Scotrail

[Clown Job]

For a government claiming they won’t get involved in the dispute the Tories are going out to bat for Network Rail on QT

 

[parsforlife]

5 minutes ago, HK Hibee said:

I think the point I am trying to make which is being lost is that for the vast majority of us it isn’t about millionaires being billionaires but about your kids and my kids having money for a deposit on a house.  

I am all for taxing the millionaires but you also need to have some incentive that a reasonable amount of wealth gets passed on from generation to generation. Otherwise why fucking bother

The first part makes you the well off guy giving his kids a leg up.

I think the societal question is why should you’re kids be given an easy ride compared to the guy a mile away who didn’t get a penny?

As for what’s the point? well for someone worse off the point of their efforts day to day is to get food in their belly and a roof over their head.  

As for enough for a house deposit, that probably means reducing inheritance threshold to about 1% of where it is. 

1 minute ago, Halbeath Raith Rover said:

It's not something I've really thought about, but having read the last few pages I reckon a progressive tax rate for estates would be fair.

At one end 95% taken of Richard Branson's is still going to leave his family flush.

Old Betty with 5 grand saved, possibly while going without something else enjoyable in life, like a few holidays should be able to give that away how she see's fit.

Obviously the issue then becomes where the 10% , 20% etc rates come in, and people will argue based on their own self interest largely.

Yes,  I fully accept a progressive wealth tax system, where a small amount is tax free

Need to hit the big guys hard tho. 

[Left Back]

30 minutes ago, Scary Bear said:

I’ve no idea how much that is costing but again, it’s not creating paradise is it? It’s mitigating how many people default on their energy bills.

So you do finally accept the point that no matter how much the government borrows there is no paradise?  This is of course contrary to your statement that the government can do anything it wants.

For the record I despise the government.  I think Johnson should have been fired.  If it was possible to introduce a law against being a useless, opportunist, lying, egotistical, band-wagon jumping, self-serving c**t that made it possible to jail the b*****d…I’d vote for it.

[IrishBhoy]

It’s funny how the government is always punching down when it comes to finding reasons why the country is in debt or why public services are failing. Immigrants and the working class fighting for better wages taking the brunt of it just now. The media are absolutely complicit in trying to devalue the RMT and the working classes right now. I hope Mick Lynch doesn’t have any skeletons in the closet because you can be assured they will be doing everything they can to find something on him, especially after how well he has handled himself these past few days. 
 

Why are these same journalists who are trying to skewer Mick Lynch not asking the Tory MPs that appear on television why they aren’t trying to close tax loopholes or making it harder to hide money offshore? Something that could literally recoup billions of pounds overnight. The divide in the UK between the have and have-nots is a chasm, and it’s only getting bigger during this ‘cost of living crisis’. A rail worker who makes 30 grand a year will be paying 15-20% of that back to the Govt. in PAYE at source. They will be paying council tax, electricity and energy bills and buying food, petrol, alcohol, cigarettes etc., a percentage of all which will find it’s way back into Govt. coffers.
Compare that to the millionaires who can afford the best accountants, who hold positions as directors of limited companies that, on paper, don’t turn a profit so don’t need to pay tax. Who use dividends and ‘loans’ as their wage, who ‘hire’ family members as staff to give them higher tax thresholds, who will have money in long term investment funds or property ventures that stays far enough away from the eyes of HMRC that hardly a penny of tax will be paid on profits. These people don’t make a weekly or monthly wage like the vast majority of normal people do, they aren’t taxed at source, it’s relying on their honesty when submitting self-assessments. We have a parliament full of people who work their finances in exactly that manner. They know every trick in the book and will do anything to protect the loopholes that allow them to hide their wealth.
 

These are the same people that are aghast at rail workers looking for a wage rise closer to inflation and guarantees of job safety, vilifying them at every chance they get. All this in the same week that the cap on city bankers bonus’ has been lifted in order to encourage foreign investment. So they don’t have a problem when it’s one of their own raking in an extra few million, but when it’s someone looking for an extra 2 or 3 grand a year the full media propaganda machine is fired up. It’s sickening, and I hope the RMT hold strong against these gangsters in suits. 

[red23]

3 hours ago, Cosmic Joe said:

End up? 

It's been nationalised for about 10 weeks. 

spoiler alert, it'll be a complete disaster.

[doulikefish]

British Airways staff next up to be enemy's of the state 

[Scary Bear]

8 hours ago, Left Back said:

So you do finally accept the point that no matter how much the government borrows there is no paradise?  This is of course contrary to your statement that the government can do anything it wants.

For the record I despise the government.  I think Johnson should have been fired.  If it was possible to introduce a law against being a useless, opportunist, lying, egotistical, band-wagon jumping, self-serving c**t that made it possible to jail the b*****d…I’d vote for it.

The first mention of paradise and the likes wasn’t by me. I don’t want paradise, just a better government, and a country that functions a bit better and isn’t too expensive to live in.

The government can and does find the money when it needs to. Usually when bad things happen, such as war, pandemics, banking crisis, and the likes. Then they are content to go into massive amounts of debt. A point I would concede is these are usually temporary events which have a beginning and ending. They are not ongoing expensive events like a care system for the elderly. 

Not sure where Scotrail staff pay rise comes into this but it’s a drop in the ocean. The main issue with it is it builds resentment among other workers who aren’t getting a pay rise and who can’t, or won’t, or aren’t allowed to, hold the government to ransom as effectively. 

As for Boris, you know when someone tells you he’s fucked up again, and you have lost count of the number of times he’s fucked up, that suggests he is a monumental f**k up.

Edited June 24, 2022 by Scary Bear

[hk blues]

21 hours ago, Michael W said:

But that's the message the Government is broadcasting - don't ask for a big payrise, you'll contribute to inflation and make things worse. Tough it out. 

A message which is totally undermined when the government hands pensioners an increase in-line with inflation. The government is, quite literally, saying some people are more deserving than others. 

But, the increase is governed by the triple-lock rather than a decision arrived at by the current government.  

[hk blues]

19 hours ago, virginton said:

I don't recall many pensioners complaining about the injustice when a decade of austerity was imposed exclusively on the working age poor, disabled and their dependents since 2010 - while state spending on their welfare benefits was maintained at the same rate as before and triple-locked to inflation. Their political decisions in that decade certainly don't indicate their belief in your stance either. 

It's funny how the universal solidarity card only ever gets played when it's boomers on the receiving end of scrutiny and cutbacks. 

Look, If I actually believed that robbing Peter the pensioner to help pay Paul would actually happen then I'd 100% agree with you, but I just don't see it.  

['WellDel]

22 minutes ago, hk blues said:

Look, If I actually believed that robbing Peter the pensioner to help pay Paul would actually happen then I'd 100% agree with you, but I just don't see it.  

I know a Peter who is a pensioner. Should I advise him of the possibility of an imminent chibbing to relieve him of his pension book, just incase?

At least with the Paul guy apparently implicated, the police would start from a position of strength with a positive line of enquiry and person of interest right from the off.

 

 

*On your point though, Peter's not doing that badly and Paul should absolutely be getting what he deserves,  through fairness and far more legal means.

Edited June 24, 2022 by 'WellDel

[Clown Job]

It’s funny hearing Tories bang on about how the railway needs to modernise while they refuse to allow MP’s to work from home despite the technology being available 

[101]

9 hours ago, IrishBhoy said:

. I hope Mick Lynch doesn’t have any skeletons in the closet because you can be assured they will be doing everything they can to find something on him

You mean his Facebook profile picture wasn't a killer blow to his career?!?!

[Michael W]

45 minutes ago, hk blues said:

But, the increase is governed by the triple-lock rather than a decision arrived at by the current government.  

A manifesto pledge, which was conveniently ignored once previously when it suited the government. Not increasing NI was another pledge that was also overlooked when it suited. 

It is a conscious decision to implement it. 

[ICTChris]

In the 1990s pensioner poverty was a real political issue - one of the things Blair's government did was try to deal with it, by introducing things like the winter fuel payments.  There was significant political pushback early in the first Blair government when they introduced a 75p rise in pensions.  Restoring the link between pensions and earnings was a consistent demand from the Labour left - they eventually did do this while increasing the retirement age (really the age you get the state pension).

Pensioner poverty certainly reduced from the levels of the 1990s.

[hk blues]

13 minutes ago, Michael W said:

A manifesto pledge, which was conveniently ignored once previously when it suited the government. Not increasing NI was another pledge that was also overlooked when it suited. 

It is a conscious decision to implement it. 

I'm still unclear why pensioners are bearing the brunt of your frustration when there must be a good few more deserving causes.

[hk blues]

39 minutes ago, 'WellDel said:

I know a Peter who is a pensioner. Should I advise him of the possibility of an imminent chibbing to relieve him of his pension book, just incase?

At least with the Paul guy apparently implicated, the police would start from a position of strength with a positive line of enquiry and person of interest right from the off.

 

 

*On your point though, Peter's not doing that badly and Paul should absolutely be getting what he deserves,  through fairness and far more legal means.

[hk blues]

40 minutes ago, 'WellDel said:

*On your point though, Peter's not doing that badly and Paul should absolutely be getting what he deserves,  through fairness and far more legal means.

Peter's doing better than not that badly IMO, and good luck to him.  I'm struggling to see why he should be the one to help Paul out though when they are a good few Paisleys or Pandoras better able to.

[Michael W]

22 minutes ago, hk blues said:

I'm still unclear why pensioners are bearing the brunt of your frustration when there must be a good few more deserving causes.

I have already outlined this, but here it is again: 

Government: Workers, restrain your pay demands. Don't ask for rises in line with inflation. This is bad. 

Also Government: Pensions will be increased in line with inflation. This is fine.

My frustration here is with the inconsistency coming out of Government. 

[hk blues]

18 minutes ago, Michael W said:

I have already outlined this, but here it is again: 

Government: Workers, restrain your pay demands. Don't ask for rises in line with inflation. This is bad. 

Also Government: Pensions will be increased in line with inflation. This is fine.

My frustration here is with the inconsistency coming out of Government. 

We could go in in this vein all night but pensions are not being increased in line with inflation, rather in line with the triple lock which has been in place since 2010.

F*** the government rather than f*** the pensioners IMO.  

[Billy Jean King]

Train strikes: Why haven't they caused more disruption? - BBC News
I think this is quite an interesting angle.
The pandemic has already shown businesses and employees that they can work from home so any disruption like this and most people can immediately move to work from home without batting an eyelid.
Will be interesting to see how and if that affects pay rise negotiations.
Maybe the days of unions holding the public to ransom are coming to an end.
No doubt they'll get a pay-rise above that offered but maybe it's a case of them winning the battle but losing the war.
We're a service economy now and a service economy can largely work from home.
Cheap manufacturing from abroad killed our grossly inefficient manufacturing base and neutered their unions in the 80s.
Maybe work from home will do the same for transport.

89% public support on a tv poll this morning. Problem with the home working analogy is that the same people giving it "f**k the RMT members and get them back to work" (see 90% of the hand picked QT audience last night for reference) are the very same folk that can't/won't accept that post pandemic home working is here to stay. They are the very people screaming (usually a front page Mail / Express headline every week) get these lazy home workers back into the office. Given both sides here are 1 in the same I don't see it as the kicker you think it might be.