Deny

That would be lovely, but it doesn't work like that. I think that's the joint income that forms the threshold above which you get the minimum rate of tax credits (the band goes up to around 50k I think, so one couple with a child earning three times another couple with a child still get the same tax credit). I concur that Gordon Brown has a pathological hatred of low earners.

Credit crunch doesn't really affect me, as I'm not in any debt (except an outstanding student loan which will be written off in 35 years' time!) - unless it makes it easier to purchase a house. This will only happen if it lowers my outgoings - at present I am keeping a girlfriend and a young daughter on 17k gross. Not easy but just about possible. It would be a colossal help if my rent didn't take up nearly three-quarters of my take home!! (and we live in small accomodation, cheap for the area). I was always told by my parents 'expect to spend no more than 1/3 of your income on housing' So if the credit crunch means house prices come down to a level where I can get a mortgage for £300 a month, then job's a good 'un.

Not exactly a measure of success, more of superficiality.

according to my arl fella (funnily enough he also works in special needs education) an expert is 'someone who knows more and more about less and less until they eventually know everything about nothing'

Its never the most able who are at the top of the wage ladder, its the salesmen, the executives, the old school tie jobs where all you need is a silver spoon in your mouth and a good line in spouting meaningless waffle at the right time. And nobody would really miss them if they left the country and fell off a yacht. Anything that will change the inversely proportional relationship between ability and pay will be a good thing.

Being in a mindless, soul-destroying job with people you wouldn't normally give the time of day, being bullied by managers to 'work smarter not harder' and other meaningless rubbish and box-ticking is depression-inducing and best kept well clear of when depressed. Some people find isolation excellent for depression, especially if they can use that time constructively to go for a long walk, clear their head, read a good book, indulge in a hobby and generally feel like the corporate world can kiss his bum for a week or two. Our modern society is depression-inducing in the extreme. Society is a subtle but nasty and insidiously oppressive place.

The value of your investment can go up as well as down I'm afraid! The 3G licences were sold off in 2000 raising £22.5 billion (plus another £3.5 billion in VAT) for the treasury, which hasn't been seen since.

you mean kelvin

He won't call an election because Murdoch won't stand for it

Damn straight. More fuel protests required too, and just an overcoming of the apathy of 90% of the citizens of this country. We need change. Please join my one man protest at my local fuel depot. I'll probably get nicked if you dont.

The only organ of the press I take or trust. More balanced than any daily, usually incisive and always a good laugh.

just found this unintentionally comedic advert "IF EXETER CITY EVER GET TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE, THIS CITY CENTRE SECOND FLOOR FLAT WILL DEFINATELY BE A GOOD INVESTMENT! " about halfway down this page So in other words, don't even think about it!

"In need of modernisation" meaning "should be pulled down"

The words 'rod' and 'back' spring to mind.

Well there's precious little else to laugh at in this godforsaken sh1thouse of a society the NuLabia junta preside over, so hahahaha, you were taken in, you gambled, you lost, and you'll find 'sympathy' in the dictionary between 'sh1t' and 'syphilis'. You can't have a get rich quick scheme where everyone gets rich quick. 'Success' in a capitalist market depends on the 'failure' of others.

yep, nextdoor to Messrs Sue, Grabbit and Runne

edited to remove entirely accurate but potentially offensive description of Prime Minister Brown

ha ha quality rant!!

very good. Try WORKING for a living.

Or perhaps he actually WANTED to become a teacher. Teachers have to make contributions to their pension, 5% of salary to be exact. On the face of it, teachers have a lot of time off. Believe me, they don't - it isn't just a job, it's a life. I don't know a single teacher who isn't crushed under the weight of their work. Show me a teacher on £100k, and I'll show you a liar. A 'Cost centre'? They're actually human beings, teaching the next generation of human beings. You sound like you know the cost of everything but the value of nothing. Unless you're in a particular industry (money-skimming financial 'services' parasite) in a particular area (big city), then £30k is a shed-load of money. Many teachers DO work all their lives to earn that by the time they're sixty. Why shouldn't a way above average salary of £30k buy a decent house on 3x? "I'm ever so 'umble!" You are Uriah Heep and I claim my five pounds. Sorry to set you straight on a few matters, but ignorant whinging fools like yourself who think teachers have it easy and those who perform public services rather than making money are somehow beneath them really get my goat. Your troll post didn't really deserve the dignity of a response, but I'm on my tea-break, so you got one!

[pedant] You're inferring it. He's implying it [/pedant]

If you live in Devon and earn Devon wages, you're knackered. Join the club!

edited: as I'm not sure that expressing disappointment at the IRA's failure to kill Thatcher in 1984 is even legal any more

ha ha are the street signs still vandalised so they read '* a n a l * t r e e t'?

This should be tattooed on the inside of every westerner's eyelids - Maybe only then will the planet survive with us on it.