts: 2,977
    edited October 2015
    Cyclefree said:
    Is it odd that this doesn't surprise me? Ive become so used to Labour having a leader with such dubious connections Ive become immune to it.

    But seriously. This bloke is leader of the Labour Party.
  • Options

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Only once they have reached the "excess income" threshold..it's still 80% till then.
    Which is the idea of the Living Wage changes. The ideal is to get more people who are working full time off the need of claiming tax credits at all - which means they then keep 32% of their wages and not 80%.

    This is quite clearly first and foremost to the benefit of the worker who gets to keep 68% of their marginal income rather than 20%
  • Options
    DecrepitJohnLDecrepitJohnL Posts: 13,300

    How did tony benn end upnso wealthy.. inheritance?

    Silly lefties packed halls to hear him speak.
    It's the same method that made Jimmy Carr a millionaire. There are lots of millionaire leftie stand up comedians who have exploited this loophole.
    Tony Benn also sold a great many books.
  • Options

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    Yes for over 25's.
  • Options
    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,496
    edited October 2015

    Yes, on purpose. So to what purpose?

    We don't believe the first incursion was due to bad weather (the second incursion has not been admitted so is subject to debate), so why? A dangerous motive has been hinted at, so what is that dangerous motive? I'm not asking for chapter and verse, merely any vague indication of what this bad thing that Russia intends to do that would be helped by deliberate incursions into Turkish airspace.

    Look, a few minutes ago you were saying that they were flying on the edge of Turkey. You now seem to admit they were flying 'over'. We are, at least, making progress.

    Two answers seem possible to me:
    Projection of power and control of airspace (edit: right up to the border).

    But there could be many others.

    Now back to the missiles, which you have gone rather silent on ...
    It is an acknowledged fact that there was at least one airspace incursion - to try and suggest my comment was an attempt to refute that is a truly desperate debating tactic. I'm embarrassed for you.

    I think if you look back you'll find I replied to you regarding the missiles, and it's you who has gone 'silent'. At the risk of repeating myself, if the US has proof of these missiles landing in Iran (and one presumes they have if they've stated as much), they can simply produce it. No difficulty there.
  • Options
    david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 17,419

    How did tony benn end upnso wealthy.. inheritance?

    Silly lefties packed halls to hear him speak.
    It's the same method that made Jimmy Carr a millionaire. There are lots of millionaire leftie stand up comedians who have exploited this loophole.
    Tony Benn also sold a great many books.
    And justifiably so. His diaries are a very good read and an excellent record of Labour through the 1960s to 1980s, as well as a fine insight into the thinking of campaigners of his views beyond that period.
  • Options

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    Yes for over 25's.
    And almost certainly a boost in employment for the under 25's
  • Options

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    Yes for over 25's.
    If you're under 25 you're deemed by this Government of being incapable of doing a proper days work...even though nurses and the armed forces who are under 25 manage to do so. But then under 25's tend not to vote in any great number so the Tories treat them as second class citizens
  • Options
    flightpath01flightpath01 Posts: 4,903

    How did tony benn end upnso wealthy.. inheritance?

    Silly lefties packed halls to hear him speak.
    It's the same method that made Jimmy Carr a millionaire. There are lots of millionaire leftie stand up comedians who have exploited this loophole.
    Tony Benn also sold a great many books.
    For which his publisher will be grateful.
    But I take your point.
  • Options
    JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 39,056

    Yes, on purpose. So to what purpose?

    We don't believe the first incursion was due to bad weather (the second incursion has not been admitted so is subject to debate), so why? A dangerous motive has been hinted at, so what is that dangerous motive? I'm not asking for chapter and verse, merely any vague indication of what this bad thing that Russia intends to do that would be helped by deliberate incursions into Turkish airspace.

    Look, a few minutes ago you were saying that they were flying on the edge of Turkey. You now seem to admit they were flying 'over'. We are, at least, making progress.

    Two answers seem possible to me:
    Projection of power and control of airspace (edit: right up to the border).

    But there could be many others.

    Now back to the missiles, which you have gone rather silent on ...
    It is an acknowledged fact that there was at least one airspace incursion - to try and suggest my comment was an attempt to refute that is a truly desperate debating tactic. I'm embarrassed for you.

    I think if you look back you'll find I replied to you regarding the missiles, and it's you who has gone 'silent'. At the risk of repeating myself, if the US has proof of these missiles landing in Iran (and one presumes they have if they've stated as much), they can simply produce it. No difficulty there.
    You haven't said it was an 'acknowledged fact' until just now. As I said, we're making progress. It's fairly obvious there's a difference between 'on' and 'over', and you would have chosen your wording carefully.

    I like the way you think Russian pilots are so incompetent they stray over into Turkish airspace, yet their missile designers and manufacturers are so brilliant they never go wrong!
  • Options

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    It must be if you think about it. It will be taken into account when calculating any benefits and an employer will be in breach of the law if he does not pay it.
    So the difference between that and the Minimum Wage is?
    The Minimum Wage bands are three existing bands that affect <18, 18-20 and 21+ currently and are escalating at a way set by the Low Pay Commission.

    The new Living Wage is a new higher band that would not have existed that goes significantly above the existing 21+ rate at 25+. This means that the current top rate band will be for just 21-24 year olds and a new higher rate is being introduced called the Living Wage for over 25s.
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,985

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    Yes for over 25's.
    If you're under 25 you're deemed by this Government of being incapable of doing a proper days work...even though nurses and the armed forces who are under 25 manage to do so. But then under 25's tend not to vote in any great number so the Tories treat them as second class citizens
    There has always been a lower minimum wage for young people. Even when Labour introduced it in 1998.
  • Options
    Plato_SaysPlato_Says Posts: 11,822
    According to an authoritative parliamentary reference work, Mr Corbyn was general secretary of the editorial board. He wrote the front-page story in the same issue of Briefing.

    The same edition of Briefing, for December 1984, carried a reader’s letter praising the “audacity” of the IRA attack and stating: “What do you call four dead Tories? A start.”
    Cyclefree said:
  • Options
    RobD said:

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    Yes for over 25's.
    If you're under 25 you're deemed by this Government of being incapable of doing a proper days work...even though nurses and the armed forces who are under 25 manage to do so. But then under 25's tend not to vote in any great number so the Tories treat them as second class citizens
    There has always been a lower minimum wage for young people. Even when Labour introduced it in 1998.
    But why 25? I can understand 18-21 but 25?
  • Options
    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 32,027

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    It must be if you think about it. It will be taken into account when calculating any benefits and an employer will be in breach of the law if he does not pay it.
    So the difference between that and the Minimum Wage is?
    The Minimum Wage bands are three existing bands that affect <18, 18-20 and 21+ currently and are escalating at a way set by the Low Pay Commission.

    The new Living Wage is a new higher band that would not have existed that goes significantly above the existing 21+ rate at 25+. This means that the current top rate band will be for just 21-24 year olds and a new higher rate is being introduced called the Living Wage for over 25s.</p>
    Thanks; so for a 25 year old the Living Wage is the Minimum Wage.

    A good start.
  • Options

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    Yes for over 25's.
    If you're under 25 you're deemed by this Government of being incapable of doing a proper days work...even though nurses and the armed forces who are under 25 manage to do so. But then under 25's tend not to vote in any great number so the Tories treat them as second class citizens
    On what grounds to you make this absurd claim
  • Options
    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548

    Genuinely interesting piece without obvious propaganda on healthcare in different countries:

    http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/10/nhs-workers-from-abroad-coming-over-here-saving-our-lives

    Today's editorial very good, too.
    This one?:

    http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/09/the-guardian-view-on-the-nhs-to-cut-the-health-deficit-start-by-spending-more

    IMO the only tenable way to bridge the funding gap is a degree of co-payment. £10 to see the GP, £25 pounds for a hospital visit etc.

    As well as the funding gap, it would make up for some of the more ridiculous visits that we see.

    Charges for medicines, eyetests, dentistry were all very contentious when introduced, but accepted now. The alternative is restricting demand by more artificial means, such as referral management centres turning back referrals.
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,985

    RobD said:

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    Yes for over 25's.
    If you're under 25 you're deemed by this Government of being incapable of doing a proper days work...even though nurses and the armed forces who are under 25 manage to do so. But then under 25's tend not to vote in any great number so the Tories treat them as second class citizens
    There has always been a lower minimum wage for young people. Even when Labour introduced it in 1998.
    But why 25? I can understand 18-21 but 25?
    By your argument, Labour considered anyone under 21 as second class citizens, and unable to do a proper days work.

    I would guess it was to incentivise businesses to hire younger people, to get them on the job ladder.
  • Options

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    Yes for over 25's.
    If you're under 25 you're deemed by this Government of being incapable of doing a proper days work...even though nurses and the armed forces who are under 25 manage to do so. But then under 25's tend not to vote in any great number so the Tories treat them as second class citizens
    On what grounds to you make this absurd claim
    Well why are 22 to 24 year olds not entitled to the full living wage?
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,985

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    Yes for over 25's.
    If you're under 25 you're deemed by this Government of being incapable of doing a proper days work...even though nurses and the armed forces who are under 25 manage to do so. But then under 25's tend not to vote in any great number so the Tories treat them as second class citizens
    On what grounds to you make this absurd claim
    They are a lefty, and because the Tories are evil Tory Scum.
  • Options
    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    Yes for over 25's.
    If you're under 25 you're deemed by this Government of being incapable of doing a proper days work...even though nurses and the armed forces who are under 25 manage to do so. But then under 25's tend not to vote in any great number so the Tories treat them as second class citizens
    There has always been a lower minimum wage for young people. Even when Labour introduced it in 1998.
    But why 25? I can understand 18-21 but 25?
    By your argument, Labour considered anyone under 21 as second class citizens, and unable to do a proper days work.

    I would guess it was to incentivise businesses to hire younger people, to get them on the job ladder.
    O'm not a Labour supporter
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,985

    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    Yes for over 25's.
    If you're under 25 you're deemed by this Government of being incapable of doing a proper days work...even though nurses and the armed forces who are under 25 manage to do so. But then under 25's tend not to vote in any great number so the Tories treat them as second class citizens
    There has always been a lower minimum wage for young people. Even when Labour introduced it in 1998.
    But why 25? I can understand 18-21 but 25?
    By your argument, Labour considered anyone under 21 as second class citizens, and unable to do a proper days work.

    I would guess it was to incentivise businesses to hire younger people, to get them on the job ladder.
    O'm not a Labour supporter
    I don't think that fact changes anything in my response.
  • Options
    david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 17,419
    JackW said:



    Tony Benn's paternal grandfather was Sir John Benn Bt, a noted London politician who was of solid middle class stock. It would be fair to say the family became part of the left establishment during the 20th century.

    Absolutely. His father was a Liberal, then Labour, MP for 36 years bar a short time during his change of party, rising twice to the cabinet, first under MacDonald and later under Attlee. His paternal grandfather, as you say, was a prominent London Liberal politician - MP and briefly chairman of London County Council. His maternal grandfather was also an MP before and during WWI.
  • Options

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    Yes for over 25's.
    If you're under 25 you're deemed by this Government of being incapable of doing a proper days work...even though nurses and the armed forces who are under 25 manage to do so. But then under 25's tend not to vote in any great number so the Tories treat them as second class citizens
    Which would be why Labour introduced the notion of age bands for the very young all along? You seriously don't comprehend economics at all do you?

    The idea of a minimum wage by law is that the rate should be set at such a rate that does not cause problems with unemployment. The young adults in our society are the age group that struggle most with unemployment which makes sense because they are the least experienced etc

    If the minimum wage were to be uprated massively for 21-24 year olds that would likely cause major problems of unemployment. Unemployment rates are much lower for 25+ than they are for 21-24 so it makes economic sense to put the threshold at 25 ... it has nothing to do with voting.
  • Options

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    Yes for over 25's.
    If you're under 25 you're deemed by this Government of being incapable of doing a proper days work...even though nurses and the armed forces who are under 25 manage to do so. But then under 25's tend not to vote in any great number so the Tories treat them as second class citizens
    On what grounds to you make this absurd claim
    Well why are 22 to 24 year olds not entitled to the full living wage?
    Same age bands as initiated by labour who no doubt wanted to encourage youth employment. Your claim is silly as there are many thousands of young people on much higher wages than the minimum wage
  • Options
    RobD said:

    RobD said:

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    Yes for over 25's.
    If you're under 25 you're deemed by this Government of being incapable of doing a proper days work...even though nurses and the armed forces who are under 25 manage to do so. But then under 25's tend not to vote in any great number so the Tories treat them as second class citizens
    There has always been a lower minimum wage for young people. Even when Labour introduced it in 1998.
    But why 25? I can understand 18-21 but 25?
    By your argument, Labour considered anyone under 21 as second class citizens, and unable to do a proper days work.

    I would guess it was to incentivise businesses to hire younger people, to get them on the job ladder.
    Yes.

    The probem is if you are inexperienced, as young people will be, then perhaps your productivity is <living wage. As a result you will struggle to compete with older, more experienced people, for the same wages, even though as a society we would like the inexperienced to gain experience.
  • Options
    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,496

    FPT

    Yes, we must stop the Russians killing Islamists and flying on the edge of Turkey before it's too late.

    Flying over the edge of Turkey, as they admitted.
    The Russian Defence Ministry said on Monday that an SU-30 fighter aircraft had entered Turkish airspace along the border with Syria "for a few seconds" on Saturday
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/06/us-mideast-crisis-syria-turkey-russia-idUSKCN0RZ0FT20151006

    Now, I know that's Reuters, and therefore the MSM that you hate and disbelieve, but there it is for everyone else.

    And NATO's view from Al-j. I don't know if Al-j is an evil MSM outlet in your mind, but here goes:
    "I will not speculate on the motives ... but this does not look like an accident, and we have seen two of them," Stoltenberg said of the air incursions over Turkey's border with Syria. He noted that they "lasted for a long time".
    http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/10/nato-rejects-russian-explanation-turkey-incursion-151006130012896.html
    If not an accident, what purpose do NATO ascribe to them? I'm all ears.
    All ears, but no eyes or sense.

    If not an accident, then on purpose, obviously.

    If the multiple incursions are accidental, then it doesn't say much for Russian airmanship, does it?
    Yes, on purpose. So to what purpose?

    We don't believe the first incursion was due to bad weather (the second incursion has not been admitted so is subject to debate), so why? A dangerous motive has been hinted at, so what is that dangerous motive? I'm not asking for chapter and verse, merely any vague indication of what this bad thing that Russia intends to do that would be helped by deliberate incursions into Turkish airspace.

    Checking Turkish reaction times and radar, probably. The same reasons Russia flies close to other Nato airspace, including ours. Then up a notch -- violating airspace with no reaction sends a warning to other countries, especially the ex-Soviet republics, not to rely on Nato to defend them.

    Yes - a reasonable explanation. A 'buzzing' that is a fairly regular part of military interaction, even before the current tensions - something that RAF and other NATO pilots do the other way around too, I'm sure you acknowledge.

    And over this, we've had talk of launching a war between NATO and Russia. It's the very definition of insanity.
  • Options

    RobD said:

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    Yes for over 25's.
    If you're under 25 you're deemed by this Government of being incapable of doing a proper days work...even though nurses and the armed forces who are under 25 manage to do so. But then under 25's tend not to vote in any great number so the Tories treat them as second class citizens
    There has always been a lower minimum wage for young people. Even when Labour introduced it in 1998.
    But why 25? I can understand 18-21 but 25?
    Because aged 25 plus sees a significantly lower unemployment rate, as happens in many nations across the globe.

    UK Statistics: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/taxonomy/index.html?nscl=Unemployment+by+Age
    USA Statistics: http://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cpseea10.htm
  • Options
    DairDair Posts: 6,108

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    There is very little limit to which a minimum wage can be pushed. It has no visible effect on the economy, although ideally there is probably a reasonable argument for trades agreements (as in Australia or Denmark) than a universal minimum wage. But even there, the general wage rate dictates the minimum wage for all sectors and in all instances it is artificial and not market led.
  • Options
    ReggieCideReggieCide Posts: 4,312
    FLT in response to someone asking about TKW

    From information provided by TKW, it's clear that he's a green eye, disgruntled, time serving financial services employee who's pissed off by having to help all those rich bastards avoid tax.
  • Options
    DairDair Posts: 6,108

    matt said:

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    You seem to have misunderstood how taxation operates.
    Tax credits are withdrawn at a rate of 41 pence (soon to be 48 pence) for every pound earned. So coupled with basic rate PAYE of 20% and 12% NIC the worker loses 80 pence in the pound. So from this we can conclude that the beneficiaries are the Treasury
    And that my friends is the REAL reason for creation of the living wage..sneaky, cynical Tories at it again
    Its clear from the little you have written that you dont undrstand the basis of money.. there is no magic money tree... much as lefties might like to think that there is.
    No there's no magic money tree...increased labour costs associated with the wage increases will be passed on to the consumer in higher prices in the shops....whats so tricky to understand?
    The tricky part is that the world does not work based on the Lie To Children economics taught in High School. It works based on a very complex system you seem to have no understanding of.

    The consumer element of minimum wages is tiny, almost unnoticeable and certainly nothing compared to the increase in average wages. The actual cost of minimum wages to any individual aspect of the economy is near zero.
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,985
    Dair said:

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    There is very little limit to which a minimum wage can be pushed. It has no visible effect on the economy, although ideally there is probably a reasonable argument for trades agreements (as in Australia or Denmark) than a universal minimum wage. But even there, the general wage rate dictates the minimum wage for all sectors and in all instances it is artificial and not market led.
    There is surely a limit? £50/hour, £500/hour? :D
  • Options
    Dair said:

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    There is very little limit to which a minimum wage can be pushed. It has no visible effect on the economy, although ideally there is probably a reasonable argument for trades agreements (as in Australia or Denmark) than a universal minimum wage. But even there, the general wage rate dictates the minimum wage for all sectors and in all instances it is artificial and not market led.
    Wow. Just wow.

    Maybe if you want either mass unemployment as one option or a currency crash and Zimbabwean levels of inflation on another there is no limit.
  • Options
    flightpath01flightpath01 Posts: 4,903

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    Yes for over 25's.
    If you're under 25 you're deemed by this Government of being incapable of doing a proper days work...even though nurses and the armed forces who are under 25 manage to do so. But then under 25's tend not to vote in any great number so the Tories treat them as second class citizens
    Which would be why Labour introduced the notion of age bands for the very young all along? You seriously don't comprehend economics at all do you?

    The idea of a minimum wage by law is that the rate should be set at such a rate that does not cause problems with unemployment. The young adults in our society are the age group that struggle most with unemployment which makes sense because they are the least experienced etc

    If the minimum wage were to be uprated massively for 21-24 year olds that would likely cause major problems of unemployment. Unemployment rates are much lower for 25+ than they are for 21-24 so it makes economic sense to put the threshold at 25 ... it has nothing to do with voting.
    A brave but pointless attempt at education.
  • Options
    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,496

    Yes, on purpose. So to what purpose?

    We don't believe the first incursion was due to bad weather (the second incursion has not been admitted so is subject to debate), so why? A dangerous motive has been hinted at, so what is that dangerous motive? I'm not asking for chapter and verse, merely any vague indication of what this bad thing that Russia intends to do that would be helped by deliberate incursions into Turkish airspace.

    Look, a few minutes ago you were saying that they were flying on the edge of Turkey. You now seem to admit they were flying 'over'. We are, at least, making progress.

    Two answers seem possible to me:
    Projection of power and control of airspace (edit: right up to the border).

    But there could be many others.

    Now back to the missiles, which you have gone rather silent on ...
    It is an acknowledged fact that there was at least one airspace incursion - to try and suggest my comment was an attempt to refute that is a truly desperate debating tactic. I'm embarrassed for you.

    I think if you look back you'll find I replied to you regarding the missiles, and it's you who has gone 'silent'. At the risk of repeating myself, if the US has proof of these missiles landing in Iran (and one presumes they have if they've stated as much), they can simply produce it. No difficulty there.
    You haven't said it was an 'acknowledged fact' until just now. As I said, we're making progress. It's fairly obvious there's a difference between 'on' and 'over', and you would have chosen your wording carefully.

    I like the way you think Russian pilots are so incompetent they stray over into Turkish airspace, yet their missile designers and manufacturers are so brilliant they never go wrong!
    Sigh. I hold no brief for Russian pilots, missiles, manufacturers, or anyone else. I speak as I find. No evidence has been presented that the missiles flew off course. It was denied by Russia and Iran - it would be denied by them. It was alleged by America - but it would be alleged by them. The US has proof - so prove it. You're tying yourself in knots to avoid the obvious.
  • Options
    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 32,027
    edited October 2015

    Genuinely interesting piece without obvious propaganda on healthcare in different countries:

    http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/10/nhs-workers-from-abroad-coming-over-here-saving-our-lives

    Today's editorial very good, too.
    This one?:

    http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/09/the-guardian-view-on-the-nhs-to-cut-the-health-deficit-start-by-spending-more

    IMO the only tenable way to bridge the funding gap is a degree of co-payment. £10 to see the GP, £25 pounds for a hospital visit etc.

    As well as the funding gap, it would make up for some of the more ridiculous visits that we see.

    Charges for medicines, eyetests, dentistry were all very contentious when introduced, but accepted now. The alternative is restricting demand by more artificial means, such as referral management centres turning back referrals.
    The current charges for mediines are extremely unfair, and lead to patient failure to comply with treatment.

    The biggest objections to charges for visiting GP's are from GP's themselves.
    Rightly. Collecting charges is a perenial source of problems for pharmacists.
  • Options

    A brave but pointless attempt at education.

    Thank you.
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,031
    Dair said:

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    There is very little limit to which a minimum wage can be pushed. It has no visible effect on the economy, although ideally there is probably a reasonable argument for trades agreements (as in Australia or Denmark) than a universal minimum wage. But even there, the general wage rate dictates the minimum wage for all sectors and in all instances it is artificial and not market led.
    As a matter of interest, what impact do you think a minimum wage of £1m a year would have? Would everyone suddenly be rich?
  • Options
    alex.alex. Posts: 4,658

    According to an authoritative parliamentary reference work, Mr Corbyn was general secretary of the editorial board. He wrote the front-page story in the same issue of Briefing.

    The same edition of Briefing, for December 1984, carried a reader’s letter praising the “audacity” of the IRA attack and stating: “What do you call four dead Tories? A start.”
    Cyclefree said:


    Bit difficult to see how Corbyn and McDonnell can credibly explain this one away.
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    JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 39,056

    Yes - a reasonable explanation. A 'buzzing' that is a fairly regular part of military interaction, even before the current tensions - something that RAF and other NATO pilots do the other way around too, I'm sure you acknowledge.

    (snip)

    Except we generally don't do it when armed, from a warzone, and we generally don't actually cross over the border.

    When borders are encroached, or one side things the borders have been encroached, embarrassing things happen. But they're rare.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hainan_Island_incident

    But as you now admit, the Russian planes went over the border at least once.
  • Options
    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,496
    Dair said:

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    There is very little limit to which a minimum wage can be pushed. It has no visible effect on the economy, although ideally there is probably a reasonable argument for trades agreements (as in Australia or Denmark) than a universal minimum wage. But even there, the general wage rate dictates the minimum wage for all sectors and in all instances it is artificial and not market led.
    People have said the national minimum wage has had no effect on the economy, but what exactly would be the mechanism for discerning whether it had if it had? So far as I can see, when something closes here and relocates to a foreign country, that's surely due to a higher cost base here. Just because the company doesn't issue a statement, or perhaps even think, that the minimum wage is a factor, I'm not sure that means it isn't one.
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,031
    edited October 2015

    Dair said:

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    There is very little limit to which a minimum wage can be pushed. It has no visible effect on the economy, although ideally there is probably a reasonable argument for trades agreements (as in Australia or Denmark) than a universal minimum wage. But even there, the general wage rate dictates the minimum wage for all sectors and in all instances it is artificial and not market led.
    People have said the national minimum wage has had no effect on the economy, but what exactly would be the mechanism for discerning whether it had if it had? So far as I can see, when something closes here and relocates to a foreign country, that's surely due to a higher cost base here. Just because the company doesn't issue a statement, or perhaps even think, that the minimum wage is a factor, I'm not sure that means it isn't one.
    If you look at countries with similar GDP/head, then there is a correlation between:

    Minimum Wage + Social Contributions

    and

    The Level of Employment

    Labour is a commodity like any other, and demand for it is price elastic. If the minimum price for a worker is greater than the economic output they create, then they will not be employed.

    [EDIT: disclaimer to add, this analysis doesn't work for politicians. They seem to get paid despite creating negative economic value.]
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    flightpath01flightpath01 Posts: 4,903
    alex. said:

    According to an authoritative parliamentary reference work, Mr Corbyn was general secretary of the editorial board. He wrote the front-page story in the same issue of Briefing.

    The same edition of Briefing, for December 1984, carried a reader’s letter praising the “audacity” of the IRA attack and stating: “What do you call four dead Tories? A start.”
    Cyclefree said:
    Bit difficult to see how Corbyn and McDonnell can credibly explain this one away.
    They have not been able to credibly explain anything away so far.
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    JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 39,056

    Yes, on purpose. So to what purpose?

    We don't believe the first incursion was due to bad weather (the second incursion has not been admitted so is subject to debate), so why? A dangerous motive has been hinted at, so what is that dangerous motive? I'm not asking for chapter and verse, merely any vague indication of what this bad thing that Russia intends to do that would be helped by deliberate incursions into Turkish airspace.

    Look, a few minutes ago you were saying that they were flying on the edge of Turkey. You now seem to admit they were flying 'over'. We are, at least, making progress.

    Two answers seem possible to me:
    Projection of power and control of airspace (edit: right up to the border).

    But there could be many others.

    Now back to the missiles, which you have gone rather silent on ...
    It is an acknowledged fact that there was at least one airspace incursion - to try and suggest my comment was an attempt to refute that is a truly desperate debating tactic. I'm embarrassed for you.

    I think if you look back you'll find I replied to you regarding the missiles, and it's you who has gone 'silent'. At the risk of repeating myself, if the US has proof of these missiles landing in Iran (and one presumes they have if they've stated as much), they can simply produce it. No difficulty there.
    You haven't said it was an 'acknowledged fact' until just now. As I said, we're making progress. It's fairly obvious there's a difference between 'on' and 'over', and you would have chosen your wording carefully.

    I like the way you think Russian pilots are so incompetent they stray over into Turkish airspace, yet their missile designers and manufacturers are so brilliant they never go wrong!
    Sigh. I hold no brief for Russian pilots, missiles, manufacturers, or anyone else. I speak as I find. No evidence has been presented that the missiles flew off course. It was denied by Russia and Iran - it would be denied by them. It was alleged by America - but it would be alleged by them. The US has proof - so prove it. You're tying yourself in knots to avoid the obvious.
    No-one's said the missiles 'flew off course'. Stop creating false trails.

    AIUI they had to overfly Iran and Iraq to get from the Caspian Sea to Syria. If they had any technical failures, they would have gone down over the countries they were overflying.

    It's very unlikely that 26 missiles of a new type would have no failures. I'd believe the Russians if they'd said there were one or two failures rather than none.

    As for your penultimate line: the US might not want to prove it because it would reveal intelligence assets.
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    DairDair Posts: 6,108
    RobD said:

    Dair said:

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    There is very little limit to which a minimum wage can be pushed. It has no visible effect on the economy, although ideally there is probably a reasonable argument for trades agreements (as in Australia or Denmark) than a universal minimum wage. But even there, the general wage rate dictates the minimum wage for all sectors and in all instances it is artificial and not market led.
    There is surely a limit? £50/hour, £500/hour? :D
    It's a very complicated area. Yes, there is a practical limit but it is completely unrelated to the current arguments in the UK over whether it should be £7.50 or £9.

    The reality of minimum wages is that paying a McDonalds employee £15 an hour (as happens in Denmark) only adds about 20p to the cost of a Big Mac, the majority of costs are swallowed outside of the consumer price.

    The very real factor that any service industry that requires people, on site, cannot cut back when minimum wage increases. Any customer facing service industry is almost immune to job losses. Of course there are industries where external economic factors play an impact hence why trades agreements might be a better idea. But it's almost into the realm of semantics. In the UK a £15 minimum wage would have no detrimental impact outside of a very small amount of transitory unemployment.

    And of course the knock on effect of a very high minimum wage is that price differential means ALL wages are increased. This could, of course be inflationary. But fortunately we live in a Globalised World where an individual national government does not have much control over inflation.
  • Options
    alex. said:

    According to an authoritative parliamentary reference work, Mr Corbyn was general secretary of the editorial board. He wrote the front-page story in the same issue of Briefing.

    The same edition of Briefing, for December 1984, carried a reader’s letter praising the “audacity” of the IRA attack and stating: “What do you call four dead Tories? A start.”
    Cyclefree said:
    Bit difficult to see how Corbyn and McDonnell can credibly explain this one away.This is the man proposed to be British Prime Minister?

    In a telephone interview during the recent leadership campaign, Mr Corbyn was repeatedly asked by a BBC interviewer whether he condemned the murders by the IRA.

    He five times refused to answer the question directly, saying: “I condemn what was done by the British Army as well as the other sides” before the line went dead.
  • Options
    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,496
    rcs1000 said:

    Dair said:

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    There is very little limit to which a minimum wage can be pushed. It has no visible effect on the economy, although ideally there is probably a reasonable argument for trades agreements (as in Australia or Denmark) than a universal minimum wage. But even there, the general wage rate dictates the minimum wage for all sectors and in all instances it is artificial and not market led.
    People have said the national minimum wage has had no effect on the economy, but what exactly would be the mechanism for discerning whether it had if it had? So far as I can see, when something closes here and relocates to a foreign country, that's surely due to a higher cost base here. Just because the company doesn't issue a statement, or perhaps even think, that the minimum wage is a factor, I'm not sure that means it isn't one.
    If you look at countries with similar GDP/head, then there is a correlation between:

    Minimum Wage + Social Contributions

    and

    The Level of Employment

    Labour is a commodity like any other, and demand for it is price elastic. If the minimum price for a worker is greater than the economic output they create, then they will not be employed.

    [EDIT: disclaimer to add, this analysis doesn't work for politicians. They seem to get paid despite creating negative economic value.]
    Well quite. But I've heard it confidently stated that there hasn't been any economic impact.
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,985
    Dair said:

    RobD said:

    Dair said:

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    There is very little limit to which a minimum wage can be pushed. It has no visible effect on the economy, although ideally there is probably a reasonable argument for trades agreements (as in Australia or Denmark) than a universal minimum wage. But even there, the general wage rate dictates the minimum wage for all sectors and in all instances it is artificial and not market led.
    There is surely a limit? £50/hour, £500/hour? :D
    It's a very complicated area. Yes, there is a practical limit but it is completely unrelated to the current arguments in the UK over whether it should be £7.50 or £9.

    The reality of minimum wages is that paying a McDonalds employee £15 an hour (as happens in Denmark) only adds about 20p to the cost of a Big Mac, the majority of costs are swallowed outside of the consumer price.

    The very real factor that any service industry that requires people, on site, cannot cut back when minimum wage increases. Any customer facing service industry is almost immune to job losses. Of course there are industries where external economic factors play an impact hence why trades agreements might be a better idea. But it's almost into the realm of semantics. In the UK a £15 minimum wage would have no detrimental impact outside of a very small amount of transitory unemployment.

    And of course the knock on effect of a very high minimum wage is that price differential means ALL wages are increased. This could, of course be inflationary. But fortunately we live in a Globalised World where an individual national government does not have much control over inflation.
    How are the costs covered, if not by the consumer?

    Also, I don't think customer-facing industries are immune from job losses. Those businesses can go bust, and there is no law saying another similar business has to come in to replace it.
  • Options
    FloaterFloater Posts: 14,195

    FPT

    Yes, we must stop the Russians killing Islamists and flying on the edge of Turkey before it's too late.

    Flying over the edge of Turkey, as they admitted.
    The Russian Defence Ministry said on Monday that an SU-30 fighter aircraft had entered Turkish airspace along the border with Syria "for a few seconds" on Saturday
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/06/us-mideast-crisis-syria-turkey-russia-idUSKCN0RZ0FT20151006

    Now, I know that's Reuters, and therefore the MSM that you hate and disbelieve, but there it is for everyone else.

    And NATO's view from Al-j. I don't know if Al-j is an evil MSM outlet in your mind, but here goes:
    "I will not speculate on the motives ... but this does not look like an accident, and we have seen two of them," Stoltenberg said of the air incursions over Turkey's border with Syria. He noted that they "lasted for a long time".
    http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/10/nato-rejects-russian-explanation-turkey-incursion-151006130012896.html
    If not an accident, what purpose do NATO ascribe to them? I'm all ears.
    All ears, but no eyes or sense.

    If not an accident, then on purpose, obviously.

    If the multiple incursions are accidental, then it doesn't say much for Russian airmanship, does it?
    Yes, on purpose. So to what purpose?

    We don't believe the first incursion was due to bad weather (the second incursion has not been admitted so is subject to debate), so why? A dangerous motive has been hinted at, so what is that dangerous motive? I'm not asking for chapter and verse, merely any vague indication of what this bad thing that Russia intends to do that would be helped by deliberate incursions into Turkish airspace.
    Checking Turkish reaction times and radar, probably. The same reasons Russia flies close to other Nato airspace, including ours. Then up a notch -- violating airspace with no reaction sends a warning to other countries, especially the ex-Soviet republics, not to rely on Nato to defend them.

    Yes - a reasonable explanation. A 'buzzing' that is a fairly regular part of military interaction, even before the current tensions - something that RAF and other NATO pilots do the other way around too, I'm sure you acknowledge.

    And over this, we've had talk of launching a war between NATO and Russia. It's the very definition of insanity.

    Insanity is buzzing a border in the middle of an active war zone.

  • Options
    DairDair Posts: 6,108

    Dair said:

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    There is very little limit to which a minimum wage can be pushed. It has no visible effect on the economy, although ideally there is probably a reasonable argument for trades agreements (as in Australia or Denmark) than a universal minimum wage. But even there, the general wage rate dictates the minimum wage for all sectors and in all instances it is artificial and not market led.
    People have said the national minimum wage has had no effect on the economy, but what exactly would be the mechanism for discerning whether it had if it had? So far as I can see, when something closes here and relocates to a foreign country, that's surely due to a higher cost base here. Just because the company doesn't issue a statement, or perhaps even think, that the minimum wage is a factor, I'm not sure that means it isn't one.
    Again, it's a complicated argument and to a great extent depends on where you want your economy to go. If you highly value repetitive, low skill jobs, then a high minimum wage will have an impact once it offsets productivity advantages.

    However, if you want an economy where a practical mechanism actual stops the diminution of wages and the economy is effectively forced into areas where the wage rate does not harm it, then ideally you set a relatively high minimum wage and push it on an annual or biannual basis while taking a reasonable measure of where it stops being effective.

    The thing is, which is the problem with the likes of Kraken, it is not idealogical. Minimum wage works positively at most levels. It uses the market to structure the economy to its best productive outcome.
  • Options
    Dair said:

    RobD said:

    Dair said:

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    There is very little limit to which a minimum wage can be pushed. It has no visible effect on the economy, although ideally there is probably a reasonable argument for trades agreements (as in Australia or Denmark) than a universal minimum wage. But even there, the general wage rate dictates the minimum wage for all sectors and in all instances it is artificial and not market led.
    There is surely a limit? £50/hour, £500/hour? :D
    It's a very complicated area. Yes, there is a practical limit but it is completely unrelated to the current arguments in the UK over whether it should be £7.50 or £9.

    The reality of minimum wages is that paying a McDonalds employee £15 an hour (as happens in Denmark) only adds about 20p to the cost of a Big Mac, the majority of costs are swallowed outside of the consumer price.

    The very real factor that any service industry that requires people, on site, cannot cut back when minimum wage increases. Any customer facing service industry is almost immune to job losses. Of course there are industries where external economic factors play an impact hence why trades agreements might be a better idea. But it's almost into the realm of semantics. In the UK a £15 minimum wage would have no detrimental impact outside of a very small amount of transitory unemployment.

    And of course the knock on effect of a very high minimum wage is that price differential means ALL wages are increased. This could, of course be inflationary. But fortunately we live in a Globalised World where an individual national government does not have much control over inflation.
    Absolute total nonsense. How much experience do you have running a food business like McDonald's?
  • Options
    flightpath01flightpath01 Posts: 4,903
    Dair said:

    RobD said:

    Dair said:

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    There is very little limit to which a minimum wage can be pushed. It has no visible effect on the economy, although ideally there is probably a reasonable argument for trades agreements (as in Australia or Denmark) than a universal minimum wage. But even there, the general wage rate dictates the minimum wage for all sectors and in all instances it is artificial and not market led.
    There is surely a limit? £50/hour, £500/hour? :D
    It's a very complicated area. Yes, there is a practical limit but it is completely unrelated to the current arguments in the UK over whether it should be £7.50 or £9.

    The reality of minimum wages is that paying a McDonalds employee £15 an hour (as happens in Denmark) only adds about 20p to the cost of a Big Mac, the majority of costs are swallowed outside of the consumer price.

    The very real factor that any service industry that requires people, on site, cannot cut back when minimum wage increases. Any customer facing service industry is almost immune to job losses. Of course there are industries where external economic factors play an impact hence why trades agreements might be a better idea. But it's almost into the realm of semantics. In the UK a £15 minimum wage would have no detrimental impact outside of a very small amount of transitory unemployment.

    And of course the knock on effect of a very high minimum wage is that price differential means ALL wages are increased. This could, of course be inflationary. But fortunately we live in a Globalised World where an individual national government does not have much control over inflation.
    In my world a 7% price increase is known as inflation.
  • Options
    eekeek Posts: 25,008
    Dair said:

    RobD said:

    Dair said:

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    There is very little limit to which a minimum wage can be pushed. It has no visible effect on the economy, although ideally there is probably a reasonable argument for trades agreements (as in Australia or Denmark) than a universal minimum wage. But even there, the general wage rate dictates the minimum wage for all sectors and in all instances it is artificial and not market led.
    There is surely a limit? £50/hour, £500/hour? :D
    It's a very complicated area. Yes, there is a practical limit but it is completely unrelated to the current arguments in the UK over whether it should be £7.50 or £9.

    The reality of minimum wages is that paying a McDonalds employee £15 an hour (as happens in Denmark) only adds about 20p to the cost of a Big Mac, the majority of costs are swallowed outside of the consumer price.

    The very real factor that any service industry that requires people, on site, cannot cut back when minimum wage increases. Any customer facing service industry is almost immune to job losses. Of course there are industries where external economic factors play an impact hence why trades agreements might be a better idea. But it's almost into the realm of semantics. In the UK a £15 minimum wage would have no detrimental impact outside of a very small amount of transitory unemployment.

    And of course the knock on effect of a very high minimum wage is that price differential means ALL wages are increased. This could, of course be inflationary. But fortunately we live in a Globalised World where an individual national government does not have much control over inflation.
    That 20p is just the direct additional cost for Macdonald's employment costs it doesn't include the additional costs that would be incurred by the manufacturer of the bun, the burger meat.... That simple figure just ignores cascade effects...



  • Options
    AndyJSAndyJS Posts: 29,395
    edited October 2015
    Dair said:

    RobD said:

    Dair said:

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    There is very little limit to which a minimum wage can be pushed. It has no visible effect on the economy, although ideally there is probably a reasonable argument for trades agreements (as in Australia or Denmark) than a universal minimum wage. But even there, the general wage rate dictates the minimum wage for all sectors and in all instances it is artificial and not market led.
    There is surely a limit? £50/hour, £500/hour? :D
    It's a very complicated area. Yes, there is a practical limit but it is completely unrelated to the current arguments in the UK over whether it should be £7.50 or £9.

    The reality of minimum wages is that paying a McDonalds employee £15 an hour (as happens in Denmark) only adds about 20p to the cost of a Big Mac, the majority of costs are swallowed outside of the consumer price.

    The very real factor that any service industry that requires people, on site, cannot cut back when minimum wage increases. Any customer facing service industry is almost immune to job losses. Of course there are industries where external economic factors play an impact hence why trades agreements might be a better idea. But it's almost into the realm of semantics. In the UK a £15 minimum wage would have no detrimental impact outside of a very small amount of transitory unemployment.

    And of course the knock on effect of a very high minimum wage is that price differential means ALL wages are increased. This could, of course be inflationary. But fortunately we live in a Globalised World where an individual national government does not have much control over inflation.
    I guess another question is this: is it right for a McDonald's employee in the UK to be paid a lot more than a skilled worker in developing countries? Because if they are, a lot of people will attempt to migrate to countries like the UK in order to do that sort of work instead of staying in their own country where they would be doing valuable work for their local community.
  • Options
    BarnesianBarnesian Posts: 7,997

    Alistair said:

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    It must be if you think about it. It will be taken into account when calculating any benefits and an employer will be in breach of the law if he does not pay it.
    So the difference between that and the Minimum Wage is?
    It's just renaming the minimum wage.

    If you've heard the term living wage before it refers to a different thing calculated by a non government body.
    To be fair the Low Pay Commission - which recommends the actual National Minimum Wage - is also independent of government
    I assume the Low Pay Commission is now redundant as Osborne now determines the National Minimum Wage aka the National Living Wage.
  • Options
    DairDair Posts: 6,108
    RobD said:

    Dair said:


    It's a very complicated area. Yes, there is a practical limit but it is completely unrelated to the current arguments in the UK over whether it should be £7.50 or £9.

    The reality of minimum wages is that paying a McDonalds employee £15 an hour (as happens in Denmark) only adds about 20p to the cost of a Big Mac, the majority of costs are swallowed outside of the consumer price.

    The very real factor that any service industry that requires people, on site, cannot cut back when minimum wage increases. Any customer facing service industry is almost immune to job losses. Of course there are industries where external economic factors play an impact hence why trades agreements might be a better idea. But it's almost into the realm of semantics. In the UK a £15 minimum wage would have no detrimental impact outside of a very small amount of transitory unemployment.

    And of course the knock on effect of a very high minimum wage is that price differential means ALL wages are increased. This could, of course be inflationary. But fortunately we live in a Globalised World where an individual national government does not have much control over inflation.

    How are the costs covered, if not by the consumer?

    Also, I don't think customer-facing industries are immune from job losses. Those businesses can go bust, and there is no law saying another similar business has to come in to replace it.
    Costs get spread. Some comes from an increase in consumer price (but as we can see around the world, it is small), some comes from an reduction in profit at all levels, some comes from a significant reduction in rent (as this is the most volative part of cost structure). Rent reductions really scare tories no matter what positive impact they can have on the economy. Rents are likely to be the biggest loser from minimum wages because it is outside the realm of productivity.

    Businesses don't generally go bust, it can be sector dependent (again why I say there is an argument for trades agreements rather than a universal minimum wage) but in most of the economy they don't unless there is criminality (again a problem for Tories). If every cleaning company has just doubled its wage bill, you have no competitive disadvantage.
  • Options
    RazedabodeRazedabode Posts: 2,977
    edited October 2015

    alex. said:

    According to an authoritative parliamentary reference work, Mr Corbyn was general secretary of the editorial board. He wrote the front-page story in the same issue of Briefing.

    The same edition of Briefing, for December 1984, carried a reader’s letter praising the “audacity” of the IRA attack and stating: “What do you call four dead Tories? A start.”
    Cyclefree said:
    Bit difficult to see how Corbyn and McDonnell can credibly explain this one away.
    They have not been able to credibly explain anything away so far.

    You should see how his supporters are spinning it on Twitter.
  • Options
    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,496
    edited October 2015



    No-one's said the missiles 'flew off course'. Stop creating false trails.

    Wow. And people say I'm a tinfoil hat wearer.

    It's more enjoyable to debate with someone when they tackle the substantive issues rather than attempt to score rather pathetic 'wins' on semantics or people 'falling silent'. You needlessly made a tit of yourself about the pro-Assad rally. When you wisely 'fell silent' about it, it wasn't something I was interested in pursuing in further posts. It doesn't enhance the argument. You may wish to consider this in the future.
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,985
    Barnesian said:

    Alistair said:

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Is the Living Wage mandatory? Just asking.
    It must be if you think about it. It will be taken into account when calculating any benefits and an employer will be in breach of the law if he does not pay it.
    So the difference between that and the Minimum Wage is?
    It's just renaming the minimum wage.

    If you've heard the term living wage before it refers to a different thing calculated by a non government body.
    To be fair the Low Pay Commission - which recommends the actual National Minimum Wage - is also independent of government
    I assume the Low Pay Commission is now redundant as Osborne now determines the National Minimum Wage aka the National Living Wage.
    The budget states that the Low Pay Commission will be in charge of setting the rate of the living wage.
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,985
    Dair said:

    RobD said:

    Dair said:


    It's a very complicated area. Yes, there is a practical limit but it is completely unrelated to the current arguments in the UK over whether it should be £7.50 or £9.

    The reality of minimum wages is that paying a McDonalds employee £15 an hour (as happens in Denmark) only adds about 20p to the cost of a Big Mac, the majority of costs are swallowed outside of the consumer price.

    The very real factor that any service industry that requires people, on site, cannot cut back when minimum wage increases. Any customer facing service industry is almost immune to job losses. Of course there are industries where external economic factors play an impact hence why trades agreements might be a better idea. But it's almost into the realm of semantics. In the UK a £15 minimum wage would have no detrimental impact outside of a very small amount of transitory unemployment.

    And of course the knock on effect of a very high minimum wage is that price differential means ALL wages are increased. This could, of course be inflationary. But fortunately we live in a Globalised World where an individual national government does not have much control over inflation.

    How are the costs covered, if not by the consumer?

    Also, I don't think customer-facing industries are immune from job losses. Those businesses can go bust, and there is no law saying another similar business has to come in to replace it.
    Costs get spread. Some comes from an increase in consumer price (but as we can see around the world, it is small), some comes from an reduction in profit at all levels, some comes from a significant reduction in rent (as this is the most volative part of cost structure). Rent reductions really scare tories no matter what positive impact they can have on the economy. Rents are likely to be the biggest loser from minimum wages because it is outside the realm of productivity.

    Businesses don't generally go bust, it can be sector dependent (again why I say there is an argument for trades agreements rather than a universal minimum wage) but in most of the economy they don't unless there is criminality (again a problem for Tories). If every cleaning company has just doubled its wage bill, you have no competitive disadvantage.
    Sorry, how does increasing minimum wage decrease rent costs for businesses?
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,031

    rcs1000 said:

    Dair said:

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    There is very little limit to which a minimum wage can be pushed. It has no visible effect on the economy, although ideally there is probably a reasonable argument for trades agreements (as in Australia or Denmark) than a universal minimum wage. But even there, the general wage rate dictates the minimum wage for all sectors and in all instances it is artificial and not market led.
    People have said the national minimum wage has had no effect on the economy, but what exactly would be the mechanism for discerning whether it had if it had? So far as I can see, when something closes here and relocates to a foreign country, that's surely due to a higher cost base here. Just because the company doesn't issue a statement, or perhaps even think, that the minimum wage is a factor, I'm not sure that means it isn't one.
    If you look at countries with similar GDP/head, then there is a correlation between:

    Minimum Wage + Social Contributions

    and

    The Level of Employment

    Labour is a commodity like any other, and demand for it is price elastic. If the minimum price for a worker is greater than the economic output they create, then they will not be employed.

    [EDIT: disclaimer to add, this analysis doesn't work for politicians. They seem to get paid despite creating negative economic value.]
    Well quite. But I've heard it confidently stated that there hasn't been any economic impact.
    The problem is at that all analysis is ultimately counter-factual. We have no idea how an economy would have performed if things had been done differently.

    So: if unemployment didn't rise following a rise in the minimum wage then... lo and beyond... the minimum wage did not cause unemployment.

    It cannot capture what might have happened; would unemployment have risen or fallen or stayed the same if the minimum wage had not been changed?

    What we do know is that in countries of similar wealth, there is a correlation.
  • Options
    RobDRobD Posts: 58,985

    alex. said:

    According to an authoritative parliamentary reference work, Mr Corbyn was general secretary of the editorial board. He wrote the front-page story in the same issue of Briefing.

    The same edition of Briefing, for December 1984, carried a reader’s letter praising the “audacity” of the IRA attack and stating: “What do you call four dead Tories? A start.”
    Cyclefree said:
    Bit difficult to see how Corbyn and McDonnell can credibly explain this one away.
    They have not been able to credibly explain anything away so far.
    You should see how his supporters are spinning it on Twitter.

    Are they virtually spitting in the face of anyone who posts a link to it?
  • Options
    Dair said:

    Costs get spread. Some comes from an increase in consumer price (but as we can see around the world, it is small), some comes from an reduction in profit at all levels, some comes from a significant reduction in rent (as this is the most volative part of cost structure). Rent reductions really scare tories no matter what positive impact they can have on the economy. Rents are likely to be the biggest loser from minimum wages because it is outside the realm of productivity.

    Businesses don't generally go bust, it can be sector dependent (again why I say there is an argument for trades agreements rather than a universal minimum wage) but in most of the economy they don't unless there is criminality (again a problem for Tories). If every cleaning company has just doubled its wage bill, you have no competitive disadvantage.

    This is naive. Costs do get spread but not in a benign way in which you are suggesting, if inflation sets in then inflation is set across the market and sterling would be affected increasing inflation further and we could find ourselves like Zimbabwe. It is not just those on minimum wage that will seek inflationary pay rises but so too will everyone else "I'm worth more than minimum wage".

    As for businesses don't generally go bust, that is total and utter nonsense. As many as nine in ten small businesses go bust in their first two years of business alone.

    What business needs to be able to cope is stability and predictability to be able to plan credibly. What it does need is a naive fool proposing inflation for everyone as they ignorantly think nobody benefits or loses as everyone is dealing with inflation.
  • Options
    BarnesianBarnesian Posts: 7,997

    FPT

    notme said:

    Here's a question for you numb heads - what is the real purpose behind the living wage

    To give cover to wean huge numbers of people off tax credits.
    Almost...it's to pass on the burden of financing tax credits from the Government to the population as a whole
    The benefit being to provoke a behavioural response on the part of the employer. That may mean increased unemployment but it should also drive productivity.
    Think about who benefits from the policy? Is it the worker...the consumer...the Government...the employer?
    The worker.

    Under tax credits the worker has a marginal tax rate of 80% which is a cap on income.
    Under the living wage the worker has a marginal tax rate of 32% which is so much better for them.
    Only once they have reached the "excess income" threshold..it's still 80% till then.
    Which is the idea of the Living Wage changes. The ideal is to get more people who are working full time off the need of claiming tax credits at all - which means they then keep 32% of their wages and not 80%.

    This is quite clearly first and foremost to the benefit of the worker who gets to keep 68% of their marginal income rather than 20%
    Thre is a clear explanation and some worked examples here:

    http://www.smf.co.uk/will-the-new-living-wage-make-up-for-the-cuts-to-tax-credits/

  • Options
    Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,496
    Dair said:

    RobD said:

    Dair said:


    It's a very complicated area. Yes, there is a practical limit but it is completely unrelated to the current arguments in the UK over whether it should be £7.50 or £9.

    The reality of minimum wages is that paying a McDonalds employee £15 an hour (as happens in Denmark) only adds about 20p to the cost of a Big Mac, the majority of costs are swallowed outside of the consumer price.

    The very real factor that any service industry that requires people, on site, cannot cut back when minimum wage increases. Any customer facing service industry is almost immune to job losses. Of course there are industries where external economic factors play an impact hence why trades agreements might be a better idea. But it's almost into the realm of semantics. In the UK a £15 minimum wage would have no detrimental impact outside of a very small amount of transitory unemployment.

    And of course the knock on effect of a very high minimum wage is that price differential means ALL wages are increased. This could, of course be inflationary. But fortunately we live in a Globalised World where an individual national government does not have much control over inflation.

    How are the costs covered, if not by the consumer?

    Also, I don't think customer-facing industries are immune from job losses. Those businesses can go bust, and there is no law saying another similar business has to come in to replace it.
    Costs get spread. Some comes from an increase in consumer price (but as we can see around the world, it is small), some comes from an reduction in profit at all levels, some comes from a significant reduction in rent (as this is the most volative part of cost structure). Rent reductions really scare tories no matter what positive impact they can have on the economy. Rents are likely to be the biggest loser from minimum wages because it is outside the realm of productivity.

    Businesses don't generally go bust, it can be sector dependent (again why I say there is an argument for trades agreements rather than a universal minimum wage) but in most of the economy they don't unless there is criminality (again a problem for Tories). If every cleaning company has just doubled its wage bill, you have no competitive disadvantage.
    Unless the sector has ANY foreign competition. Eg. almost everyone.
  • Options
    DairDair Posts: 6,108
    eek said:

    Dair said:

    It's a very complicated area. Yes, there is a practical limit but it is completely unrelated to the current arguments in the UK over whether it should be £7.50 or £9.

    The reality of minimum wages is that paying a McDonalds employee £15 an hour (as happens in Denmark) only adds about 20p to the cost of a Big Mac, the majority of costs are swallowed outside of the consumer price.

    The very real factor that any service industry that requires people, on site, cannot cut back when minimum wage increases. Any customer facing service industry is almost immune to job losses. Of course there are industries where external economic factors play an impact hence why trades agreements might be a better idea. But it's almost into the realm of semantics. In the UK a £15 minimum wage would have no detrimental impact outside of a very small amount of transitory unemployment.

    And of course the knock on effect of a very high minimum wage is that price differential means ALL wages are increased. This could, of course be inflationary. But fortunately we live in a Globalised World where an individual national government does not have much control over inflation.

    That 20p is just the direct additional cost for Macdonald's employment costs it doesn't include the additional costs that would be incurred by the manufacturer of the bun, the burger meat.... That simple figure just ignores cascade effects...
    No, 20p is the price differential including all components of the chain. A Big Mac in Denmark is 20p more than in the UK. Fortunately for us, this measure is recorded

    http://www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index

    Looks like my info is out of date and the price differential is 8p these days. Salaries in Denmark are about 20% higher than in the UK while Big Macs are 3% higher.

    Sounds like a good deal.
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,031
    RobD said:

    Dair said:

    RobD said:

    Dair said:


    It's a very complicated area. Yes, there is a practical limit but it is completely unrelated to the current arguments in the UK over whether it should be £7.50 or £9.

    The reality of minimum wages is that paying a McDonalds employee £15 an hour (as happens in Denmark) only adds about 20p to the cost of a Big Mac, the majority of costs are swallowed outside of the consumer price.

    The very real factor that any service industry that requires people, on site, cannot cut back when minimum wage increases. Any customer facing service industry is almost immune to job losses. Of course there are industries where external economic factors play an impact hence why trades agreements might be a better idea. But it's almost into the realm of semantics. In the UK a £15 minimum wage would have no detrimental impact outside of a very small amount of transitory unemployment.

    And of course the knock on effect of a very high minimum wage is that price differential means ALL wages are increased. This could, of course be inflationary. But fortunately we live in a Globalised World where an individual national government does not have much control over inflation.

    How are the costs covered, if not by the consumer?

    Also, I don't think customer-facing industries are immune from job losses. Those businesses can go bust, and there is no law saying another similar business has to come in to replace it.
    Costs get spread. Some comes from an increase in consumer price (but as we can see around the world, it is small), some comes from an reduction in profit at all levels, some comes from a significant reduction in rent (as this is the most volative part of cost structure). Rent reductions really scare tories no matter what positive impact they can have on the economy. Rents are likely to be the biggest loser from minimum wages because it is outside the realm of productivity.

    Businesses don't generally go bust, it can be sector dependent (again why I say there is an argument for trades agreements rather than a universal minimum wage) but in most of the economy they don't unless there is criminality (again a problem for Tories). If every cleaning company has just doubled its wage bill, you have no competitive disadvantage.
    Sorry, how does increasing minimum wage decrease rent costs for businesses?
    Under the SNP there will be a National Rent Council which will centrally set rents, so as to avoid price gouging by capitalists, and ensure that wages rise, rents fall, and unicorns roam the streets.
  • Options
    Plato_SaysPlato_Says Posts: 11,822
    How about this for a quote from said magazine content
    It mocked Norman, now Lord, Tebbit, the trade secretary who was dug out of the rubble of the Grand Hotel, saying: “Try riding your bike now, Norman.”
    RobD said:

    alex. said:

    According to an authoritative parliamentary reference work, Mr Corbyn was general secretary of the editorial board. He wrote the front-page story in the same issue of Briefing.

    The same edition of Briefing, for December 1984, carried a reader’s letter praising the “audacity” of the IRA attack and stating: “What do you call four dead Tories? A start.”
    Cyclefree said:
    Bit difficult to see how Corbyn and McDonnell can credibly explain this one away.
    They have not been able to credibly explain anything away so far.
    You should see how his supporters are spinning it on Twitter.
    Are they virtually spitting in the face of anyone who posts a link to it?

  • Options
    JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 39,056



    No-one's said the missiles 'flew off course'. Stop creating false trails.

    Wow. And people say I'm a tinfoil hat wearer.

    It's more enjoyable to debate with someone when they tackle the substantive issues rather than attempt to score rather pathetic 'wins' on semantics or people 'falling silent'. You needlessly made a tit of yourself about the pro-Assad rally. When you wisely 'fell silent' about it, it wasn't something I was interested in pursuing in further posts. It doesn't enhance the argument. You may wish to consider this in the future.
    That's your opinion.

    I could respond in kind, but there's little point. I'll just say that what you say above is wrong. If you want me to elaborate further, ask me in the morning or in a PM.

    Anyway, I'm off to bed. Have a nice evening.
  • Options
    foxinsoxukfoxinsoxuk Posts: 23,548
    edited October 2015

    Genuinely interesting piece without obvious propaganda on healthcare in different countries:

    http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/10/nhs-workers-from-abroad-coming-over-here-saving-our-lives

    Today's editorial very good, too.
    This one?:

    http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/09/the-guardian-view-on-the-nhs-to-cut-the-health-deficit-start-by-spending-more

    IMO the only tenable way to bridge the funding gap is a degree of co-payment. £10 to see the GP, £25 pounds for a hospital visit etc.

    As well as the funding gap, it would make up for some of the more ridiculous visits that we see.

    Charges for medicines, eyetests, dentistry were all very contentious when introduced, but accepted now. The alternative is restricting demand by more artificial means, such as referral management centres turning back referrals.
    The current charges for mediines are extremely unfair, and lead to patient failure to comply with treatment.

    The biggest objections to charges for visiting GP's are from GP's themselves.
    Rightly. Collecting charges is a perenial source of problems for pharmacists.
    A particular area that would suit co-payment would be premium revices such as non-urgent appointments on a Saturday. There are higher costs associated with opening out of hours. Charging a "speedy boarding" type premium would compensate for this.

    The NHS is skint. £930 million deficit in the first quarter alone. Without further money we will get some form of rationing or co-payment. I would favour the latter, though a season ticket type approach or top-up insurance (as used in some parts of the world) are reasonable alternatives.
  • Options
    DairDair Posts: 6,108
    RobD said:

    Dair said:

    RobD said:

    Dair said:


    It's a very complicated area. Yes, there is a practical limit but it is completely unrelated to the current arguments in the UK over whether it should be £7.50 or £9.

    The reality of minimum wages is that paying a McDonalds employee £15 an hour (as happens in Denmark) only adds about 20p to the cost of a Big Mac, the majority of costs are swallowed outside of the consumer price.

    The very real factor that any service industry that requires people, on site, cannot cut back when minimum wage increases. Any customer facing service industry is almost immune to job losses. Of course there are industries where external economic factors play an impact hence why trades agreements might be a better idea. But it's almost into the realm of semantics. In the UK a £15 minimum wage would have no detrimental impact outside of a very small amount of transitory unemployment.

    And of course the knock on effect of a very high minimum wage is that price differential means ALL wages are increased. This could, of course be inflationary. But fortunately we live in a Globalised World where an individual national government does not have much control over inflation.

    How are the costs covered, if not by the consumer?

    Also, I don't think customer-facing industries are immune from job losses. Those businesses can go bust, and there is no law saying another similar business has to come in to replace it.
    Costs get spread. Some comes from an increase in consumer price (but as we can see around the world, it is small), some comes from an reduction in profit at all levels, some comes from a significant reduction in rent (as this is the most volative part of cost structure). Rent reductions really scare tories no matter what positive impact they can have on the economy. Rents are likely to be the biggest loser from minimum wages because it is outside the realm of productivity.

    Businesses don't generally go bust, it can be sector dependent (again why I say there is an argument for trades agreements rather than a universal minimum wage) but in most of the economy they don't unless there is criminality (again a problem for Tories). If every cleaning company has just doubled its wage bill, you have no competitive disadvantage.
    Sorry, how does increasing minimum wage decrease rent costs for businesses?
    Through the mechanism of profit.

    You can't cut inputs - you are in a global market.
    You can't cut labour - you are labour controlled.
    All that can be cut is Rent. So a new balance is found between Rent and Profit, instead of the current UK situation of a balance between Wages and Profit.

    It is a market enforced outcome,
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