Reply to: Are you one of the 70% who ARE NOT a "Hard working Family"

[d000hg]

I just have to get this off my chest before I go mad
...

So my question to Mr Cameron, Mr Milliband and all you other f&*kwits who KEEP BANGING ON ABOUT THEIR POLICIES TO HELP HARD WORKING F&*KING FAMILES is

What are you going to do for the other 31.3 Million (or 69.6%) of us who ARE NOT part of a hard F*^king "working family" which by the way is a completely made up piece of political wank demographic that is impossible to define anyway?

Maybe I should buck my ideas up as a moderaitely hard working cohabiting person with no dependent children to court the attention of the above mentioned political muppets!

I have no interest in working hard, and never have had. Why we should be expected to pander to the "needs" of those who are too dumb to find an easier way of living, I do not understand.

I made about £5000 on the CHF/GBP readjustment last week. No work involved there.

"Hard-working families" are hard-working because they are only just keeping their noses above the water. Those of us lucky enough not needing to slog don't need help from the government, we're doing OK already.

[original PM]

'They bribe their voters with other people's money in order to secure enough muscle over the remainder in order to wield power for a few more years. It's as simple as that.'

Stunningly accurate description of what happens...

Leads to shocking short-term reactions too. Gordon Brown was saying exactly the same today, cant get cash for longterm infrastructure spending because of the risk of new gvnmt changing the rules.

China has many problems but they are able to take a very long view in some cases (not always the right view but not a 3yr cycle to appease the unwashed)

Indeed and this is exactly why the uk is going down the pan.

If a long term project is kicked off by one government it should be support by successive governments but instead they either close it down or run it so badly it fails - and then they use that as ammunition to diss the previous government.

It really is like watching children squabble over toys.

Take the poll tax - ok Maggie implemented it but the next labour government put it up and blamed Thatcher.

[VectraMan]

I actually believe that no lifestyles should be subsidised, but if there is a gripe about societal breakdown, and you are going to use the tax and benefits system to change people's behaviour in other areas, then maybe it should be used to support lifestyle choices that tend to have better outcomes for the next generation (note I didn't say "always have better outcomes") rather than reward those that don't.

Clearly the choice that best supports the next generation is to not have children. Big tax breaks for single, childless people I say.

[jjdarg]

Well unless your spouse died it is ultimately a choice, even if a seemingly obvious one

I guess the point is that no other arrangements are referred to as lifestyle choices by the Chancellor.

I actually believe that no lifestyles should be subsidised, but if there is a gripe about societal breakdown, and you are going to use the tax and benefits system to change people's behaviour in other areas, then maybe it should be used to support lifestyle choices that tend to have better outcomes for the next generation (note I didn't say "always have better outcomes") rather than reward those that don't.

[tractor]

'They bribe their voters with other people's money in order to secure enough muscle over the remainder in order to wield power for a few more years. It's as simple as that.'

Stunningly accurate description of what happens...

Leads to shocking short-term reactions too. Gordon Brown was saying exactly the same today, cant get cash for longterm infrastructure spending because of the risk of new gvnmt changing the rules.

China has many problems but they are able to take a very long view in some cases (not always the right view but not a 3yr cycle to appease the unwashed)

Yes but God-Gordon abolished the natural 9 year cycles himself. He told us so.

[lukemg]

'They bribe their voters with other people's money in order to secure enough muscle over the remainder in order to wield power for a few more years. It's as simple as that.'

Stunningly accurate description of what happens...

Leads to shocking short-term reactions too. Gordon Brown was saying exactly the same today, cant get cash for longterm infrastructure spending because of the risk of new gvnmt changing the rules.

China has many problems but they are able to take a very long view in some cases (not always the right view but not a 3yr cycle to appease the unwashed)

[d000hg]

Or ran away.

Sorry, very true. And not even that rare.

[NotAllThere]

Well unless your spouse died it is ultimately a choice, even if a seemingly obvious one

Or ran away.

[d000hg]

Well unless your spouse died it is ultimately a choice, even if a seemingly obvious one

[jjdarg]

On being non-mainstream...

Try being a single-earner household with children...Definitely a political target for all parties. It is a "lifestyle choice" according to the Chancellor, and apparently we aren't pulling our fair load.

[Contractoid]

Didn't realise an evening rant would spark such a debate and indeed a very good one! As a lifelong rebel to conformity I am resigned to being regarded by politicians and society as a whole as a social leper. What bugs me is the way that the collective momentum of politics/society/political correctness etc is marginalising the "Non Mainstream" (the politicians "Hard working families"). Add to that the emergance of the Child Worship culture we have imported from the US and you are left feeling like an outcast at times.

[vetran]

Hard working families are photogenic and of course Tory and New Lie floating voters.

Cuts and earnings related benefits have hit most family units.

its rhetoric.

The unemployed are denigrated so that the minority who are happy to live on benefits can be attacked.

The Lower end workers are being exploited by multinationals with low wages we don't want to shine a spotlight on those.

we need to be seen to support one of the groups.

[SpontaneousOrder]

Indeed the key thing is it allows children to learn to interact with other children at an early age - even a very well looked after child who has no time with his peers until they get to school will be be at a disadvantage.

The thing about marriage is not down to the government it is down to successive generations of people putting less and less value on it - and maybe the whole political correctness has got to a point where having a traditional marriage between a man and a woman is now seen in a similar vein to being proud to be British - e.g. a bit old fashioned and slightly bigoted.

I think you're right when it's targeted in small doses. Obviously interacting and sharing with other kids will be beneficial (although there's nothing stopping stay-at-home mums/dads creating that environment too) - but studies show that being left with strangers for more than 20 hours a week is damaging to a child's psychology.

And i think that the marriage thing is down to state sponsorship of reckless sluttyness. When you socialise the repercussions of such behaviour, then you end up with couples that shouldn't be couples - or single parents. This has nothing to do with marriage - it's just that now more people who have no business being together, have children because the consequences tend to be negligable or even positive (especially given that they tend to be people without much ambition in the first place).

You're right though, about the institution of marriage being valued less (my other half knows it's meaningless to me - but she still wanted her day so we did), which I think is a good thing. People's happiness should be valued higher than propriety - it's just that removal of ideas of propriety, combined with rampant socialism, leads to the issues we see.

[Platypus]

You're Goddamn Right!

I seem to have achieved early retirement here.

Giz a job, mate?

[jjdarg]

We're getting awefully close ourselves. As soon as I have my next contract in my grubby little mitts, we will be paying off the mortgage - so then excess cash goes to getting the pensions sorted and war chest for eventual daughters' uni costs.