adarmo

I was looking at the UK rather than selecting specific countries within. But fine, it's a record low, or at least it was... it grew in 2021 and is now 1.61 which is higher than last year. ..... https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/articles/provisionalbirthsinenglandandwales/2021#:~:text=The total fertility rate (TFR,that the TFR has increased. This might suggest that when people aren't allowed to travel and do all the fun stuff they'll have kids...... i.e. when they're forced to make those sacrifices there's not much marginal sacrifice in starting a family. To what extent is this a sacrifice though? How can you tell if it's down to empowerment of women, or even people refusing to make the sacrifices necessary for starting a family? It seems you're latching on to this as one area of 'sacrifice' when whether it is or is not is very subjective? Yet again, that's not even the point is it?

Before asking the people of Liverpool (I used to live there funnily enough and have a funny story, read till the end) I'd just kindly ask you the following (again): Tell me, as you've strayed into my subject area, what do you think the problems with a very low GI are? What is the optimal level of GI? 0.2–0.3 relative equality, 0.3–0.4 adequate equality Do you think helping people who want to help themselves means high levels of equality or perhaps a greater incentive to do well and work hard (which means lower levels of equality). I'm not by any stretch suggesting high inequality is good, but there's an optimal level wouldn't you say? I've read studies suggesting it's between 0.3-0.4 so actually one might make the case that she improved things? I like the graph, UK seems to sit towards the more equal end of developed nations and beats the Nordics which is really a feat! Have you got a nice graph showing how wealth inequality has changed over the period? In Liverpool a man fell into the River Mersey (poss the Mersey Canal). He couldn't swim but was saved from drowning by his shell suit that trapped enough air to keep him buoyant until he could be rescued. In Liverpool an old lady was hit by a car while crossing the road. The driver jumped from the car, picked up her handbag and drove off. This was on the radio when I was a kid and the DJ remarked "only in Liverpool". Not his fault, Thatcher made him do it I suppose, arguably he wouldn't have been able to buy or pinch a car if the unions were still building crap from the 1970s but who knows?

Weird isn't it how people that come from nothing can end up buying a house, getting a good job and raising a family while others blame the government for their problems? I think it's the blame issue I have a problem with. I have colleagues in Russia. They tend to not blame Putin but instead talk about how to leave Russia now. Meanwhile in UK it's who can we blame for X,Y and Z? BP made a profit. Let's blame them for high energy prices and tax them. Fertility rate could well be down to the empowerment of women. Is this a bad thing? It's where it was in 2001 and 2002 isn't it? Is this sacrifice or life choice? I have no children because I'm too selfish and I'm not prepared to make the sacrifices necessary to have them. I'd argue that actually having fewer children is less of a sacrifice than having them. I agree with you on housing but the people I know that do no own either have some London fetish or spent most of their 20s faffing about and having a lot of fun and 'travelling' (basically a fricking year + long holiday. Now they want to tax everyone so they can be insulated from rising costs. Besides, plenty of hard work and sacrifice going on doesn't mean there's a large and vocal group banging the 'it ain't fair' drum.

BrEntry. Like it!

That ship has well and truly sailed I'm afraid.

I think when stop and search came in it was just a free for all. Since then it got restricted. A section 60 refers to a blanket authorisation for stop and search in an area where violence is expected but not necessarily the individuals are suspected. This blanket area authorisation has been extended from 39 to 48 hours. For a standard stop and search the authorisation level has been lowered. From the Guardian: The rank at which officers are able to authorise the deployment of stop and search has been lowered from senior officer to inspector, while a superintendent can now extend the authorisation. Authorising officers now only need to anticipate that serious violence “may” rather than “will” occur, and no longer need to publicly communicate authorisations to communities in advance. https://www.theguardian.com/law/2022/may/16/restrictions-on-police-stop-and-search-powers-permanently-lifted

Without the reforms of the Thatcher government we'd have been far worse off in the long term. It does seem you're very anti-Tory. Do you think they've done anything right? Here's an expanded timeline that's less favourable. Went pretty high under Labour didn't it?

Controversial but is it nature or nurture? I accept it matters where you come from. Of course it does. If I'd gone to private school blah blah then who knows where I'd be now. Here's the issue though, is it for the tax payer, that's already suffering rising taxes and some are paying marginal rates f 63.25% on top of all the inflationary pressures that everyone is experiencing to cover off those to ensure they're totally insulated from rising prices? My view is no, it should bite everyone, pensioners, workers, claimants alike. I know someone who was effectively orphaned at 17, no A-levels, ended up working in Singapore and earning a fortune. I'm not saying it's not more difficult for them. Another anecdote is being at uni and my parents earned just enough I didn't get a grant. Meanwhile i had a GF at uni whose mum earned very little but whose dad was a millionaire. Had everything paid for, zero debt and went on the uni ski trips and got picked up in daddy's Lexus 4X4 each time. It does seem people don't like hard work and can't accept sacrifice.

It seems you think a low Gini coefficient is a good thing? Out of interest is this one tracking wealth or income? I also love how it's got a false Y-axis makes things appear to be far more dramatic than they really are. Tell me, as you've strayed into my subject area, what do you think the problems with a very low GI are? What is the optimal level of GI? 0.2–0.3 relative equality, 0.3–0.4 adequate equality Do you think helping people who want to help themselves means high levels of equality or perhaps a greater incentive to do well and work hard (which means lower levels of equality). I'm not by any stretch suggesting high inequality is good, but there's an optimal level wouldn't you say? I've read studies suggesting it's between 0.3-0.4 so actually one might make the case that she improved things? What incentives are there to earn more if you're giving most of it away? What reason is there not to riot and have a revolution if most of you have nothing. 0.25 is approx Scandinavian countries

How do you know they are? Besides, that's not point. It's the supposed outrage caused when it is suggested people do this instead of moaning the government should be helping them. The BS fuel cap which killed competition and changed energy price increases to be massive one off moves instead of a constantly moving price. It seems people are utterly shocked prices might go up and they might have to make sacrifices. It's populist policies that actually make people worse off collectively despite a lot of noise being made that these policies are needed to help protect said people. How can anyone answer what 'they' aren't optimising? Who is 'they'?

If a police officer has reasonable grounds to believe that you have been involved in a crime or that you are in possession of a prohibited item they can search you. Only a police officer can do this and they can only search your outer clothing.

I didn't say it does. Those are good questions and answering them isn't pointless. Whereas 'was there a cake at the meeting you'd otherwise have attended' is utterly pointless.

How would more poor people better serve the party of the 'elitist and rich' btw?

I put it to you that you are a Tory-hater. Actually the do their best to improve people that want to improve. They support apprenticeships AND state funded grammar schools. How is making poor decision though not self inflicting? Is it someone else's fault? Are they part of victim culture? So elitist aren't they. Maggie was the daughter of a billionaire as we all know . As was John Major......

Just gonna ask the question on how France managed to achieve this? Do you think it might be because they provide all their electricity from nukes and hydro? If not then who is actually paying for the cap because you don't go to a global commodity market and say 'sorry guys, can't pay any more than 4%'. So the state would be picking up the tab. Awesome! That's a free market and will definitely incentives the bringing on stream of more energy and the reduction in usage that moves the market back into equilibrium. Yep all valid, lets have a public inquiry. How do you get to choose the prime minister? That's not how the UK works. I do not rate BJ as a top PM btw, I'm simply attacking the weak arguments against him, not defending him.