2141 replies to this topic

[Rosssco]

The biggest financial issue for the UK government is tax avoidance, not the poor. We can start with a better tax system. Yes many many people in food banks are now the employed. But its their fault right? All chancers? Nothing to do with zero hour contracts and massive part time employment to bring down unemployment numbers let's not forget those forced to work for nothing. Great policies.

 

I'm pretty sure tax avoidance is not the biggest financial issue for the UK. Its a good political football though I suppose, and another reason to put down the UK as a bunch of tax avoiders, especially those located in SE England eh.. Ironically the current UK government has at least attempted to close off some routes to this more than any recent governments.

 

TBH honest if I could pay less tax I would... Not because I don;t have a social conscious, or believe we shouldn't try to redistribute wealth, but I'd rather spend it on me, my family and friends (or whatever charity I chose).

 

Again you are confusing problems (either mistakenly or deliberately) which affect every developed country in the world with the accusation that the UK is the sole perpetrator. Countries with large financial sectors tend to have more complex tax rules. Guess what Scotland has...?

 

Food banks. I'm sure many who use them are unemployed, which is regretible.. So food banks, zero hours contracts and part-time employment is the governments fault? Not sure if you've been asleep since 2008, but pretty much the entire global economy fell sharply in output terms. Might have something to do with it.. In other news, UK is now the fastest growing economy in the EU..

 

So, what would Scotland do to eliminate food banks? There's many European countries suffering from the same thing, they'd love to know too..

[Rosssco]

Yes the BBC is a horrific place to get any stats. How about the one the government won't release that cost the tax payer £40k?

 

The BBC didn't conduct those polls, they are just presenting the information.

 

Who cares about an internal government poll? Lots of governments do things and not tell us about it..

[LY_Scott]

You'd care if it fitted the no agenda though? And so would they.

[Rosssco]

It depends what your priorities are Zuber. Even having an aim to do something better would be a start. But aslong as the finance sector is doing well eh?

 

But everyone will have different priorities - there won't be a cohesive mass of people that aim for one things or set of policies. Scots will squabble amongst ourselves as much, if not more, than we do now..

 

http://s.telegraph.c...ters/index.html

 

I wonder if nationalists have seized on the blank canvas of independence to sketch out their own utopias, confident in the belief that a “Yes” vote will help them achieve it. In reality, divorce negotiations with London would likely only be a precursor to a far bloodier internal battle about the future direction of Scotland.  

And yes, as it makes up a large part of our GDP, it is pretty important.

 

Ps. - you did announce "and we're off"

[LY_Scott]

Yep, we're saying bloodier though, what like proper political options? A left a right and a centre? Yes vote it is.

[Rosssco]

You'd care if it fitted the no agenda though? And so would they.

 

So if it was released, contradicted all the other independant polls, and showed a slide towards yes, would it really make a difference..?

 

But hey, pour attention on what is a relatively insignifcant piece of information in an attempt to deflect attention to the substantial holes in the nationalist arguments..

 

Like worrying about a clam bubble when you've just punctured a hole in you're sill with a incorrect jack placement...

[Rosssco]

Yep, we're saying bloodier though, what like proper political options? A left a right and a centre? Yes vote it is.

 

I believe the point is - same sh*t, different location...

[LY_Scott]

There is no political choice. Within 5 mins of George Osbourne announcing something the nodding dog of Ed Balls is on TV agreeing.

[Rosssco]

There is no political choice. Within 5 mins of George Osbourne announcing something the nodding dog of Ed Balls is on TV agreeing.

 

Example?

 

What about the Scottish parliment we already have, which already has control over health, eduction, transport, infrastructure etc. We have our own legal system. We have our own development agencies to attract businesses etc. The dreaded bedroom tax has been effectively cancelled out in Scotland

 

We all voted for that (well, ~50% did anyway)...

 

Or ther EU which has a significant affect on many of the laws and regulations we operate with, despite the fact that we elect but a tiny fraction of them..? We need to leave the EU then in that case also?

 

So we will have more political choices in an independant Scotland - What, like New Labour, Old Labour, in the middle Labour, some excessive socialists, some Greens, and a few Conservatives... A veritable sweatie shop of political choice right there...

[LY_Scott]

So you're now saying their won't be much of a political fight post independence?

[Rosssco]

So you're now saying their won't be much of a political fight post independence?

 

No, I'm challenging you're ascertion that we will have more political choice in an independant Scottish parliment..

[Rosssco]

More clever nationalists..

 

http://www.buzzfeed....adly-to-jk-rowl

 

https://twitter.com/...684436676034560

 

There should be an intelligence test for using the internet. Apparently they have solved the keyboard and mouse puzzle...

[G-Bob]

So you're now saying their won't be much of a political fight post independence?

*there

[KurtVerbose]

More clever nationalists..

 

That's really quite horrible, no wonder she called them death eaters. Is that really the standard of debate going on right now?  

[Zuber]

You will always get idiots spouting foul language. It is the norm these days...

 

But I do think the Yes Campaign style has been to deliberately try and drown out and/or make uncomfotable those on the No side. I was watching one of the news channels yesterday (not the BBC) and you had some high level yes and no guys being interviewed.

 

All you got was the yes guy raising his voice, talking constantly, slating everything about the no camp and not letting anyone else get a word in. Seen it a few times now. Of course, if the No camp complain and point this out, they are being negative...

Edited by Zuber, 11 June 2014 - 06:54 PM.

[LY_Scott]

You get it on both sides.

[LY_Scott]

More clever nationalists..

  That's really quite horrible, no wonder she called them death eaters. Is that really the standard of debate going on right now?  

No it isn't. As Zuber has pointed out you'll get this on both sides. The reverse would be how the Yes donors the Weirs are treated by the other side. The photos of Salmond dressed as hitler. Or how about the MSP who was assaulted? You'll always get idiots and they're usually noisy. It really doesn't help but they are out there.

[Rosssco]

Both "sides" are like that, but there has tended to be more vitriolic stuff coming from those supporting independance.

 

You have to remember one of the main drivers behind the Yes campaign is the concept of nationalism, so undoubtedly thats going to stoke the fires of passion a bit more than the other side, for which its a relatively minor facet of their agruement.

 

Twats are everywhere though, nothing we can do about them, but the ball is kept on the ground for the majority of debate.

[KurtVerbose]

I had a holiday in Scotland in April and had a wonderful time. However, whilst most people were really very nice I did notice an undercurrent of English dislike with some people that wasn't very pleasant.

 

I visited the Linda McCartney memorial garden when in Campbelltown. This was setup and paid for by people who knew her in the local area, not by her husband. Right behind her statue is a bench as a tribute to a local woman - a 'true Campbelltownian'.

 

 

Maybe I'm reading more into this than I should but to me it really looks like a statement.

 

I'm not having a go at Scotland about this, because you get it everywhere. I was brought up in Yorkshire but was never a Yorkshire man because I wasn't born there and neither were generations of my elders. It's a small minded attitude that I hate, but then I've never understood nationalism, or as I prefer to call it - xenophobia.

 

I can understand those voting yes for reasons of governance, but the patriotic fervor some seem to have, together with a distrust and even hatred of the English is not nice to see as an English person, and I don't think leads to a logical debate about good governance for Scotland.

[G-Bob]

Unfortunately this kind of thinking is bred into small minded people. There's just as much infighting within Scottish communities where people are getting stabbed and killed because they come from the housing estate across the road. No other reason. Don't get me started with the Rangers & Celtic battles in Glasgow because its just stupid as well. The media doesn't help with the massive bias when it comes to sporting events but it is only fueling an age old fire that is already lit. I can see where the accusations of having a chip on our shoulder comes from tbf. As with everything its always the loudest voices that get the most air time.