General Discussion
"The price and availability of books or bananas is not controlled by the government. Land, and indirectly rental prices, are controlled by the government." Mm, up to a point, but it's not quite as straightforward as all that. Besides, dispensing with HB isn't the only, nor the best, means of addressing the (very minimal) extent to which HB levels can influence pervailing rental rates.
I don't see a problem, in principle, with taxpayers' money going to private landlords. After all, public funds are used to buy all manner of private goods and services, whether it's a school buying supplies, an unemployed person spending his JSA on groceries, or a parent spending their Child Benefit on rusks. I don't see a distinction between this and Housing Benefit paying for private housing. ...
Ah, sorry, I missed the original link. It's a startling figure, I agree, though I have to accept that I simply don't have the knowledge of national finances to really understand what it truly means. That said, I gather that a large proportion of the bank bailout money is not in fact "spent", but is money allocated against the possibility of having to pay those banks' debts if they were to fail. ...
"Parking in town is very limited, so parking along High street is perfectly acceptable." In fairness, there is a car park by the taxi rank, and another just around the corner, both free between 6 p.m. until 9 a.m., so I wouldn't say parking on double yellows is perfectly acceptable.
I'd be interested to see the ONS material, Steve. Could you post a link? As I say, I probably agree with you that bonuses should either not have been paid at all, or at the very least should have been substantially limited. It's simply that I don't believe that your quoted liability figures alone are sufficient to make that case. In fact, they probably detract from it, in the sense that it ...
I wouldn't say I was "correcting" you, Steve. I pointed out that I'd found information that suggests that your statement "might represent a slight oversimplification". Somewhat different. In any case, I'm quite happy to say that I don't know enough about the banking crisis to be able to educate you or anyone else on the subject, but that doesn't mean I can't question your statements on the matter, ...
I think your sums might represent a slight oversimplification, Steve. I gather Northern Rock are well ahead of schedule on repaying the government bailout, and HM Treasury have announced steps to end some of their guarantee arrangements for Northern Rock's liabilities. Also, these liabilities were reported at less than £100 billion even in 2008. And the government has broken Northern Rock up ...
I found a pair of prescription glasses with silver coloured frames on the Lawn, Dawlish this evening (Monday 28th June) at around 9.45 p.m. If they belong to you or someone you know, I'll be taking them in to the Police Shop opposite the Lawn tomorrow morning.
@wondering i don't think it will work, sadly. i've actually already approached the appropriate authorities on this matter, stressing the fact that a lot of illegally parked vehicles are obstructing traffic flow, often forcing traffic on to the wrong side of the road while approaching or going around corners, and often within a few minutes walk of one of two inexpensive car park. they made noises ...
@mark we'll do the maths if you do a course in english. deal?
