Tues evening quiz question - what's the connection

Richie-from-the-Boro

between :

- the new £9bn railway investment
- the coalition government
- Lord Attlee
- and Eric Pickles's intended reintroduction of Maggies Poll Tax

and

- the meaning of the word 'tontine' ?

GlasweJen

The balmoral hotel in Edinburgh stands on the site of Edinburghs first hotel, the 1792 establishment called Tontine Coffee House.

In another Edinburgh establishment that serves coffee a local penned a best selling novel about young people who possessed magical powers. One of these powers was to conjure items out of thin air.

All of your 4 examples appear to be ways of conjuring money out of thin air or people who wish they possessed the power to do so.

Am I warm?

Parva

GlasweJen wrote: »

The balmoral hotel in Edinburgh stands on the site of Edinburghs first hotel, the 1792 establishment called Tontine Coffee House.

In another Edinburgh establishment that serves coffee a local penned a best selling novel about young people who possessed magical powers. One of these powers was to conjure items out of thin air.

All of your 4 examples appear to be ways of conjuring money out of thin air or people who wish they possessed the power to do so.

Am I warm?

I've no idea love but get yer coat, you've pulled. I love a brainy bird and if she's Scottish too, I love that accent and the headstrong woman image it conjures in my mind. Oh wait, this is the disability forum, not taken my tablets yet. Ok, I'll edit this post later, it's fine.

Edit: Ok, it's now later and the medication is kicking in but I do still love a brainy girl. Jen at least got 10 miles closer than any of my thoughts on the answer.

Richie-from-the-Boro

GlasweJen wrote: »

The balmoral hotel in Edinburgh stands on the site of Edinburghs first hotel, the 1792 establishment called Tontine Coffee House.

In another Edinburgh establishment that serves coffee a local penned a best selling novel about young people who possessed magical powers. One of these powers was to conjure items out of thin air.

All of your 4 examples appear to be ways of conjuring money out of thin air or people who wish they possessed the power to do so.

Am I warm?

More than warm Jen, yes conjuring money out of thin air tontine is is an investment plan for raising capital, devised in the 17th century and relatively widespread in the 18th and 19th. It combines features of a group annuity and a lottery. Each subscriber pays an agreed sum into the fund, and thereafter receives an annuity. As members die, their shares devolve to the other participants, and so the value of each annuity increases. On the death of the last member, the scheme is wound up. In a variant, which has provided the plot device for most fictional versions, on the death of the penultimate member the capital passes to the last survivor.

Tontine is also the means by which the CONdems intend to pay for the new rail investment via the new Poll Tax :eek:.

Lord Attlee was the individual that let slip that "the little cut" was to finance the new rail investment.

Essentially under new legislation proposed by the Government changes to Council Tax will mean that the old, vulnerable and low income families will suffer up to a 30% and averaging a 20% cut to any Council Tax benefit they receive,

Richie-from-the-Boro

185 hits and no one picked up on the reintroduction of Maggies Poll Tax, that surprised me

Or

Maybe no one cares about the iniquity that was, and will again be, the Poll Tax.

- on average, households pay £1,000 a year in council tax
- households on low incomes are exempt or paid only according to their means
- so 5.9m households received council tax benefit
- from next April, the benefit is cut by 10%, which is bad enough
- then insanity takes over
- each LA will be given the sum that was handed out in benefit in their area [less 10%]
- they must keep paying the full benefit to pensioners and 'the vulnerable'
- each council must choose who is 'vulnerable', the GOV or DWP won't tell them
- so half of the recipients are pensioners,
- protecting them means all other low-income households bear the whole cut, averaging 20%
- areas with a lot of pensioners or a lot of the 'vulnerable' will suffer the biggest cuts, as much as 30% or more
__________________

First they came for the disabled, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not disabled.
Then they came for the unemployed, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not unemployed.
Then they came for the pensioners, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a pensioner.
Then they came for me .. .. .. and there was no one left to speak for me.
This is starting to feel like Germany in 1933. Better wake up people because they are coming for you next.
- Jock, Basildon England, 14/5/2012

GlasweJen

My council tax is £2,200 pa, the idiots always miss our bins because our block is on a corner! Really does my head in.

As for poll tax I'm too young to remember it but I figure if you use services then you should pay towards them even if it is a token amount.

It irks me that my "household" pays full council tax and we don't use any of Glasgows City Councils services except the walk across the green on our way to the pub. Then when I needed a service ( home occupational therapy) they wouldn't help because I'm at work when the social workers work!

It's brilliant, my DLA goes towards the carer who comes in on work days, my sister claims carers allowance for me (shes after work and weekends), my parents took out a loan to get my house adapted and the council save a fortune in care and adaptions that I'm entitled to and would get if I wasn't working ( so not paying council tax).

paddedjohn

I think the poll tax was a great idea, it was only unpopular because people didn't understand how it would work and got wound up by rabble rousing lefties who disagreed with anything the Tories tried to do.Why is it fair that a single person should pay say £750 per year council tax when a family of 5 ( with 3 adults) next door only pay £1000?
In the eighties I lived in a flat on my own paying £350 rates/council tax whilst my Dad lived about 10 doors away in a 5 bed house on his own paying well over a £1000, under the fairer poll tax my Dads bill would have been around £400 and my neighbours who were 4 adults in a5 bed house would have paid £1600, seems very fair to me.