Scottish Parliament Achievements

[Baxter Parp]

Social Security Scotland

https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/benefits

[GordonD]

6 hours ago, Detournement said:

I used to be for free prescriptions but with further austerity there needs to be a rethink. 

Wealthy pensioners driving in their Range Rovers to collect free prescriptions to take on their 3rd holiday of the year is obscene when vital services are being underfunded. 

Why are you singling out pensioners for this?

[BFTD]

Why are you singling out pensioners for this?

One too many rammies with @Granny Danger IMO.

[Granny Danger]

13 hours ago, BFTD said:

13 hours ago, GordonD said:

Why are you singling out pensioners for this?

One too many rammies with @Granny Danger IMO.

He won’t have rammies with me.  I’ve had him on ignore for ages and only see his ramblings when someone replies to them.

[D Angelo Barksdale]

I applied for a job in the parliament once.

Made a final interview, but never got the job.

Undoubtedly a massive W in the achievements column for them tbf.

[GordonD]

1 hour ago, Namond Brice said:

I applied for a job in the parliament once.

Made a final interview, but never got the job.

Undoubtedly a massive W in the achievements column for them tbf.

^^^^ Guy Fawkes found

[Donathan]

“Leading the world on alcohol” pricing is a bit of a disgrace when Scotland still has a major alcohol problem and leads Europe in drug deaths to boot 

[Ric]

I feel these are relevant:

 

Essentially the people who dislike Scottish devolution are old gammony fucks, with the rest made up of Brexit supporting, Unionist sycophants.

The positive is that as soon as these old fuckers get off this planet and stop blocking genuine progression for this country, we can finally move onto being responsible for our own shit rather than be told on the "big ticket" issues (such as foreign policy, welfare or defence) we are somehow "too wee too poor and too stupid" to deal with it..

 

Edit: Source - https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2021/05/04/who-supports-abolishing-devolved-parliaments-and-w

Edited September 19, 2021 by Ric

[BFTD]

20% is an surprisingly low number for opinions on such an issue.

You could ask anything and at least 10% of the population would hold a contrary position. "Should self-mutilation on Sundays be mandatory?" - 10% yes, guaranteed, largely from people who'd then complain when the Department of Mutilation arrived at their door on the Sabbath with the approved implements.

[Granny Danger]

3 hours ago, Ric said:

I feel these are relevant:

 

Essentially the people who dislike Scottish devolution are old gammony fucks, with the rest made up of Brexit supporting, Unionist sycophants.

The positive is that as soon as these old fuckers get off this planet and stop blocking genuine progression for this country, we can finally move onto being responsible for our own shit rather than be told on the "big ticket" issues (such as foreign policy, welfare or defence) we are somehow "too wee too poor and too stupid" to deal with it..

Let’s have context here.  Only 34% of 65+ voted for abolition meaning two-thirds didn’t.  The “all old folk are the same” argument that many roll out* looks pretty weak.

* I know that’s not what you’re saying but many will see it as a natural follow on.

[Ric]

16 minutes ago, Granny Danger said:

Let’s have context here.  Only 34% of 65+ voted for abolition meaning two-thirds didn’t.  The “all old folk are the same” argument that many roll out* looks pretty weak.

* I know that’s not what you’re saying but many will see it as a natural follow on.

It's less about "all old folk" and more about the cultural and emotional sentiment within that grouping.

In the results shown, we have a category of 18-24 along with the 65+, suggesting similar groupings for other ages. Now to be fair, I never included the source for you to see that and I should have, so here it is, and I'll add that into my original post.

Sadly the raw data they provide (here [PDF]) doesn't break down the age categories but it's clear it has calculated them. Going on an educated guess of maybe two more age groupings, (25-44/45-64, perhaps?), and if those groupings had similar levels of support as you'd expect from previous polls, then you'd be looking at the 65+ voter group being the outlier and as such it's fair to highlight this as a group that should be addressed. I'm perhaps being crass when I suggest their collective popping of their mortal coils could be a solution, I would, of course, prefer them to be swayed by the many cogent arguments in favour of Holyrood.

I also appreciate I am countering a point that hasn't been made, and it's without the exact data (maybe I missed it and the full data is linked on that page somewhere).

On final point is that historical data suggests the indy/union polarisation is less with devolution than it would be regarding the independence question, where I feel the differences between the voting groups would be amplified. You tend to feel most conservatives (with a small c) are happy enough with devolution if they can get something out of it, but it's wings are clipped by Westminster.

 

[BFTD]

3% of the 20% voted SNP in 2019, but would vote to abolish the Scottish Parliament now. I love these bizarre anomalies. That amounts to 7 or 8 people who've either experienced a recent Damascene conversion, or decided to take the piss out of YouGov.

The Welsh one is even stranger. 21% of abolitionists voted for Plaid Cymru.

[strichener]

On 18/09/2021 at 14:53, Detournement said:

Fair enough. 

I just think we need to come to terms with the fact that a large amount pensioners in the UK/Scotland have significant private pension income (taxed at a lower rate as capital gains) and that any progressive government should be looking to redistribute some of it. 

Pensions are taxed as income.

[welshbairn]

1 hour ago, BFTD said:

3% of the 20% voted SNP in 2019, but would vote to abolish the Scottish Parliament now. I love these bizarre anomalies. That amounts to 7 or 8 people who've either experienced a recent Damascene conversion, or decided to take the piss out of YouGov.

The Welsh one is even stranger. 21% of abolitionists voted for Plaid Cymru.

I think the YouGov polling sample is a bit self selecting. I did it for a while in the hope of picking up £500 in some raffle, but it got tedious and the questions got more and more intrusive so I gave it up. That must bias their numbers a bit. Sure they operate differently in election polling.

[Detournement]

29 minutes ago, strichener said:

Pensions are taxed as income.

Even if you have converted your pension pot to an index fund?

[strichener]

3 hours ago, Detournement said:

Even if you have converted your pension pot to an index fund?

The only way to do this as far as I know would be to use the pension freedoms introduced in 2015 but as far as I am aware you would need to cash in your pension to do this and would end up paying income tax on any amount over the 25% tax free lump sum.  The existing rules around drawdown etc. is still income and taxed as such.

Edited September 19, 2021 by strichener
Mistype of 25%

[sophia]

What is the debit in terms of a cost benefit analysis when you net the gross and monetize the net present value of the notional argument?

[Dawson Park Boy]

13 minutes ago, strichener said:

The only way to do this as far as I know would be to use the pension freedoms introduced in 2015 but as far as I am aware you would need to cash in your pension to do this and would end up paying income tax on any amount over the 15% tax free lump sum.  The existing rules around drawdown etc. is still income and taxed as such.

Correct

[Suspect Device]

13 hours ago, sophia said:

What is the debit in terms of a cost benefit analysis when you net the gross and monetize the net present value of the notional argument?

 

[Granny Danger]

The only way to get all you’re money out of a private pension (SIPP) tax free is to die before you’re 75.

Seems a bit extreme tbh.