Inequality in Britain

[Brendan]

Yeah I know. People are cunts.

[SteveT]

david_carnell wrote:- If you're in favour of social mobility, how would you go about ensuring it occurs.

Being successful in your studies (double first at Oxbridge) would help, provided you make the right sounds during your

interviews, or making pots of cash running a successful business.

[Ladymuck]

SteveT Wrote:

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> Being successful in your studies (double first at

> Oxbridge) would help, provided you make the right

> sounds during your interviews...

Hmmmm...what sort of sounds were you thinking of SteveT?

[david_carnell]

SteveT Wrote:

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> david_carnell wrote:- If you're in favour of

> social mobility, how would you go about ensuring

> it occurs.

> Being successful in your studies (double first at

> Oxbridge) would help, provided you make the right

> sounds during your

>

> interviews, or making pots of cash running a

> successful business.

Yeah - not the most useful suggestion Steve. I think the problems that inequality brings may rear their ugly head before the Oxbridge stage, don't you?

[????]

Can someone explain how we get equality rather tha just say they support some vague principle? I sort of agree that it's around education. My first suggetion top of the head suggestion - that in order to keep their registered charity status, private schools have to demonstrate they have taken say 10% of their intake from the bottom decile income families locally or nationally, they could stream this selection or do whatever they want to fulfill this obligation but that would not mean getting rid of some of our elite educational establishments based on lowets common denominator socialist principles or class hatred but give some of our bright children from the poorest backgrounds a better chance.

[Brendan]

My suggestion would be to use private school standards as a benchmark for state schools to bring them up to a point where they compete on equal terms.

This can be done but will require actual will from the political class to improve education rather than just use state education as a political battle ground while they send their kids to private school.

As for the nepotism and bigotry of the financial elite which is the other barrier to social mobility. Well for that I would recommend swift and decisive violence.

[david_carnell]

Introduce a living wage at ?7.50ph would be my first step.

[Ladymuck]

Brendan Wrote:

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> My suggestion would be to use private school

> standards as a benchmark for state schools to

> bring them up to a point where they compete on

> equal terms.

Oh wouldn't that just be the ideal...but, somehow I simply cannot see the necessary willingness to pump the necessary funds (and I don't think it would be chicken's feed) into such a venture.

> This can be done but will require actual will from

> the political class to improve education rather

> than just use state education as a political

> battle ground while they send their kids to

> private school.

Absolutely, as I mentioned earlier, without genuine will

then there can be no going forward.

>

> As for the nepotism and bigotry of the financial

> elite which is the other barrier to social

> mobility. Well for that I would recommend swift

> and decisive violence.

And I was so enjoying your post!::o

[Brendan]

I wasn?t being serious like.

[Brendan]

Well maybe a bit.

but just a bit.

[Ladymuck]

Brendan Wrote:

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> Well maybe a bit.

>

> but just a bit.

I do know what you mean though, I really do despair about the unfairness/injustice of it all.

[SteveT]

D_C Wrote:- I think the problems that inequality brings may rear their ugly head before the Oxbridge stage, don't you?

I'm sure you are right David, however if there is talent there then it will show itself early enough.

That talent may be thwarted by the hang ups of the person if he or she is an obnoxious loud mouthed yobbish low life then it will bear less fruit than a conventionally well mannered variety of individual such as yourself David.

Ladymuck wrote:- Hmmmm...what sort of sounds were you thinking of SteveT?

The right sounds during an interview means not swearing, or making outrageous remarks, or showing uncontrolled anger, any

of these are a 'fail' in whatever you are applying for.

Good manners, or general politeness, looking conventionally well groomed, are of great benefit at such times, in my

opinion.

There are exceptions to these rules but then you have to be super talented, originality of thought and/or a proven track record such as Sir John Harvey Jones (managed ICI) who had long hair which was well below his collar.

[????]

DC - to an earlier point...if your binman stopped collecting your rubbish you could deal with it yourself but open heart surgery....

[tonyw3]

???? Wrote:

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> DC - to an earlier point...if your binman stopped

> collecting your rubbish you could deal with it

> yourself but open heart surgery....

????, how would you deal with clearing your own rubbish then? Stick it in next door's garden?;-)

[Ladymuck]

david_carnell Wrote:

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> Introduce a living wage at ?7.50ph would be my

> first step.

The introduction of a living wage has been under discussion in some quarters for a few years now, and as far as I am aware, apart from within various charitable organisations/institutions (e.g. churches), is something that has yet to be taken seriously.

Interestingly the BBC recently asked: is it time for a maximum wage? The programme (The Big Questions) explores the idea of introducing a maximum wage as one method of dealing with inequality in our society. It raises some interesting points and can be viewed on BBC iPlayer till 21/3/10. Scroll forward to approx. 23 mins. (lasts approximately 15 minutes).

[SteveT]

63 million for Bob Diamond at Barclays, whilst they borrow money at 15% from the gulf, who is minding the store....oooh yes, it's diamond Bob.

[tonyw3]

The one thing that gets me with the banks currently is that part of the reason they are making all this money is because of the government stimulus package that each one of us will pay for. So banks should have a special tax levied on them because of this.

I don't normally agree with David Cameron but the Tories' new idea of levying a special tax on the banks finds favour with me.

[Ladymuck]

Perhaps we should introduce the maximum wage concept, but gradually and selectively - starting with the likes of Barclays (who continues to pay its bankers inordinate sums of money)?

[????]

Good to see that an ex-minister of a party that wants us all to be equal thinks "Between ?3,000-?5,000 per day" is a reasonable 'wage'. Shocking hypocracy from 'socialist' shocker.

[SeanMacGabhann]

any chance of a link to the specifics quids?

[Ladymuck]

???? Wrote:

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>...an ex-minister of a party that

> wants us all to be equal thinks "Between

> ?3,000-?5,000 per day" is a reasonable 'wage'.

Where did you see/hear that ????, please? (Have tried googling - nowt).

Edited to say: cross-posted with you Sean - sorry.

[????]

Stephen Byers all over the papers and clip shown on BBC where he said this was his day rate for lobbying.

[david_carnell]

He's referring to this article about Stephen Byers.

That well know arch-socialist. C'mon Quids, you're better than raking up this as some sort of argument against equality. Even his own colleagues are astounded at his stupidity. And then man is no more a socialist than you are.

I'm not defending his actions, he's a proper tool, but it's not massively relevent to this debate is it?

[????]

My first attempt at looking

DC - 3 ex-cabinet ministers, but it's ok is it?

God the Tories have been a sleezy bunch of tossers as we know but they didn't promise so much change and don't constantly bang on about 'equality', etc, etc. and pretend they're on some sort of 'progressive' moral high ground...I expect sleaze from them.

[????]

Ok back on topic two interesting hypothesis........The two biggest beneficiaries in increase in income under this government have been the extremely rich and the white collar middle class public sector workers......

Without massively redistributing wealth and assets (which is anyway both impractical and wrong IMO) an equalistaion of 'income' just retains the status quo as it removes the capability of those without wealth to accumulate it and instead rely on the patronising handouts from middle class bureacrats