ChezGiven

I defined it above for you but if you need me to spell it out, its a policy that affects the social welfare of the people. You can probable exclude foreign policy from the umbrella.

He is coming over badly in this thread granted. He's losing it.

Governments control taxation (and at the time monetary policy), public services directly through the Ministries and through law, the regulatory mechanisms which control commerce and peoples behaviour. All policy is therefore social as it affects society, the only policies that are not social are macro-economic and these are implemented to have social impact by influencing the distribution of income. Name me a policy and i'll give you the social consequences.

Everyone here would probably say their dream job as a bairn was to be a footballer, but you need so much luck, focus and dedication. It isn't all about talent, I bet there are people in this forum with more natural ability than some professional footballers, you just need everything to click in to place, not just in football but in any job where there are infinitely fewer opportunities than people willing to do it. My ambition was to be a journalist of sorts, I don't think that could ever happen now, I'd need to go and get a degree for one, and fuck that, but good luck in whatever dream you chase. You don't need a degree. Apart from footie what would you like to write about or have some degree of knowledge about? You needed a media qualification I know that for an absolute nailed on fact, certainly to get a job at Thomson House. Football would be what I would like to write about, or be a travel reporter, I'm not as well travelled as the likes of that cunt on here who's old forget his name, you know who I mean, but who is, I've been about a bit though. I'd be a good news reporter for a trashy paper as well, who need sensationalist stories for non-events. NCTJ qualifications are more important than a degree nowadays but the courses cost upwards of £1000 if I remember correctly. Trouble is even if you have the time and money to do the course the chances of you getting a job in journalism at the minute are slim. All you need is an aptitude for discursive writing and some will power, the rest is cobblers. How I wish that was true I'm living proof. It was possible in the past. I know Jez Robinson, the bloke behind ALS, he basically started off the fanzine with no prior writing experience and ended up working for the local and national press. Nowadays though because jobs are so thin on the ground you need to be well qualified or related to someone with their foot already in the door. I've now done 3 corporate books and working on my 4th, I have no kind of writing qualification whatsoever. Aye, but that's a completely different kettle of fish to working for a newspaper or magazine. I have written for at least a half dozen mags. Was it paid work? I don't do it for fun. I mean was it for a prolonged period. Was it technically your 'job'? 'Technically' Parky doesnt even exist.

What a tit housing, health, utility and public services policy are all social policy. As taxation is an economic policy, this is also a social policy as it can alleviate the burden on social classes. Clueless tbh. Define more right wing and which labour policy has been more right wing than an equivalent conservative policy.

I sort of do write for a living at times. Am currently writing a paper on kidney cancer. Thats the thing about writing, its easy to do something else....

Did that pool have seawater in it? In which case, what was the point of it?

Parky uses those '3 word story' threads for most of his ideas.

Well that'd certainly fit with the rest of East London. A return to a sense of scale would be nice after the excesses of Beijing. Then again, I imagine the organisers are so paranoid about being seen to have "failed" that they won't entertain the prospect unless it becomes a financial necessity. We should cancel it. How will the aliens know where to land?

Well put. But surely there is a need for public spending to be cut. A budget is a budget and if you've only got so much to go round, you've got to be choosy where it goes. And thats not including the money thats been wasted over the last 12 months. For example, should the NHS be paying for "Charvers" to get free taxis to hospital, when little old dears have to struggle to the bus stop. I'm probably biased being a great believer and employee of the NHS. I think this would decimated under the tories. Your point about charvers is taken and is a can of worms for another debate really, undoubtedly for me New Labour's greatest failing. Fair enough But you must know better than most that the NHS is a bottomless pit and I think will only be looked after properly when some form of privatisation is brought in. Well, no, it's not a bottomless pit at all, and yes, people will have to accept a degree of personal expenditure in the future to get the best treatments. It's a question of how you do this though, something I would never entrust to a tory government who fundamentally do not believe in social welfare. You missed a great thread on this a few months back as it happens. But times change dont they, policies change. Didnt Labour not used to want to ban the bomb and all that other malarky. Its this branding of a group of people with no possibility of change that discourages me in polotics. It should all be decided xfactor style with a public vote on the big issues. True but after the 80s I could never trust the tories. I'd find it impossible to trust the Eton duo of Cameron and Osbourne under any circumstances. Plus I live in Tynemouth and know a few conservative councillors. I absolutely loathe them and what they stand for. Evil Rotter?

I used to be on a buy-to-let forum called Housemouse in 2003, and there was always one guy (like parky) who predicted the credit crunch / doom and gloom. No bugger ever took him seriously and the forums recently closed, Poor bastard, just when he's finally proved right The man (investment manager) who predicted the dotcom collapse had a similar experience. He pulled out all of his clients money and refused to invest a single penny in the start-ups. All the investment managers were coining it in so his clients and eventually his employers took umbrage (obviously). He refused to back down and was eventually fired, couldnt get a job elsewhere and his career fucked up. About 6 months later, all his competitors portfolios were worth about as much as Geremi's next transfer fee Iirc, the cunts who employed him didnt re-hire him.

Seriously though, from the financial perspective, its just a market adjustment. The free credit boom led to unwarranted increases in demand for housing / homeownership. This 'false' increase in demand, led to massive price increases, which led to a greater supply of credit since the prediction of rising value of the investment assets led to over-extension of credit again. This price/demand and credit/supply cycle has been going on for a long time. Some Economists have been warning of the dire consequences heading our way since before 2004. Its exacly the same as what happened during the dotcom boom, with the same dynamics, except that time the credit was for start-ups not for housing. The market for credit needs to re-adjust and we are in the adjustment period. There are also other factors at play, in particular the cash reserve and liquidity ratios that banks were using on their assets, which fucked them over when their lines of credit started to go toxic. Hence the impact on the wider economy.

The aliens have scheduled the Olympics for the mass landing. The Chinese will probably get the mass landing gold though. Seriously worried about 2012 though....

It will last until 2012 by which time there will be global chaos, death, pestilence, famine and the olympics. Not necessarily in that order.

You didnt make a point and anyone who was politically aware in the 80s would not try to compare Tory social policy with Labour's. Its just absurd and therefore doesnt warrant anything other than ridicule. "Society doesnt exist" Where did Fop do that exactly? Am i attributing something to you which you think you didnt say? Naughty naughty me, wonder who taught me that trick? (You did say it anyway). (where? ) http://www.toontastic.net/board/index.php?...st&p=594824 So basically, despite your very best attempts to invent a strawman, Fop didn't do any such thing. "I'd say New Labour are probably more right wing than the tories in many ways, in fact it's hard to see the difference in many general polices between Thatcher and Blair/Brown"

You didnt make a point and anyone who was politically aware in the 80s would not try to compare Tory social policy with Labour's. Its just absurd and therefore doesnt warrant anything other than ridicule. "Society doesnt exist" Where did Fop do that exactly? Am i attributing something to you which you think you didnt say? Naughty naughty me, wonder who taught me that trick? (You did say it anyway). (where? ) http://www.toontastic.net/board/index.php?...st&p=594824

Since when has it really been free (as in beer)? You always seem to be out to try and take control of that which you don't control (which is basically why the internet is no longer free - as in speech) and bend it to your will (or profits). I meant charge for information, like newspapers etc. It'll probably happen anyway. It already is, everything has been steadily dollarised since big corporations first got a sniff of profit, the big sea change coming in ~1998. It was the big corporations that filled the content void that everyone was wondering about circa 98.

You didnt make a point and anyone who was politically aware in the 80s would not try to compare Tory social policy with Labour's. Its just absurd and therefore doesnt warrant anything other than ridicule. "Society doesnt exist" Where did Fop do that exactly? Am i attributing something to you which you think you didnt say? Naughty naughty me, wonder who taught me that trick? (You did say it anyway).

Since when has it really been free (as in beer)? You always seem to be out to try and take control of that which you don't control (which is basically why the internet is no longer free - as in speech) and bend it to your will (or profits). I meant charge for information, like newspapers etc. It'll probably happen anyway.

You didnt make a point and anyone who was politically aware in the 80s would not try to compare Tory social policy with Labour's. Its just absurd and therefore doesnt warrant anything other than ridicule. "Society doesnt exist"

Agreed. The system will need restructuring (re-regulating) with an eye to capital flows and risk management and also perhaps a closer look at risk insurance (where the Germans got caught out - vis a vie Deutsche Bank). We are paying the price for over de-regulation. Now common sense and massive fiscal intervention (I agree with the package) should theoretically correct funding flows. Ironically we will be imo where we ought to have been in the beginning of the 90's ie oversight on massive market forces and I'd go further and re-take control of the Bank of England for a spell. Any ideas welcome. I dunno that retaking the BoE is absolutely necessary (although maybe, as they will own the whole country soon ), but I'd rather they be put back in charge of regulation (and stronger regulation) rather than keeping the FSA which already failed so spectacularly. The FSA is a total crock of shit. Unfortunately the only ans now is to get into the Euro and get under the 'bigger umbrella'. The cunts have got what they wanted. England is finished. This and start charging for the internet would be my two policy proposals.

Those that don't remember the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them. Fop remembers everything. (but clearly Chezzy forgets very quickly) Clearly 12 in 1997.

I'd say New Labour are probably more right wing than the tories in many ways, in fact it's hard to see the difference in many general polices between Thatcher and Blair/Brown (apart from that Blair/Brown should have realised that they'd failed and were a mistake). John Smith's death was a tragedy for the country. Utter horse shit. He's not old enough to remember what social policy in the UK looked like under the tories.

Tbh Parky those who are claiming that a recession and a banking crisis marks the end of market forces are also buffoons. We going to regulate the bread market soon? Put chicken on the national health? Allocate clothing via the queue mechanism? Make foreign cars illegal and force people to sign up for a national make? All markets have regulations or forces that hinder their ability to bring a buyer and seller together, that can be a legal framework that hinders unbridled credit markets, an import tax that increases domestic competitiveness or a geographical hindance like the distance between the buyer and seller.

If only she'd been named Donna. A loosely packed one, hold the dark cabbage.