L00b Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 So, what - exactly - do you want me to say here, Chem1st? <...> I got me some, ready for the show Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert_Baehr Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Does this include workers? Because a lot of workers claim more in benefits (tax credits are benefits) when working that what they could if they were unemployed! So, what - exactly - do you want me to say here, Chem1st? I haven't stopped torturing my cat. - Will that admission of guilt satisfy you? (Of course, I don't have a cat - but that's a minor problem.) - I'm a 'foreigner' and I'm probably a 'Blue' and I would probably vote for Maggie - so I must be a cat torturer. Would you like to see 'Workfare' adopted as a means of taking people out of the poverty trap? - I would! Consider Mr Smiff: married, 3 kids. Prepared to work - but not highly skilled and has no qualifications. Needs £550 gross a week to support his family (and to lead a pretty good life) would be prepared to work for it - but [ given his lack of qualifications] could probably earn only £300. Rupert's rules: Mr Smiff goes out and works, earns his £300 and the state tops it up to give him the £550 (gross) he needs. He'll have a job - (and jobs give you 'status') He'll pay tax. - He's paying back! He has control over his life. I don't have a problem with that. We can't all earn 'significant salaries'- but we can all 'do our best.' If Mr Smiff is doing his best but he can't make enough to get by, then not only does he get my (moral) support, but I've got no problem in paying a bit more (in taxes) to give him a 'hand up'. Now lets consider Mr Jonass: Jonass is a lazy tune. - Went to sleep in the afternoon. Jonass can't be bothered to get off his ass. If he can get somebody to pay his rent, pay a few other bits & bobs, he can get by on what the state provides (OK, the kids won't do so well - but they don't need us to spend all that money we get for them on them, do they?) I feel sorry for Jonass' kids. They don't deserve the life he sticks them with (and god alone knows what they'll be like when they grow up!) but I can't afford to pay for every sick dog on the street. Lets look 20 years ahead: Smiff has made his way (not a rich man, but paid his way.) His kids learnt from their Dad and although they didn't start from much, they did their best and got some half decent (or maybe quite impressive) qualifications. They weren't born with silver spoons in their mouths - but they followed the example set by their Dad and they're doing OK. One of Smiff's kids (the 'wheeler and dealer' - the guy who used to go round to all the farmers, buy up the windfall apples and sell them for a quid a bag)(when he was 11) - the guy who set up his own business when he was 18 and employed 5 people - got fed up. He decided that although running your own apple selling business is hard, when you've got to pay 15 other people to sit around on their arses doing nothing, it's like swimming uphill through liquid mud. He decides to go elsewhere. - He'll have to work when he gets there - he'll start from scratch - but he will have to support himself and his family. 5 people. Not just the 5 he supports now, but also the other 'hidden' 5 who don't work. The next son goes off and makes his own way in life. He had worked really hard when he was at school, went to Uni (Sheffield, no less) got a PhD in biochemistry and was head-hunted by one of the most exotic employers in the world. The pay wasn't too shabby, either - £70,000 (equivalent) is hardly shabby as a starting salary. - More than you'd get stacking shelves in Morrisons, anyway. No silver spoons. 3 boys who got up off their arses and found a job. - Some of them might even have had to 'get ontheir bikes' to go and find a job. - So what? The youngest son (not particularly bright, perhaps, but well-motivated) gets taken on as a wordworking apprentice. - the pay is poor, but he will (eventually) qualify as a cabinet maker. And he will be very good at what he does. Mr Jonass' kids are sitting at home on their fat arses waiting for the world to deliver a job to their door. - Not any job, of course - a job which pays average wage *2 for average effort/2. they're not qualified to do anything (notwithstanding that they've benefitted from 13 years of free education and (could they read and write) would be eligible for a further heavily-subsidised 3 years.) It's all Maggie's fault, anyway. If she hadn't taken away the free milk and shut the pits down the world would provide them with a living, Domino's Pizza every night and keep their X-boxes fully up-to-date with the most recent software. Or whatever. Let's go and look at the Jonass family: They've got 3 kids, too. The eldest - Sophie - is 18 and has 3 kids by 3 fathers. She doesn't work - she doesn't have the time - but the taxpayer makes everything alright. Jonas is still a lazy tune - but why should he bother to do anything else? Samuel is the youngest. Why should he bother to work? - the world owes Him a living and if it doesn't bring that liVng to his door, there will be hell to pay! HE'LL SHOW THEM! - HE'LL RIOT OR SOMEFINK! - THAT WILL SHOW THEM! I'm making this crap up, of course (After all, I amuse myself by writing 'rubbish' stories [it's what I do for a living, nowadays. - I wrap words around what I see, terim the edges off and flog the packets]. It beats the cr4p out of working or a living.) Some people include a 'get out clause' which says something to the effect that: "None of the people in this story is real, none of the characters is based on anybody I have ever met or even thought about and you can't sue me." I'm not going to say anything about that here...Get real. It's all true Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uptowngirl Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Compensation chasers - those who ring up, "have you been in an accident?" I agree. They'd have an accident if they knocked on my door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L00b Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Sorry L00b - I hit the wrong button (another lie ) - Louis (No 1 dog) jumped on my leg and bounced off onto the computer. My computer - my fault! - It should've been out of his way. I've posted the real post below. No worries, RB - we're doing the time-warp thing Being (after a fashion) represented as one of the poll options, and being another 'foreigner' and probably a 'blue', and having paid untold amounts in UK taxes for at last 15 years to date and not once ever 'taken out' of the system (nor any of those I am financially responsible for)...I find the dichotomy that this personal situation represents, quite interesting. I suppose that, as usual with us "economic migrants" (yet another label), once the pitchforks start waving a bit too angrily, I'll just up sticks and go help some other country's benefit recipients (and I make no judgement about that status). It's the story of the world since, well, forever. For the little story, I just achieved a major professional qualification yesterday morning. It's taken me 12 years. Yup, twice as long as a doctor (or thereabouts). And I can tell you that, for the 3.000-ish peeps having a go at that qualification across Europe every year (average success rate on 1st sitting is well under 15%, rises up with 2nd attempt to around 25%), I was probably one of a very select few (count them on the fingers of one hand...if that many): (i) taking the exam not in their native language (ii) very much an exception to the formal rules/pre-requisites (in terms of prior qualifications) for sitting the exam, and (iii) sticking with the job for 10 years before being allowed to sit the exam for the 1st time (because of the above exception, and I haven't heard of anyone in the profession who has, for the whole of Europe - figure maybe a dozen all-in, over the last 20 years) So, tbh...I couldn't give two figs what people think of my profession/professional status: I'll reap the just rewards which the additional badge brings - as I've f*****g earned them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danny128 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 traffic wardens, they are normally middle age and have to work around in all weathers and generally being hated by everyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danny128 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 So, what - exactly - do you want me to say here, Chem1st? I haven't stopped torturing my cat. - Will that admission of guilt satisfy you? (Of course, I don't have a cat - but that's a minor problem.) - I'm a 'foreigner' and I'm probably a 'Blue' and I would probably vote for Maggie - so I must be a cat torturer. Would you like to see 'Workfare' adopted as a means of taking people out of the poverty trap? - I would! Consider Mr Smiff: married, 3 kids. Prepared to work - but not highly skilled and has no qualifications. Needs £550 gross a week to support his family (and to lead a pretty good life) would be prepared to work for it - but [ given his lack of qualifications] could probably earn only £300. Rupert's rules: Mr Smiff goes out and works, earns his £300 and the state tops it up to give him the £550 (gross) he needs. He'll have a job - (and jobs give you 'status') He'll pay tax. - He's paying back! He has control over his life. I don't have a problem with that. We can't all earn 'significant salaries'- but we can all 'do our best.' If Mr Smiff is doing his best but he can't make enough to get by, then not only does he get my (moral) support, but I've got no problem in paying a bit more (in taxes) to give him a 'hand up'. Now lets consider Mr Jonass: Jonass is a lazy tune. - Went to sleep in the afternoon. Jonass can't be bothered to get off his ass. If he can get somebody to pay his rent, pay a few other bits & bobs, he can get by on what the state provides (OK, the kids won't do so well - but they don't need us to spend all that money we get for them on them, do they?) I feel sorry for Jonass' kids. They don't deserve the life he sticks them with (and god alone knows what they'll be like when they grow up!) but I can't afford to pay for every sick dog on the street. Lets look 20 years ahead: Smiff has made his way (not a rich man, but paid his way.) His kids learnt from their Dad and although they didn't start from much, they did their best and got some half decent (or maybe quite impressive) qualifications. They weren't born with silver spoons in their mouths - but they followed the example set by their Dad and they're doing OK. One of Smiff's kids (the 'wheeler and dealer' - the guy who used to go round to all the farmers, buy up the windfall apples and sell them for a quid a bag)(when he was 11) - the guy who set up his own business when he was 18 and employed 5 people - got fed up. He decided that although running your own apple selling business is hard, when you've got to pay 15 other people to sit around on their arses doing nothing, it's like swimming uphill through liquid mud. He decides to go elsewhere. - He'll have to work when he gets there - he'll start from scratch - but he will have to support himself and his family. 5 people. Not just the 5 he supports now, but also the other 'hidden' 5 who don't work. The next son goes off and makes his own way in life. He had worked really hard when he was at school, went to Uni (Sheffield, no less) got a PhD in biochemistry and was head-hunted by one of the most exotic employers in the world. The pay wasn't too shabby, either - £70,000 (equivalent) is hardly shabby as a starting salary. - More than you'd get stacking shelves in Morrisons, anyway. No silver spoons. 3 boys who got up off their arses and found a job. - Some of them might even have had to 'get ontheir bikes' to go and find a job. - So what? The youngest son (not particularly bright, perhaps, but well-motivated) gets taken on as a wordworking apprentice. - the pay is poor, but he will (eventually) qualify as a cabinet maker. And he will be very good at what he does. Mr Jonass' kids are sitting at home on their fat arses waiting for the world to deliver a job to their door. - Not any job, of course - a job which pays average wage *2 for average effort/2. they're not qualified to do anything (notwithstanding that they've benefitted from 13 years of free education and (could they read and write) would be eligible for a further heavily-subsidised 3 years.) It's all Maggie's fault, anyway. If she hadn't taken away the free milk and shut the pits down the world would provide them with a living, Domino's Pizza every night and keep their X-boxes fully up-to-date with the most recent software. Or whatever. Let's go and look at the Jonass family: They've got 3 kids, too. The eldest - Sophie - is 18 and has 3 kids by 3 fathers. She doesn't work - she doesn't have the time - but the taxpayer makes everything alright. Jonas is still a lazy tune - but why should he bother to do anything else? Samuel is the youngest. Why should he bother to work? - the world owes Him a living and if it doesn't bring that liVng to his door, there will be hell to pay! HE'LL SHOW THEM! - HE'LL RIOT OR SOMEFINK! - THAT WILL SHOW THEM! I'm making this crap up, of course (After all, I amuse myself by writing 'rubbish' stories [it's what I do for a living, nowadays. - I wrap words around what I see, terim the edges off and flog the packets]. It beats the cr4p out of working or a living.) Some people include a 'get out clause' which says something to the effect that: "None of the people in this story is real, none of the characters is based on anybody I have ever met or even thought about and you can't sue me." I'm not going to say anything about that here...Get real. It's all true couldnt agree with you more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bypassblade Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Hello- With some so called professional people being shown in their true light, who irks you the most? From cheating Bankers to ambulance chasing Lawers. Then there's the dodgy MP's with their expense fiddles, and what about Civil Servants with their fat pensions for little work. A short while ago greedy Doctors wanted more in their trough even though they will retire very rich. All these people were once respected members of the Middle Classes but now they're frequently exposed as scoundrels... Who rattles your cage? You could add mouthy OP's who know nothing, but attack all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert_Baehr Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 No worries, RB - we're doing the time-warp thing Being (after a fashion) represented as one of the poll options, and being another 'foreigner' and probably a 'blue', and having paid untold amounts in UK taxes for at last 15 years to date and not once ever 'taken out' of the system (nor any of those I am financially responsible for)...I find the dichotomy that this personal situation represents, quite interesting. I suppose that, as usual with us "economic migrants" (yet another label), once the pitchforks start waving a bit too angrily, I'll just up sticks and go help some other country's benefit recipients (and I make no judgement about that status). It's the story of the world since, well, forever. For the little story, I just achieved a major professional qualification yesterday morning. It's taken me 12 years. Yup, twice as long as a doctor (or thereabouts). And I can tell you that, for the 3.000-ish peeps having a go at that qualification across Europe every year (average success rate on 1st sitting is well under 15%, rises up with 2nd attempt to around 25%), I was probably one of a very select few (count them on the fingers of one hand...if that many): (i) taking the exam not in their native language (ii) very much an exception to the formal rules/pre-requisites (in terms of prior qualifications) for sitting the exam, and (iii) sticking with the job for 10 years before being allowed to sit the exam for the 1st time (because of the above exception, and I haven't heard of anyone in the profession who has, for the whole of Europe - figure maybe a dozen all-in, over the last 20 years) So, tbh...I couldn't give two figs what people think of my profession/professional status: I'll reap the just rewards which the additional badge brings - as I've f*****g earned them. Congrats. - I am familiar with some of of your qualifications. M. LeMâitre - Or are you now M. Le Prof? We spoke some time ago about EU Rules within the legal profession (and the barriers were most of my excuse for sitting on my arse at home in Belgium.) Who wants a British Lawyer in Casteau? In Heidelberg ? (I should've done a Master's there though - if only for the challenge) Working in somebody else's language is never easy. - You've had a few good jobs, but I suspect that even with a good command of the language, your 'everyday toil' might've caused you the occasional problem. Notwithstanding the law (and the fact that we are supposed to accept each and all of our European brethren on equal terms, it (in my experience) doesn't always happen that way. What did you do? - What did you get? (Please PM me if you don't want to talk about it here.) Which region of France do you come from? I'm a Channel Islander - so obviously, I dont come from France ... unless there's only one room, the gentleman that 'la Concierge' is talking to is from Paris and we are in Normandie:hihi: Then - as M. Le Voisin - I take precedence. Not, of course, that Normans are in any way prejudiced. I really enjoy living in other people's countries. - I was thinking of buying a house in Alderney, or failing that, one in Sheffield this year (but rip-off Britain deterred me from doing that!) I have encountered discriminaton - but mostly in Spanish-speaking areas or in areas where the local (or Federal) government discriminated in favour of Hispanics. (I'm retired, so it's no longer a problem.) I've never been treated as an 'economic migrant' in the UK though I was one. - I arrived in the UK with a 'bland and untraceable' - but 'home counties' accent. I am usually suntanned - but make me stay in England throughout a winter and I'll soon blend in. Somebody suggested (in the 'are we full?') thread that the UK was overpopulated and that life in the UK with 80 million people would nt be anywhere near as pleasant as life in the UK with 56 million people. Somebody else suggested that there are already 80 million people living in the UK - in which case, is life in the UK as comfortable - bearing in mind advances in technology and basic improvements in the standard of living - as it was in (say) 1968? (when I first came to the UK.) It's easy (and we all do it) to remember the 'best' things about where we used to live - and if you do that and go back to where you used to live, life there will probably seem shabby. - I've "been there, done that and got the T shirt far too many times." I can't see me ever leaving here - apart from every September/October when I go to Florida. Similarly, I can't see me ever leaving Florida, apart from every May when I go to Bavaria. I'm fairly well-accepted in Florida (let's face it, the State is full of foreigners Bavaria (should be) a different kettle of fish. As far as Bavarians (and I'm not talking about the Prussian pigs from Munich) are concerned, there areonly two kinds of people in the world: Bavarians and Prussian Pigs (SauPreuß) 'SauPreuß' Isn't like the 'N' word (not quite ) but it's hardly polite. I asked some friends (including the landlord) in the pub: "Am I SauPreuß?" and they were embarrassed. I'm not Bavarian - neither I nor my family has lived in the village for 2 or 3 hundred years, so I couldn't be Bavarian, could I? But I live here - so I couldn't be a Prussian pig either, could I? - That would be embarrassing to the village! It took a few seconds ...but then somebody came up with an alternative. I'm not Bavarian (obviously.) I'm not a Prussian pige either. So I must be something else. I'm an 'Anwohner'- a Resident. As such, I'm expected to understand the local language - but they would prefer that I spoke German. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bypassblade Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 No worries, RB - we're doing the time-warp thing Being (after a fashion) represented as one of the poll options, and being another 'foreigner' and probably a 'blue', and having paid untold amounts in UK taxes for at last 15 years to date and not once ever 'taken out' of the system (nor any of those I am financially responsible for)...I find the dichotomy that this personal situation represents, quite interesting. I suppose that, as usual with us "economic migrants" (yet another label), once the pitchforks start waving a bit too angrily, I'll just up sticks and go help some other country's benefit recipients (and I make no judgement about that status). It's the story of the world since, well, forever. For the little story, I just achieved a major professional qualification yesterday morning. It's taken me 12 years. Yup, twice as long as a doctor (or thereabouts). And I can tell you that, for the 3.000-ish peeps having a go at that qualification across Europe every year (average success rate on 1st sitting is well under 15%, rises up with 2nd attempt to around 25%), I was probably one of a very select few (count them on the fingers of one hand...if that many): (i) taking the exam not in their native language (ii) very much an exception to the formal rules/pre-requisites (in terms of prior qualifications) for sitting the exam, and (iii) sticking with the job for 10 years before being allowed to sit the exam for the 1st time (because of the above exception, and I haven't heard of anyone in the profession who has, for the whole of Europe - figure maybe a dozen all-in, over the last 20 years) So, tbh...I couldn't give two figs what people think of my profession/professional status: I'll reap the just rewards which the additional badge brings - as I've f*****g earned them. Well done congratulations :clap: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llamatron Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 landlords but for a very different reason to chem1st Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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