2024 Election thread
Comments
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So how much of a buffer should anyone have before making a financial committment if 20% isn't sufficient?
30%, 40%, 50%?
Perhaps no one should have taken out a mortgage between 2009 and 2021 at a really historic low rate, seeing as now their interest rateswill potentially quadruple?
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Well it's not tricky for you to balance because you only think of things from your perspective. Luckily you have the rest of us to do some thinking for you!
If nothing else, one does have to give some thought to the impact on the children of any financing misjudgement by their parents. Maybe VAT should only be introduced on fees for kids enrolling in the future. That's still nice and virtue signally and social engineeringy, for relatively little cost, as the "not huge in aggregate" impact will be phased in over 5 years or so.
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More to the point, if Labour are going to impose VAT on private school fees, what about university course fees?
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]1 -
Life isn't fair and you've been told before. So get that chip off you shoulder as you appear to be running out of shoulder room for all of your chips.
To Dorset Boy's point, what limit should there be on parents spending on their kids?
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]1 -
I'd argue anyone that took a mortgage out that was stretching them to the absolute limit whilst rates were at record lows was irresponsible (unless they were nailed on to have significant pay rises etc)
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It never stopped me getting on.
Did it stop you, Mr. Top Rate Taxpayer?
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
It annoyed me so much I went into the ultimate “who you know not what you know” profession and I spend my life basically selling myself against these people as they’re crap and got there on background not merit.
I see the over valuation of privilege every day.
They block good people getting jobs and hold companies back.
Honestly, it’s the worst British tradition. It would be 10x a better place without it.
BoJo as PM is the ultimate embodiment of the problems the school system as a major player in the class system creates.
For exactly this reason politicians are unwilling to do much about it as so many of them went themselves.
people pity the kids who have the privilege take away but not those who are plenty more capable but never get the chance.
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So it didn't hold you back then?
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
Wait, whatnow?
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I am pretty sure that precisely this point about mortgages was made unsympathetically on this forum.
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I'm just questioning whether the private education system has held Rick back. Given that he has reached the lofty heights of paying top rate tax while still in his thirties, that doesn't seem to be the case.
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
Rick, re: "People pity the kids who have the privilege take away but not those who are plenty more capable but never get the chance" my observations have nothing to do with privilege and are all to do with dumping on "someone else's children" for political gain. VAT on school fees won't move the dial on social justice, but it will potentially have a serious adverse impact on kids whose education and friendships are b*ggered. If there was a coherent, comprehensive plan involved to enhance social justice then I'd be more impressed.
This is very different from scenarios where kids have to leave private schools (or stop doing their favourite clubs etc.) due to changes in family circumstances such as parental job changes or increased mortgage payments. These are just natural parts of the economic/social cycle and "just happen" (however unfortunately) whereas VAT on school fees is a policy choice, for political gain, creating victims that don't need to be created.
Why don't you suggest a coherent, comprehensive policy to reduce the impacts of privilege via education, without dumping on other folks' kids, just because it's expedient to do so? (Not saying I could come up with a policy, but I'm not the one leading the charge to price folk out of private schools.)
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RC went to private school?
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Those in favour of VAT on private school fees can celebrate a Brexit upside ( GB only of course).
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The schools could charge less.
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I see it hold people back daily. I went to a rather unique state sixth form college that sent more people to oxbridge then any private school in the country at the time - so much so even the private school kids came over for sixth form, so I’m not an especially representative case.
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More a case of RC not being privately educated does not seem to have held him back. I didn't think I would have to spell it out.
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
I would guess the mere fact that private schools take the sharp elbowed parents out of the state system can be harmful for the state system...but I could be wrong.
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I mean, who knows my limits Stevo. Would Sunak or BoJo got anywhere near being PM on merit without their public school background? It’d be a fool to say otherwise.
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I would have more sympathy for the price rises argument if the private school sector hadn’t been hiking prices for decades before anyway.
I just don’t think its a credible argument when every year private schools hike their fees further.
Im all for getting rid of the whole system and I certainly don’t think it therefore is a problem that the state makes it a taxable service.
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They will. They're businesses and they need to keep trading. They like to pretend they are charities.
1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
Not sure there's that much of a shortage of Karens.
I would also suggest the advantage that a private education bestows varies significantly depending on the industry you are in. It would be pretty minimal to zero in my part of the construction industry.
1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
My brief has advised me to plead guilty as charged. 😉
The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.0 -
Like this stat
“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
Johnson would have.
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I very much doubt BJ would have got anywhere near where he is/was without the contacts made during his education. He certainly never got there on effort and results.
The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.1 -
He got the education on effort, result and talent. His primary school was a state school. At Eton he had a scholarship .
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Fine. Something I didn’t know.
I still insist going to Eton was a very big help going forward and have seen no evidence of personal performative excellence.
The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.1 -
If Eton didn’t already have the privileged caché that comes from being a fee charging school he wouldn’t have needed to get a scholarship to get in, he’d have been competing with everyone who is bright not just those who made an effort to try and get into the school that makes up what 1/3rd of prime ministers??!!?!!
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Depends what line of work as RJS says. And as people have been at pains to point out upthread there aren't that many in private education (relatively).
Also you seem to have missed my question above about how much parents should be allowed to spend in their kids. Thoughts?
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0
