Johnny Bognor

I live in Chichester to. According to the article, I will have to drive past Brighton, then past Portsmouth all the way to Southampton to get a coach back to Portsmouth. The thing I want to know is that will I have to go past Brighton on the way home, because that is going to be a major pain in the arse (excuse the pun)

Nicola (can be male ala Cortese or female)

Hmm. But it doesnt take into account this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/15/unemploymentdata-recession ...and of course, this http://www.accountancyage.com/aa/news/1783039/uk-insolvency-epidemic-2009 Which at the time had no bearing on the public sector

Yes there is state redundancy from NI contributions. THe problem is Um, when a company goes bust, there is no money for redundancy (as a former accountant, I thought you would und ers tand that). The only way round this is to make employers put aside cash for these scenarios, but that is in an ideal world, when many companies are fighting to survive. The min wage was introduced at a time when the economy was in good health an was growing Not dumbing down, jus t a dose of reality I don't disagree with moving forward, but this starts with focusing on wealth creation to pay for it.

It wasn't a case of being treated in any way, the company had gone pop. I do agree. It just gets my goat that many of the lefties on here get their knickers in a twist when the public sector have to tighten their belts, yet the silence was deafening when thousands of private sector workers were being laid off on a daily basis from 2008 onwards. Neither is the "hard done by" mentality when in reality there are far more who have it far worse Oh and call me a cynic, but I wonder what d ate will be chosen? November the 5th me up

I have respect for our army, police, doctors and nurses etc (especially those that go beyond the call of duty), however my sympathy goes to those lower paid private sector workers who are more likely to lose their jobs, have no voice, are more likely to be exploited and are the ones who are being ****ed over the most. Still small when compared to those that have lost their jobs in the private sector over the last 3 years, many of whom didn't get generous redundancy packages. When your small business goes bust, there aint no money in the pot for redundancy. A mate who sat next to me at sms turned up to work one morning, where he had worked for 15+ years and the company had gone. No consultation, no warning, no redundancy package.... nothing. Yes, the reason why are still reeling from the worst recession since WW2 is d own to this shambolic government

No pay rises, pay freezes blah blah blah. Unemployment is 1 million higher than it was three years ago. How many of these came from the public sector? Answer = not many Hundreds of thousands of private sector workers would gladly take a pay freeze over no job at all. Oh, and they didn't cause the crisis either. That is the problem with the modern day socialist. They only care about public sector jobs when it is the low paid private sector workers that are being really screwed

I agree with some of your sentiments and in my view the bankers have got away with it. However, can you remind me when the Police last went on strike?

Meanwhile everyone else in the real world has to.... Never understood this ... The life saving assets belong to the state and should be used. The problem is that it takes power away from the union, but never mind, only a few extra people will die as a result and the union clearly thinks this is a small price to pay. I know this is hypothetical, but if a firefighter's house is on fire and their wife and kids were inside, would they break ranks to save them, or would they let them burn as they would someone else's family? A bit of a moral d ilemma there.

song for Brighton????

Rudi Skacel signing.... a memory that will stay with me forever

Oh come on, I know we are not talking about iPhones or iPads, but surely a Dub iPhil still counts?

LOL, I knew that was coming and that was back in June 2008 FFs!!!! Anyway, haven't you sold yet and how's the golf swing BTW?

Bloody Hell GM, you don't hold grudges do you? (that thread was from January 2009, over two and a half years ago) (I do agree with you BTW)

Where does it say the timber merchant is white? Are all timber merchants working class? It seems some people are narrow minded and they only see what they want to see.

do the math

http://www.personalaccounts.info/site/421/Introduction_and_Summary.aspx Yes individuals can opt out, but there is a pretty decent incentive not to. If they don't opt out, employers HAVE to contribute (i.e. employers DO NOT get the chance to opt out) and therefore it is a good deal for the employee. In fact, any employees who opt-out will need to get their heads read. More info: http://www.personalaccounts.info/site/423/Industry_Reaction.aspx Anyway, at least Verbal had the decency to be grateful

Legislation comes into force where employers have to deduct pension contributions from their staff and by 2014, companies have to contribute 3% (I think, off the top of my head), so don't worry, the private sector will pick up the tab (again).

So it is Labour's fault that we are all going to have to work longer

1. Teaching Maths In 1970 A timber merchant sells a lorry load of timber for £100.. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit? 2. Teaching Maths In 1980 A timber merchant sells a lorry load of timber for £100. His cost of production is 80% of the price. What is his profit? 3. Teaching Maths In 1990 A timber merchant sells a lorry load of timber for £100. His cost of production is £80. How much was his profit? 4. Teaching Maths In 2000 A timber merchant sells a lorry load of timber for £100. His cost of production is £80 and his profit is £20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20. 5. Teaching Maths In 2005 A timber merchant cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. Your assignment: Discuss how the wildlife might feel as the timber merchant cut down their homes just for a measly profit of £20. 6. Teaching Maths In 2009 A timber merchant is arrested for trying to cut down a tree in case it may be offensive to Muslims or other religious groups not consulted in the felling licence. He is also fined a £100 as his chainsaw is in breach of Health and Safety legislation as it deemed too dangerous and could cut something... He has used the chainsaw for over 20 years without incident however he does not have the correct certificate of competence and is therefore considered to be a recidivist and habitual criminal. His DNA is sampled and his details circulated throughout all government agencies. He protests and is taken to court and fined another £100 because he is such an easy target. When he is released he returns to find Gypsies have cut down half his wood to build a camp on his land. He tries to throw them off but is arrested, prosecuted for harassing an ethnic minority, imprisoned and fined a further £100. While he is in jail again the Gypsies cut down the rest of his wood and sell it on the black market for £100 cash. They also have a departure B-B-Q of squirrel and pheasant and leave behind several tonnes of rubbish and asbestos sheeting. The timber merchant / forester on release is warned that failure to clear the fly tipped rubbish immediately at his own cost is an offence. He complains and is arrested for environmental pollution, breach of the peace and invoiced £12,000 plus VAT for safe disposal costs by a regulated government contractor. Your assignment: How many times is the timber merchant going to have to be arrested and fined before he realises that he is never going to make £20 profit by hard work, give up, sign onto the dole and live off the state for the rest of his life? 7. Teaching Maths In 2010 A timber merchant doesn’t sell a lorry load of timber because he can’t get a loan to buy a new lorry because his bank has spent all his and their money on a derivative of securitised debt related to sub- prime mortgages in Alabama and lost the lot with only some government money left to pay a few million pound bonuses to their senior directors and the traders who made the biggest losses. The timber merchant struggles to pay the £1,200 road tax on his old lorry. However, as it was made in the 1970s it no longer meets the emissions regulations and he is forced to scrap it. Some Bulgarian timber merchants buy the lorry from the scrap merchant and put it back on the road. They undercut everyone on price for haulage and send their cash back home, while claiming unemployment for themselves and their relatives. If questioned they speak no English and it is easier to deport them at the governments expense. Following their holiday back home they return to the UK with different names and fresh girls and start again. The timber merchant protests, is accused of being a bigoted racist and as his name is on the side of his old lorry he is forced to pay £1,500 registration fees as a gang master. The Government borrows more money to pay more to the bankers as bonuses are not cheap. The parliamentarians feel they are missing out and claim the difference on expenses and allowances. You do the maths. 8. Teaching Maths 2017 أ المسجل تبيع حموله شاحنة من الخشب من اجل 100 دولار. صاحب تكلفة الانتاج 80 من الثمن. ما هو الربح له؟= 20

If you are having to blame the tories for raising the pension age, then are you going to give them the credit for making people live longer?

This

In essence, I agree. I would rather see employers NI for small businesses cut instead to encourage job creation.

You are right in that entrepreneurs of smaller buinesses are not deterred by top rate tax. Corporation tax or the tax on jobs (employers NI) is far more relevant to them. However, there are many high earners that aren't entrepreneurs. I pers onally am not bothered about the top rate. The jobs tax bothers me more. If you hire 10 people on £30k pa, the govt will charge you £33k pa for the privilege, so you could in fact hire 11 people instead of 10. We are in the mire and more could be done to help job creation, which will in turn generate more tax revenue. If you also take account of the loss of the personal tax allowance above 100k, then this adds another 3%, so it is effectively 55%

No doubt you are trying to show them the error of their ways :lol: