Derek Hatton Speaks

Road_Hog

shortchanged wrote: »

Well if that's the case there's no point in living. We only live once and to spend all your life working yourself to death isn't particularly appealing.

Does this mean that society as we know it has failed?

Society as we know it has changed. And not for the better, people are going to have to get used to it. Pensions are disappearing, free NHS is going to disappear and benefits will be restructured in a way that will mean that most people will not be able to survive on them alone.

The future is not looking bright.

Wookster

shortchanged wrote: »

So what's your solution Wookster?

Quite simple really

- Legalise & tax drugs (all drugs)
- Legalise & tax prostitution
- Welfare limited to 1 year at full basis, 50% for 6 months thereafter and nil after that.
- Far too many people on incapacity benefits
- Mass reform to the NHS - restructure to include compulsory private insurance
- Mass cull of red tape - doing business in the UK is hard!
- Mass easing of planning permission (the UK spends far too much of its income on housing and borrows to make up the difference)
- Any savings arising from this spent on education education education

shortchanged_2

The problem is that medical advances are actually making matters worse. Yes we are all living longer but at what cost?

It's a bit of a double whammy really in that pensions need to be paid for longer and there is also the greater burden on the health service because although we may well be living longer you can also see that our actual 'health' will be poorer for a longer time. Chronic illnesses are going to be a major drain on resources over the next few decades.

Rochdale_Pioneers

Wookster wrote: »

Quite simple really

- Legalise & tax drugs (all drugs)
- Legalise & tax prostitution
- Far too many people on incapacity benefits

I absolutely agree with you on the first two points, and have argued for the legalisation of all drugs for years. If nothing else you'll remove the need for smackheads to steal, bringing about an overnight big reduction in crime. And the same with toms, they've been there since the dawn of civilisation so why pretend they're doing anything subversive and wrong?

As for point 3, you might very well think that. The problem is that for so many people on incapacity benefits they are unemployable. Most chronic conditions are just that, and for large parts of the time the people with them are not well enough to be a reliable bet for even the most understanding of employer. You need to maintain them somehow if no jobs are out there for them and its hardly their fault for being ill.

Wookster

Rochdale_Pioneers wrote: »

As for point 3, you might very well think that. The problem is that for so many people on incapacity benefits they are unemployable. Most chronic conditions are just that, and for large parts of the time the people with them are not well enough to be a reliable bet for even the most understanding of employer. You need to maintain them somehow if no jobs are out there for them and its hardly their fault for being ill.

How many folk are there on incapacity at the moment? ~2Million?

That is just statistically impossible! Far too high to really represent people really needing it.

chewmylegoff

Rochdale_Pioneers wrote: »

so the "we can't afford pensions" argument from the Tories now just means higher bills for the state later.

well, not really, because public sector and state pensions are unfunded, so moves to reform the system are cutting future rather than current expenditure. so its more shifting some future costs from one pot to another.

chewmylegoff

Rochdale_Pioneers wrote: »

If nothing else you'll remove the need for smackheads to steal

really? will drugs be free once they are legalised then?

Generali

chewmylegoff wrote: »

really? will drugs be free once they are legalised then?

They'd be a lot cheaper. Not many alcoholics or smokers steal to fund their habits.

kabayiri

Generali wrote: »

They'd be a lot cheaper. Not many alcoholics or smokers steal to fund their habits.

True, I can't remember the time when someone broke into Boots pharmacy for generic paracetamol.

chewmylegoff

cigarettes are £7.50 a pack (which goes some way to telling you how much heroin would be taxed if it was legalised). i expect there are plenty of people who steal in order to buy cigarettes. certainly there are hordes of people who 'steal' from the government by buying black market cigarettes for £2/3 a pack.