"hard Working People"

[or in excess of]

Just watched Theresa May in a 10 minute interview on Sky this morning. In that time, she managed to get in the incredibly irritating "hard working people" phrase no less than 8 times. She even corrected herself once when she just said people, by saying again with the hard working bit included. All politicians seem to use it in interviews. It is patronising beyond belief. And annoying.

[SarahBell]

Would you prefer she said "people apart from the scrounging doley scum who suck the life out of the country for years never working and raising families not to work"?

[tinker]

Just watched Theresa May in a 10 minute interview on Sky this morning. In that time, she managed to get in the incredibly irritating "hard working people" phrase no less than 8 times. She even corrected herself once when she just said people, by saying again with the hard working bit included. All politicians seem to use it in interviews. It is patronising beyond belief. And annoying.

It does get my goat. Patronising, insulting and actually meaningless in its vagueness.

What about not so hard working people, let's call them smart people.

[Longtermrenter]

Yes, this really annoys me too. "strivers", "people who get up early in the morning", "people who do the right thing" - the last one was trotted out by Michael Howard every few seconds if I remember.

I'm self employed, have 25 - 30k deposit, NET profit of 40K last year and cant borrow £100k to buy a small hovel. No-one will touch me. No CCJ's, never had any debt don't owe anything. Last two days I have been up at 4.30am and back at 9.00pm working. I do all the right things.

Anyway, apart from deciding to not use agents any more we have decided to rent for the next 2 or 3 years, long term contract with private landlord. 3 bed detached on south east coast where I can work from home for about £800 a month. Not bad in the scheme of things.

By the way, landlord where I currently rent my office is a Tory Parish Councilor. Interesting conversation with him last week where it was aparrent that he didn't know the first Help To Buy was an equity loan and that money owed increased wioth value of the house. Very surprised and thanked me for letting him know so he could bring it up with the local Tory MP. This was after him telling me I better get on the ladder now as property would take off with Help To Buy. I did the maths for him - local 2 Bed rabbit hutch on Help to Buy ios £175K. i told him what I earned and that schemes liek this were not open to selfemployed except in exceptional circumstances.

There off my chest now.

[Diver Dan]

Just watched Theresa May in a 10 minute interview on Sky this morning. In that time, she managed to get in the incredibly irritating "hard working people" phrase no less than 8 times. She even corrected herself once when she just said people, by saying again with the hard working bit included. All politicians seem to use it in interviews. It is patronising beyond belief. And annoying.

The phrase 'Hard working families' just seems to be a meaningless verbal tic that politicians deploy in much the same way that parents say 'starving children in Africa' to get their kids to finish their dinner.

It also reminds me of, I think, Bismarck who spoke of soldiers being a combination of stupid/clever and lazy/busy. (It paid to be clever but lazy)

[righttoleech]

Her parroting of that phrase wound me up too. That is because I spent 36 odd years as a hard working person, never on benefits. Now I have to work hard living off my savings which bear 2% because redundancy in 50s seems to mean life. My mortgage paying days included the record 15.3% interest rates of 1992. So much for wealthy boomers.

[GinAndPlatonic]

I agree totally patronising and belittling of people who choose not to work or do not have to work...who says that people who work hard are better than me

Edited May 4, 2013 by GinAndPlatonic

[MattW]

Would you prefer she said "people apart from the scrounging doley scum who suck the life out of the country for years never working and raising families not to work"?

Well saying that would be refreshing honest for a Tory politician.

[@contradevian]

Grant Shapps too when being interviewed after local elections.

Another irritating phrase "one nation Labour" stolen from the Tories.

Proves to me they are all corporate fascist under the skin and there is NO REAL CHOICE.

[crashmonitor]

It's not just the Tories that play soundbite games with repetition. On the Today programme a young left wing activist managed to slip the words ' bedroom tax' about twice into every sentence. At that level, the conversation sounds incredibly ridiculous and contrived.

Also the bedroom tax is not a tax, it is a benefit cut and there are hardworking people.

[cybernoid]

She should have said 'mortgage slaves'. Apparently its the 'right thing to do' to use all your youth up on paying interest to a bank just for the right to exist in a modest home, to be an employee slaving away making the business owner richer, the bank richer and yourself poorer in time, happiness, wealth. The right thing for who? Not for the individual. But for the business owner and the mortgage lender, for whom the 'hardworking' person is spending their life enriching. Which is who politicians represent.

The 'right thing to do' from the perspective of the individual is not to borrow an enormous sum for a hovel and not to waste their youth making someone else in their place of work rich, but ssshhh, don't tell them.

A politician preaching morality, what a thought.

[Alba]

All politicians do have a stock of irritating phrases. "The right thing to do" is one that grates with me, particularly when said repeatedly by Yvette Cooper.

I listened to Theresa May's response to the threat from UKIP, on Radio 4 this morning. It was the usual stock response that said nothing new. They keep trotting out absolute piffle of how they are going to control the Influx of Bulgarians and Romanians. A referendum on the EU cannot be brought forward until they have negotiated new terms. Which of course will be after the next election! blah blah blah.

Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice............................

[monks]

The Nu Labour lot started it and I used to play Bull Sh!t bingo whenever one of them was interviewed... even more irritating from them as most of their supporters are anything but.

The ConDem lot have just started using it in the last few weeks - Grant Schnapps was the last one I heard on Daybreak - makes my skin crawl when I hear it

[Executive Sadman]

Didnt the nazis first invent this kind of repitition propaganda?

Im sure it works with the mouth breathers, but when I hear Miliballs say 'ideologically driven cuts' and 'tory led coalition' like they are one un-splittable word, i get an unresistable urge to hurt something.

[Executive Sadman]

All politicians do have a stock of irritating phrases. "The right thing to do" is one that grates with me, particularly when said repeatedly by Yvette Cooper.

I listened to Theresa May's response to the threat from UKIP, on Radio 4 this morning. It was the usual stock response that said nothing new. They keep trotting out absolute piffle of how they are going to control the Influx of Bulgarians and Romanians. A referendum on the EU cannot be brought forward until they have negotiated new terms. Which of course will be after the next election! blah blah blah.

Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice............................

Browns favourite wasnt it?

We're doing this because is the 'right thing to do'

Beats having to explain yourself, hurl phones at people or call everyone bigots i suppose.

[winkie]

It does get my goat. Patronising, insulting and actually meaningless in its vagueness.

What about not so hard working people, let's call them smart people.

....exactly........hard working my backside bottom, there are people that work hard for peanuts and the 'in the know or born in the know' that work semi-hard or less for more than most could ever dream of.....not that others want what they have got, or desire or need what they have got only knowing what they have got does not necessarily mean they 'worked hard' for what they have got!!!!

[Executive Sadman]

....exactly........hard working my backside bottom, there are people that work hard for peanuts and the 'in the know or born in the know' that work semi-hard or less for more than most could ever dream of.....not that others want what they have got, or desire or need what they have got only knowing what they have got does not necessarily mean they 'worked hard' for what they have got!!!!

Never say the statists dont have a sense of humour or irony. In the US they are renaming welfare cards 'independence cards' as obviously depending on the state generates a great sense of independence...

[hirop]

it's how politicians think of us, imbeciles that can be swayed by buzzwords and catchphrases. when they open their mouths I genuinely feel like smashing the tv into a 1000 pieces.

[winkie]

Never say the statists dont have a sense of humour or irony. In the US they are renaming welfare cards 'independence cards' as obviously depending on the state generates a great sense of independence...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCaLM8cm5c0

[cybernoid]

it's how politicians think of us, imbeciles that can be swayed by buzzwords and catchphrases. when they open their mouths I genuinely feel like smashing the tv into a 1000 pieces.

They are right to think of the people that way, they aren't talking to us, they're talking to the sheep. The 90% that want high house prices.

[goldbug9999]

it's how politicians think of us, imbeciles that can be swayed by buzzwords and catchphrases.

Trouble is for the most part they are right.

[Bruce Banner]

It makes a change from "Tax cuts for millionaires".

Didnt the nazis first invent this kind of repitition propaganda?

“Only constant repetition will finally succeed in imprinting an idea on the memory of the crowd” Adolf Hitler.

[R K]

"Hard working people" is just a cipher for those who can easily be exploited by capital and usually have low pay, poor employment security and few benefits

as opposed to

"Shirkers" which is code for those out of work and claiming social security

Both use to distract attention from

"Rent seekers" who generally control the 'system' and milk everybody else (Queen, Lords, Tories, landowners, Russian mafia etc etc)

[Jack's Creation]

The phrase 'Hard working families' just seems to be a meaningless verbal tic that politicians deploy in much the same way that parents say 'starving children in Africa' to get their kids to finish their dinner.

It also reminds me of, I think, Bismarck who spoke of soldiers being a combination of stupid/clever and lazy/busy. (It paid to be clever but lazy)

"I divide officers into four classes -- the clever, the lazy, the stupid and the industrious. Each officer possesses at least two of these qualities. Those who are clever and industrious are fitted for the high staff appointments. Use can be made of those who are stupid and lazy. The man who is clever and lazy is fit for the very highest commands. He has the temperament and the requisite nerves to deal with all situations. But whoever is stupid and industrious must be removed immediately." - Attributed, circa 1933; General Baron Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord (1878-1943); German Chief of Army Command (1930-33)

[The Spaniard]

"Hard working people" is just a cipher for those who can easily be exploited by capital and usually have low pay, poor employment security and few benefits

as opposed to

"Shirkers" which is code for those out of work and claiming social security

Both use to distract attention from

"Rent seekers" who generally control the 'system' and milk everybody else (Queen, Lords, Tories, landowners, Russian mafia etc etc)

Including bankers, who create our money supply ex nihilo and 'rent' it to us at interest.

It is unfortunate how few people see clearly this clever all-pervasive rent-a-currency system.