Poll: New poll on who you will vote for?

[decmatt]

but I personally don't see why MPs should be earning up to £100,000 a year for supposedly representing their constituents, or that CEOs should rake in billions in profits, while their constituents/employees (as applicable) are struggling on the bread line.

I don't see why they shouldn't? If its their company, or they have got to a stage where they are exceptional at what they do, why shouldn't they?

It seems there's less focus on working hard, or being brilliant at what you do. I feel you should be rewarded if you are.

 

[meghatronic]

I know that we pay lots of tax in the UK, but then how come we are so much worse off than even the USA? What is happening with that money?

EDIT - I actually want a duck house now! They look cool!

 

[Rainmaker]

I don't see why they shouldn't? If its their company, or they have got to a stage where they are exceptional at what they do, why shouldn't they?

It seems there's less focus on working hard, or being brilliant at what you do. I feel you should be rewarded if you are.

Indeed, but it's rarely the genuinely brilliant and/or hard working who are rewarded. I dare say the nurse and the factory worker actually work 10 times harder than most of the top earners and that there are a great many brilliant people who earn next to no money at all, depending on your definition of brilliance.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Which is why you should be doing what you because you want to, not for material gain.

Don't be ridiculous, I'm not going to work tommorrow because I genuinelly want to, I'm going for material gain. Me and 95% of the rest of the country.

 

[RDM]

I would like the UK to be up to the standard of places like France, Scandinavia and Canada, I only really see the Green policies capable of somehow managing that, even if they seem far fetched and impossible.

But their policies would utterly destroy the economy so the tax take would plummet and there would be no money for all the lovely services you want so much.

 

[JHeaton]

Lib Dem, still.

http://www.voterpower.org.uk/ - I'm ****** here.

Wow.

Voters in Bury North have 2.37x more voting power than the UK average.

That's interesting indeed.

 

[[TW]Fox]

but I personally don't see why MPs should be earning up to £100,000 a year for supposedly representing their constituents,

What is the annual salary of an MP?
£65,738 as of 1 April 2010

 

[Rainmaker]

That's why I said up to. Add in their various paid-for engagements, expenses, and what basically amount to back handers and you're up to decent money and a good lifestyle. They're still on a basic rate of around £700 a week plus perks for doing very little, while most of their constituents are putting in 60 hour weeks to earn minimum wage.

 

[decmatt]

Indeed, but it's rarely the genuinely brilliant and/or hard working who are rewarded. I dare say the nurse and the factory worker actually work 10 times harder than most of the top earners and that there are a great many brilliant people who earn next to no money at all, depending on your definition of brilliance.

Whilst they are the backbone of our economy, it is not the most skilled job in the world. If a factory opened up tomorrow, there would be a flood of applicants who would be willing to do the job at a low wage.

These top earners (the majority) I believe did get there for a reason, and I believe you need people like that for a lot of young people to aim for something after their dream of being Englands next striker has gone.

These people do pay a lot of taxes will just go to other countries (such as US who would have these top earners quite easily) and live there, this in turn would just cost our economy greater.

 

[[TW]Fox]

That's why I said up to. Add in their various paid-for engagements, expenses, and what basically amount to back handers and you're up to decent money and a good lifestyle. They're still on a basic rate of around £700 a week plus perks for doing very little, while most of their constituents are putting in 60 hour weeks to earn minimum wage.

I was under the impression that MP's actually work pretty long hours - including most evenings.

I also doubt most people in this country work a 60 hour week. Infact I know very few who do. Of those who do, they tend to be high earners and self employed, where the expectation for the large salaries they receive is that they work long hours. I doubt Tesco et al would give you 60 hours a week even if you were prepared to work it!

 

[alexakasloth]

I was going to vote Green but as i'm not voting in Brighton I'll vote Lib Dem. Tories can suck my hairy balls.

 

[meghatronic]

while most of their constituents are putting in 60 hour weeks to earn minimum wage.

That's disingenuous.

Most = majority = average. The Office for National Statistics' Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings said the average earnings are £26,020 (or £31,323 for only full-time employees). UK workers in full-time jobs put in an average of 41.4 hours every week. I see your point, but still.

 

[RDM]

That's why I said up to. Add in their various paid-for engagements, expenses, and what basically amount to back handers and you're up to decent money and a good lifestyle.

While quite a few MPs did indeed abuse the expenses system an awful lot didn't. I don't think it is fair to add expenses to a wage as they are in fact, expenses, so have to be paid for to do the job.

They're still on a basic rate of around £700 a week plus perks for doing very little, while most of their constituents are putting in 60 hour weeks to earn minimum wage.

"most of their constituents"? In some constituencies possibly but I think only about 1m people are on minimum wage, the average is much higher.

 

[bhavv]

Wow, Brighton has 21.91% of voters voting for Green, crappy Bradford only has 2.99% :x

I now found a new interesting website to search through with different cities to see the voting percentages . Yay for 15 minutes of fun.

 

[Rainmaker]

My point remains, and I stand by it. I'm too ill to work, and only wish I could. Before the groans and the roll-eyes start, let me add onto that statement that before my health fell, I was studying towards a degree in medicine. I'm not a low-intelligence scrounging idiot looking to rape the state and drink white lightning for a living. I actually want to contribute and have the capacity to do so at a good level.

The rest of my family are indeed working upwards of 60 hours a week at minimum wage, in infrastructure critical roles, and couldn't afford to do otherwise. They have been told, as is the norm in these parts, that they either like it (working 12 to 16 hour days five or six days a week) or else accept their P45. Since it took my brother over a year of hard searching to even find his job, such a sacking-by-default is not an option.

We're going way off topic here, so I'll leave this issue be now. My only point was that our economic system is inherently flawed; unless you happen to be part of the lucky few who actually benefit (usually greatly) from it. Getting back on topic somewhat, none of the political parties seem to cater to my overall beliefs, and those that do somewhat (we can't have it all) all have 'killer' policies that completely exclude them from my consideration.

As such, as I said earlier, I see no real alternative to the conservatives.

 

[Berserker]

I know that we pay lots of tax in the UK, but then how come we are so much worse off than even the USA?

USA is just about the worst example you could choose. Go to the USA and you'll find tips are expected everywhere. I'm not talking the 10% or so we might give on occasion to a good restaurant here - I really am talking everywhere. Restaurants go so far as to calculate what 18% of the bill is and print it on your receipt so you don't have to work out the tip yourself (that is if they don't just add it on anyway).

Why? There's no minimum wage, no public healthcare (unless you qualify for medicare/medicaid), little 'safety net', very little employment protection (you can be made redundant pretty much on the spot). So yes, the restaurant staff actually rely on those tips to make a decent living.

USA - "Let those who can take the spoils and the rest be damned".

 

[Strife212]

I posted this in the other thread as well, and I'm sure most of you already know this, but:

Any vote in your constituancy for anyone except the winner is totally wasted, and any votes for the winning candidate past the number required for them to win are totally wasted as well.

Does no one else think that's crazy?

 

[[TW]Fox]

The rest of my family are indeed working upwards of 60 hours a week at minimum wage, in infrastructure critical roles, and couldn't afford to do otherwise.

This is far from the norm.

What roles do they have? Even work at supermarkets pays more than minimum wage these days - and infrastructure critical rolls such as the emergency services, construction etc etc, pay more than £5.85 an hour as well?

 

[EdwardTeach]

I posted this in the other thread as well, and I'm sure most of you already know this, but:

Any vote in your constituancy for anyone except the winner is totally wasted, and any votes for the winning candidate past the number required for them to win are totally wasted as well.

Does no one else think that's crazy?

Deffinately!

 

[bhavv]

USA is just about the worst example you could choose. Go to the USA and you'll find tips are expected everywhere. I'm not talking the 10% or so we might give on occasion to a good restaurant here - I really am talking everywhere. Restaurants go so far as to calculate what 18% of the bill is and print it on your receipt so you don't have to work out the tip yourself (that is if they don't just add it on anyway).

Why? There's no minimum wage, no public healthcare (unless you qualify for medicare/medicaid), little 'safety net', very little employment protection (you can be made redundant pretty much on the spot). So yes, the restaurant staff actually rely on those tips to make a decent living.

USA - "Let those who can take the spoils and the rest be damned".

Yes I hate tips, but I have come across a few restaurants in Britain that charge you an extra quid if you want to eat in, which isnt too much but its still like a tip. The first time it happened I literally took it as a complete joke and refused to pay. They didnt like it one bit and even threatened to call the cops and wouldnt leave me alone until I paid the extra eating in fee, so now I only go to the main restaurants - KFC, Macdonalds or Subways etc, and refuse to go to any place that isnt a big name.

So I dont really think its too much different here when it comes to restaurants.

I picked the USA on purpose because I think living there is horrible, but they still rank higher than the UK.