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Xann

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Posts posted by Xann

  1. I've just finished Joe Haldeman's "Forever War" (excellent)

    I loved that book - Is it still in print?

    Time dilation - it's effects on a protracted confrontation - and massive social changes between tours. At one point our hero returns to Earth and finds everyone's gay IIRC.

    Ever read 'Enders' Game' by Orson Scott Card I think?

  2. The Bermudas - 'Donnie'

    No Dave, Hickox on Chandos.What else is there? :(

    Not much by the looks of it... I'll check the the RED when I get back to work. Perhaps I'll run it by old Moore, he might know.

    I don't suppose you know any radio hams Rob? - I'm trying to find out which orchestra played a version of 'Close Your Eyes' that Radio Monte Carlo used as a sign-off in the sixties.

  3. Are you suggesting the Departure Tax, VAT, Petrol, Road and Beer tax should be means tested?

    Lovely idea Nick, but probably not practical.

    Would have to look at the merits of each in turn. Then look at accompanying admin costs.

    I'd certainly change the way tax is levied and spent in each case. Additional VAT for Sunny Delight is immediately obvious. Petrol and Road tax should be based on damage wrought. Ideally Departure Tax could have been used to subsidise affordable greener public transport - But there's a bit of a gap in the market there. Alcohol duty is proportional by ABV and has VAT added. So luxury costs more and provides more tax per unit than the cheap gear anyway.

  4. Tax for public services should be the same across the board

    Tax should reflect an individuals ability to pay it.

    I mean Stalin was a pussycat by comparison!

    Stalin was an evil man, of course.

    We all hope that in 40 years Aston's offspring won't find Reagan/Thatcher's legacy more problematical.

    Only time will tell. Not looking good though is it?

  5. Rich people don't tend to waste things, that's why they are rich...

    Many are wasteful, most are bad payers.

    Well off people will be taxed higher at the income level, why should have have to pay higher taxes again for the same public services?

    Proportionally they are more able to afford it.

    I'd typed the above before reading your post Snowychap, and deleted another after reading your previous response.

    Damn you've done it again.

    You're doing well mate - I'm off for a cuppa.

  6. The problem with the Poll Tax was that it was fair.

    From Wiki - feel free to look elsewhere if you like.

    "The system was unpopular. It seemed to shift the tax burden from rich to poor, as it was based on the number of people living in a house rather than its estimated price. Many tax rates set by local councils proved to be much higher than earlier predictions, leading to resentment even among people who had supported it. The tax in different boroughs differed dramatically because local taxes paid by businesses varied and grants by central government to local authorities sometimes varied capriciously."

    Clicky

  7. one of the worlds greatest PM’s!

    Your opinion.

    Thatcher was all about self. Even in the 80's it was clear we needed to move towards sustainability.

    There was more to the Falklands than met the eye, but we've been there before.

    She was voted for, she had a good long go, some people made a lot of money, some died on NHS waiting lists.

    We've had 60 years to look at Stalin's legacy, a story of human disaster. In another 40 years we may well be looking at global disaster. The period of 'Me' politics (more potently in the States but significantly here in the UK too) in the late 20th century has set the planet up for a big fall.

    I just can't believe I have contributed to a completely juvenile poll

    Well you did, you never done it before? It can be fun sometimes.

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