General politics discussion thread

[patiirc]

All in all not a bad budget

 

VAT increasesd to 20 per cent

 

which wasnt unexpected and erm they've killed the Video game industry in the UK by getting rid of tax relief on developers ( already squeezed by larger working budgets and so on)

 

 

Harriet Harperson can fuck off though

[Loki]

Thanks a fuck Osborne. That's a real kick in the teeth. We've been campaigning for that for years.

[Glen Quagmire]

VAT increase to 20% was inevitable, however I would hope that the Coalition have a plan to reduce it again by the end of the parliamentary term depending on the state of the country's finances.

 

The plan to medically test all new and existing DLA applicants by 2013 is unworkable. Some people who have been assessed for certain disabilities that are non-curable e.g. missing limbs don't really need to be assessed again unless the government wants to waste more time and money in doing so, and even those who may gain some recovery over their disabilities, there's no way that they'll see every single applicant in such a short space of time unless they have either (a) have a mass temporary hiring of medical officers to assess claims around 2013/14 or (b) hire such contracts out privately to tell them to "target". A would cost a lot of money in the short term at least when the talk is of belt-tightening, and B would almost certainly prove unpopular (if the experience of ESA is anything to go by). All this to me reckons that its generally a sop to readers of the Daily M**l and the like without being effectively enforced.

 

Also Housing Benefit is to be capped to

Edited June 22, 2010 by Glen Quagmire

[David]

Thanks a fuck Osborne. That's a real kick in the teeth. We've been campaigning for that for years.

Sorry Loki, but the videogames industry isn't a pressing issue during these trying times, don't you know?

 

We all need to share the burden etc

[seph]

The plan to medically test all new and existing DLA applicants by 2013 is unworkable. Some people who have been assessed for certain disabilities that are non-curable e.g. missing limbs don't really need to be assessed again unless the government wants to waste more time and money in doing so, and even those who may gain some recovery over their disabilities, there's no way that they'll see every single applicant in such a short space of time unless they have either (a) have a mass temporary hiring of medical officers to assess claims around 2013/14 or (b) hire such contracts out privately to tell them to "target". A would cost a lot of money in the short term at least when the talk is of belt-tightening, and B would almost certainly prove unpopular (if the experience of ESA is anything to go by). All this to me reckons that its generally a sop to readers of the Daily M**l and the like without being effectively enforced.

 

What's the health assessment going to be for Autistic Spectrum Disorders? a Blackjack table?

[Glen Quagmire]

The plan to medically test all new and existing DLA applicants by 2013 is unworkable. Some people who have been assessed for certain disabilities that are non-curable e.g. missing limbs don't really need to be assessed again unless the government wants to waste more time and money in doing so, and even those who may gain some recovery over their disabilities, there's no way that they'll see every single applicant in such a short space of time unless they have either (a) have a mass temporary hiring of medical officers to assess claims around 2013/14 or (b) hire such contracts out privately to tell them to "target". A would cost a lot of money in the short term at least when the talk is of belt-tightening, and B would almost certainly prove unpopular (if the experience of ESA is anything to go by). All this to me reckons that its generally a sop to readers of the Daily M**l and the like without being effectively enforced.

 

What's the health assessment going to be for Autistic Spectrum Disorders? a Blackjack table?

Actually that's a good example as to why this proposal is unworkable. There will be some shit kicked up if these proposals saw a lot of people with Autism & AS dropped off DLA, but what would be the fundamental testing behind it? It's something a 1 hour meeting in an office certainly isn't going to cover.

[dangerously420]

So expect to walk into a pub tomorrow and be charged now over the odds for a drink?

[David]

So expect to walk into a pub tomorrow and be charged now over the odds for a drink?

And how is that different from yesterday?

[seph]

The plan to medically test all new and existing DLA applicants by 2013 is unworkable. Some people who have been assessed for certain disabilities that are non-curable e.g. missing limbs don't really need to be assessed again unless the government wants to waste more time and money in doing so, and even those who may gain some recovery over their disabilities, there's no way that they'll see every single applicant in such a short space of time unless they have either (a) have a mass temporary hiring of medical officers to assess claims around 2013/14 or (b) hire such contracts out privately to tell them to "target". A would cost a lot of money in the short term at least when the talk is of belt-tightening, and B would almost certainly prove unpopular (if the experience of ESA is anything to go by). All this to me reckons that its generally a sop to readers of the Daily M**l and the like without being effectively enforced.

 

What's the health assessment going to be for Autistic Spectrum Disorders? a Blackjack table?

Actually that's a good example as to why this proposal is unworkable. There will be some shit kicked up if these proposals saw a lot of people with Autism & AS dropped off DLA, but what would be the fundamental testing behind it? It's something a 1 hour meeting in an office certainly isn't going to cover.

 

Same with any intangible disability - people can get on 'fine' from day to day by themselves or with carers but who is to judge where 'fine' lies on the claim threshold? Any argument for 'borderline' cases either way will either disqualify them from the allowance or condemn them to a life of dependency whether it's wanted or not.

[neil]

So expect to walk into a pub tomorrow and be charged now over the odds for a drink?

And how is that different from yesterday?

tommyboi's drink specials for his next event will be ruined.

 

2 WKD's for

[MinceMcMahon]

This VAT hike is a disgrace. Everybody knows that once it goes up, it rarely if ever comes back down again. The cost of living has gone up forever.

[patiirc]

This VAT hike is a disgrace. Everybody knows that once it goes up, it rarely if ever comes back down again. The cost of living has gone up forever.

 

Please explain then how else you are going to pay for the Billions and Billions of debt that the countries in?

[ChrisJ]

This VAT hike is a disgrace. Everybody knows that once it goes up, it rarely if ever comes back down again. The cost of living has gone up forever.

 

Please explain then how else you are going to pay for the Billions and Billions of debt that the countries in?

 

Eat more horses.

[MinceMcMahon]

This VAT hike is a disgrace. Everybody knows that once it goes up, it rarely if ever comes back down again. The cost of living has gone up forever.

 

Please explain then how else you are going to pay for the Billions and Billions of debt that the countries in?

 

There are other ways of doing that. VAT takes no account of anyone's ability to pay, it's regressive taxation and will hit the poorest for years to come. Believe it or not we don't pay much tax in relation to other states in Europe. We should be increasing tax on those who are able to pay.

 

The rise in VAT isn't fair, in fact it's morally wrong and the decision to do it was done for ideological reasons, not just to clear debt.

[patiirc]

This VAT hike is a disgrace. Everybody knows that once it goes up, it rarely if ever comes back down again. The cost of living has gone up forever.

 

Please explain then how else you are going to pay for the Billions and Billions of debt that the countries in?

 

There are other ways of doing that. VAT takes no account of anyone's ability to pay, it's regressive taxation and will hit the poorest for years to come. Believe it or not we don't pay much tax in relation to other states in Europe. We should be increasing tax on those who are able to pay.

 

The rise in VAT isn't fair, in fact it's morally wrong and the decision to do it was done for ideological reasons, not just to clear debt.

 

 

Err surely a tax that applies to all and doesnt leave anyone out, is actually the fairest way of doing it? 2.5 percent isnt exactly massive?

 

What ideological reasons are you alluding to ?