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A thread to catalogue the eloquence, dignity, diplomacy and wisdom of Boris Johnson

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Everyone seems to be in the opinion that basic wage needs to increase but with the cost of rising inflation.

I’m not. I think a very strong argument can be made for a total restructure based around a Universal Basic Income and no minimum wage levels, i.e. no one starves, business competes for labour, small start-up businesses can employ folk who believe in the project and are prepared to take a low wage in the early stages for rewards later etc. UK politics is still stuck in the old mass labour vs. landed gentry mindset. It desperately needs to adapt to a 21st century model.
 
I don't think the wage needs to increase "at the cost of inflation". Inflation isn't specifically a bad thing, it is a sign of upward growth. Economists have been attempting to make it raise for several decades.
 
Over the historical timescale indeed. I'm critical of the anglo saxon past, yet what is left of the British Empire (largely token now with Britain as merely a member of the empire it once dominated) is not even close to matching how France currently maintains an actual sophisticated neo-colonial empire in Africa.

US foreign policy is not automatically identical to UK foreign policy as a bloc called 'anglo saxon'; and French foreign policy doesn't stand in automatic contradiction to US policy. Peruse the UN objections and vetoes where US and France have voted and worked together to maintain a situation of economic dependency with regard to underdeveloped nations. Another major economic neo-colonialist is the Netherlands (where I am), which masks this as 'free trade' and uses EU power to subjugate domestic markets in developing countries - mostly agriculture - in order to secure markets for NL's huge agriculture output.

Yes all colonial powers where possible will continue to try and wield influence. Sad but true the world has not matured or become more compassionate. But as you agreed nothing matches the carnage in colonial terms that continues to this day what has been perpetrated by the UK and latterly the US. Nearly every hot spot in the world today has the imprimatur of the UK all over it.

Brexit had nothing to do with colonialism in terms of trying to right any wrongs. As I think most agree here it is led by the Tory establishment and cheered on by enough of the masses who like Trump supports are easily energized to make the wrong choice. When you get fools who say they are not for Brexit championing it as democracy you can only conclude the lunatics have taken over the asylum.
 
Another Brexit positive for Ireland. M&S are sourcing Irish producers to try and reinstate the 800 odd lines they have had to pull from Irish stores.
Inclined to think Scotland need to go for it and try and engineer their independence. What is left of the UK will have little option but to come to sensible arrangements with its nearest neighbours. In a weird way it is like reverse 'Brexiteerism' they will need Scotland, Ireland and in the long term possibly NI more than they need Wales/England.
 
That "Freedom to work all over the place largely benefits professional workers, not bottom-end workers."

This has got me thinking about a conversation I had with friends a while back.

I once read a book where the author appeared to suggest that Bus Drivers were unskilled workers. I was asked why I was laughing.

I explained that the most basic bus I drive- a 1950 AEC RT- is more complex and challenging to drive than the most modern- at that time- vehicles I was driving which were Volvo B5LH Hybrids.

OK, when the RT was designed in the 'thirties there was less traffic and it's Pre-select transmission was easier to manage than a non-synchromesh transmission common at that time...

But; most people wouldn't have a clue how to enter the cab safely, let alone drive one safely through Central London without skills. These are usually gained through structured training and a relevant licence as a qualification.

And to carry passengers one must hold a valid CPC: "Driver CPC training for qualified drivers - GOV.UK" https://www.gov.uk/driver-cpc-training

More skills.

So incontrovertible evidence to disprove the statement in that book.

I arrived at the conclusion that the 'Class System' has a part to play in all of this. The question to my friends was this:

What is the Class System?

What makes one who identifies as 'Upper Class' superior to one identified or that identifies as 'Working Class'?

Was quite the debate.

I don't recognise the class system; people are often surprised to see a person like me wearing tweed, courdroy and stuff, jumping in the cab of said RT and driving it. I'm often told I don't dress or talk like a Bus Driver...

I wonder how a Bus Driver is expected to dress and talk according to the beliefs of these people...

In closing, I've another question:

What constitutes a 'Professional Worker' and a 'Bottom-end worker'?
 
Yet I didn't make any claim as to their lack of desire, you did. Being supported by a working spouse is not being 'employed'. I doubt very much the 'independent means' option covers a great deal of the unemployed.

Get real.
None of the economically inactive are employed. I did not say being supported by a spouse was being "employed".

In Gov stats unemployed usually refers to the claimant count, economically inactive means those not in work but not claiming benefits and not known to be seeking work.

If you can't understand what is posted in plain English then you are wasting my time and that of others.

If you have any qualifications in the philosophy of economics (because it not a science) then you should know all this.

Otherwise you are the economist equivalent of the soi-disant immunologist Debs.
 
None of the economically inactive are employed. I did not say being supported by a spouse was being "employed".

In Gov stats unemployed usually refers to the claimant count, economically inactive means those not in work but not claiming benefits and not known to be seeking work.

If you can't understand what is posted in plain English then you are wasting my time and that of others.

If you have any qualifications in the philosophy of economics (because it not a science) then you should know all this.

Otherwise you are the economist equivalent of the soi-disant immunologist Debs.
I can perfectly understand plain English, it's only goalpost-shifting nonsense that gets in my way Don't try and be clever (it suits you not) you mentioned the government stats, which everyone knows are only registered unemployed, but then proceeded to parade an opinion, which when questioned fizzled out. I don;'t require any pointers as to definitions, thanks.
You are the one wasting time by posting absolutely nothing, but hot air.
 
Another Brexit positive for Ireland. M&S are sourcing Irish producers to try and reinstate the 800 odd lines they have had to pull from Irish stores.
Inclined to think Scotland need to go for it and try and engineer their independence. What is left of the UK will have little option but to come to sensible arrangements with its nearest neighbours. In a weird way it is like reverse 'Brexiteerism' they will need Scotland, Ireland and in the long term possibly NI more than they need Wales/England.
Don’t you dare try and make Cornish Pasties and sell them to M&S and as for your Popish sausages, Ulster says never! never! never!
 
Boris, saviour of the world-

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Meanwhile back on Brexit Island-

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My comment was in response to Toneri’s post about the link between former colonies and contemporary hot spots. I am not contesting the damage done to indigenous populations by colonialism.
But Canada and Australia are not contemporary global hotspots are they? And if you happen to be part of the local indigenous population, you might still argue that British historical involvement has hardly been of benefit.
 
Went up to the Royal Academy yesterday, as Signora had her work selected for the Summer Exhibition. It was born out of pure hatred, and generated a lot of interest, even mentioned in the Times.
"Please Enter Your PIN"

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Can't wait to see who bought it!

It might be a former employee who's initials are D.C. :)
 
Now Johnson will be sitting down in a 'meeting' with Jeff Bezos to ask him in a chummy way if he'll be a good chap and all and pay some tax.
various newspapers printing stories from the Sun said:
Later in the day, the Prime Minister will sit down with Mr Bezos, one of the world’s richest men, amid widespread concerns over the comparative lack of tax that digital giants pay.

The wrongness of this entire situation beggars belief. That a head of government calls a meeting with someone in the private sector, who knowingly uses accounting to escape from tax liabilities, to say: pay your tax please. If Bezos wasn't doing this he could just issue a statement like all the mega-corps do saying, 'we pay all necessary taxes'. Then simply not attend a meeting convened to tell him to do something he claims Amazon doesn't do. Johnson already knows that Amazon have a hand in writing the tax code necessary to themselves.

Why haven't they just put customs and excise onto them to investigate tax evasion? The evasion/avoidance split means nothing to me, if you attempt to not pay tax you're an evader. The attitude they seem to be taking is 'oh no, if we go in all heavy-handed they'll never pay that tax and then we'll never have any extra 'revenue'... Like he's a government partner and funding source. What Amazon really needs is an official notification with total weight of government power informing him that if Amazon doesn't fulfil all tax obligations they will be investigated and prosecuted for tax 'irregularities'.

Instead we get Johnson convening a friendly meeting where he also: "will also be congratulating him on his massive forestry initiative." Yes, thanks for dropping a crumb of all that stolen and hoarded public spending on initiatives that should be a public infrastructure priority.
 
If Amazon is avoiding/evading tax to the tune of £8.2bn and the UK taxpayer has to fund an extra £12bn for the NHS, isn’t the taxpayer actually subsidising 2/3 of Amazon profits?
 
Well, it means the state is filling the gap with the actual money, and the population is forced to offset this (evil deficit) by being driven harder in work and bearing the austerity brunt.
 
Don’t you dare try and make Cornish Pasties and sell them to M&S and as for your Popish sausages, Ulster says never! never! never!

Plans are afoot to replace the Cookstown sizzler with either the Adamstown or Irishtown or maybe for the gourmet ones we might call them the Monkstown sizzlers. Not sure who is going to be making the Cornish pasties that still a big secret.

Never say Never it seems! Latest figures advise drop of 33% in UK imports into Ireland and a rise in Irish exports of 26%. That's democracy for you and as the Brexiteers advised you have to be a champion of democracy so no turning back now. The Irish will be turning into Brexiteers shortly. We never realized how good it would be for us. Trust it is just a good for the UK. Long live Democracy, God bless Referendums and red buses and Bojo and Mogo and Faragey. We love them all.
 
This is lazy thinking - if the UK was such a malign influence on her former colonies how do explain the successes of Canada and Australia for example?
I think you were looking in the mirror. Any update on those wonderful IMF growth projections and the reality behind them? :)
 
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