In Switzerland the pension system is compulsory for everyone, and employers have to pay in a at least the same as their employees pay in, and that starts at 5.05% each. They are run by private companies, but must grow by a minimum of 2.5% every year - not "average growth" but real growth. With inflation less than 1% nearly always, that's a real rate of return that is rather good.
I agree with you that education should be free, it's one of the big world problems at the moment that the World Bank pushes the mantra that children should pay for schooling. In the UK though, perhaps the question that should be asked is do too many people go to University? If fewer people went, costs would go down and the money saved could be used to give more people better and more suitable technical and vocational education more suited to their needs. There are far too many people coming out of University with degrees that mean very little, and too few people who can turn a lathe or operate precision tools in heavy engineering. I won't even mention plumbers.
How do you get to 60k loans when the cap on fees will be £9,000? Few graduates stay longer than three years to complete their degrees. A tiny minority do a one year Masters or a three year PhD. If they study a 7 year course in medicine they will soon be earning £100,000 a year; likewise Vets (7 years) and Architects (7 year sandwich course) earn a lot more after qualifying and can pay the extra fees more easily.
No, the UK doesn't have as much debt as Greece, but it was a question of when did some of the debt need to be renewed, and would lenders invest in a country's currency that depended on a debt laden economy?
Statistics: Posted by Fifth Decade — Sat Nov 13, 2010 8:25 pm
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At the moment, it just seems like everything is going up. The whole tuition fee's thing is ridiculous, and I think the protest (as out of hand as it got) was great. It seems to me that the Tories are doing the usual, making the rich richer and the poor poorer. Yes, the more 'well off' may be paying a higher rate of tax, but surely if they're paying that higher rate, it's because they can afford it, yes? Taxing the less fortunate, all be it a little, makes a difference.
With regards to benefits, it's the frauds who need to be ratted out. People who genuinely need it, should get it. And lot of the time, it's the people interviewing them fortnightly who need a kick up the arse. When I spent 2 months unemployed I heard one lad tell the person at the desk, when asked if they had been looking at jobs, tell the Job Centre staff that he couldn't look for work because his brother hadn't been round to fix his computer. The staff member signed him off. Tw*t. It's people like that that are clearly draining the countries resources. Everyone who goes on the dole should be given some sort of special login info so that the job centre staff can see that this person has been looking for work when they login to the JC website, or something similar. It's too easy not to work. And I agree with Dave, give them something to do to help the local community. Like a community service or something. For some people, the longer they sit around the easier it is to get use to that lifestyle. Hit the long term people, the ones who are there week in week out. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see what people want to work, and which ones clearly don't. Sometimes you can judge a book by it's cover...
Don't hit the disabled. No lie, my brothers friends Dad has a disease or something. He has lost an arm, 2 fingers and has half a leg missing. He's in pain most of the time, but he likes to keep as active as he can, so goes to town: takes him a while, but he goes. They threatened to stop his benefits when they told him he could be a bingo caller and he said no. That's just not fair. He paid into the system all his life and he genuinely needs help, yet they wanted to penalise him.
I have a bit of an insight into the benefits system as my father has been on benefits for 14 years. He had a nervous breakdown after working several 90hr+ weeks, but unfortunately alot of stuff came up that went right back to his childhood. He's ended up with a very complex and rare disorder called D.I.D. (Dissociative Identity Disorder: not to be confused with schizophrenia). This doesn't affect him physically, but mentally it is a nightmare. I know because I've lived with him for all that time. But because he has no physical disability, people judge him all the time, accusing him of 'sponging': because they only see the face that he put's on to cope. There have already been a plethora of letters sent to him since the whole benefit shake up, and he is absolutely scared silly of what could happen. His mental state is not good enough to send him back to work (although he does want to eventually), but at 55, you can guess the stigma he'll be up against... Do people really think that living of £8.5k a year is a luxurious lifestyle? (Yes, thats all they get for a couple).
I guess the point i'm trying to make is why should people like my Dad be targeted, when there are people who can help there own situation but can clearly not be bothered to do so. Thats where this countries problem lyes... The prisons are another area to target, I know it's an old one, but take away there luxuries. Make it like it used to be, make it like Shawshank! Make people think twice before they commit a crime! And, stop immigrants being able to claim benefits for children that were born before they even got to this country: and only let them in if they have a job to go to! For god's sake Britain, we fought a war to beat the Germans, and now the EU are dictating everything we do and this country no longer has a backbone to stand up for itself!
I can see an anarchic state forming if things keep going the way they do, and if they can force change, then who isn't going to jump on it?
Statistics: Posted by DanielMoore — Sat Nov 13, 2010 8:14 pm
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The tories would never have invested in schools, hospitals and public services, don't forget we are all in this together ( but each for his own).
It' is verging on criminal that millionaire ministers who benefited from a free education are imposing vast debts on the next generation (even thatcher will be turning in her grave !!)
The whole idea of the 'austerity' theory was to avoid leaving the next generation in debt, so lets saddle them with 60K loans at 25.
We will end up with more educated immigrants because our children will not be taking up higher eduction. The whole thing stinks to high heaven.
ps I thought you were in the finance field, how come you have fallen for the "as bad as Greece ' line ?
pps Dave look what you've started
Statistics: Posted by Mike Smith — Sat Nov 13, 2010 10:21 am
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