snowychap Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 On the issue itself I'm not actually that opposed to it in principal BUT and its a very big but, the options and facilities have to be in place before something like that can be enforced. Absolutely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 I hope the Beeb don't pay that tit McTernan to appear on its channels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PauloBarnesi Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 society really doesn't need any more hairdressers. Ever since the Score brothers retired I would say society doesn’t need more hairdressers (and barbers), but actually better hairdressers and barbers. We used to excel in these fields. Where is the new Vidal Sasson? the new Nicky Clarke? Where are the new mullets? the new bobs? the new Charlies? the new rat tails? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MakemineVanilla Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awol Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Media melt down over Fabricant (lichfield MP) tweeting that he couldn't appear on a discussion programme with Yasmin Alibi Brown without punching her in the throat. Not a smart thing for an MP to say but I get where he's coming from, she's a racist bitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MakemineVanilla Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Media melt down over Fabricant (lichfield MP) tweeting that he couldn't appear on a discussion programme with Yasmin Alibi Brown without punching her in the throat. Not a smart thing for an MP to say but I get where he's coming from, she's a racist bitch. Fair's fair; she was on CH4 last night and said she hated Rod Liddle and wanted to punch him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingfisher Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Government endorsed monarchy spends £8m on a helicopter. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth when most people's pay is going down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risso Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Government endorsed monarchy spends £8m on a helicopter. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth when most people's pay is going down. Good lord, it must be a quiet day in Leftyville if that's all you've got to moan about. What exactly does "government endorsed monarchy" mean? They're the Royal Family, and like them or loathe them they've been around for hundreds of years. So rather than leaving a bad taste in the mouth, I'm not sure that many people would give two hoots that one of the richest women in the world has just bought her grandson a new helicopter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingfisher Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 There's a no more austerity march in London today. You probably won't hear about it on the BBC. They'll have a report on the royal family, baby George and our 'famously frugal Queen'...keep the brain deads happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingfisher Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Firefighters on 24 hour strike over pensions today. We can't afford pensions, we have helicopters to pay for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingfisher Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Poverty commission have called for an end to zero hour contracts. Being in work is no longer a way out of poverty as working people go hungry. But the queen has her helicopter. Long to reign over us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Risso Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Firefighters on 24 hour strike over pensions today. We can't afford pensions, we have helicopters to pay for. "A firefighter on £29,000 who retires at 60 will receive a pension of £19,000 a year, rising eventually to £26,000 with the state pension, he said." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingfisher Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Under government supported TPP any food safety rules on pesticides or GMO's higher than int'l standards could be “trade barriers.” Just another boring day in leftyville for some morons, who'd prefer to watch baby george take his first shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingfisher Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 David Schneider: Calls to get tougher on benefit abuse as Mum on state handouts buys grandson £8m helicopter. That's a headline! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Firefighters on 24 hour strike over pensions today. We can't afford pensions, we have helicopters to pay for. "A firefighter on £29,000 who retires at 60 will receive a pension of £19,000 a year, rising eventually to £26,000 with the state pension, he said." Who said? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted June 21, 2014 Author Moderator Share Posted June 21, 2014 Government endorsed monarchy spends £8m on a helicopter. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth when most people's pay is going down. Good lord, it must be a quiet day in Leftyville if that's all you've got to moan about. What exactly does "government endorsed monarchy" mean? They're the Royal Family, and like them or loathe them they've been around for hundreds of years. So rather than leaving a bad taste in the mouth, I'm not sure that many people would give two hoots that one of the richest women in the world has just bought her grandson a new helicopter.Yes I really couldn't give a shit that one of the richest women in the world, inherited money from her dad that wasn't subject to inheritance tax, earns millions from rent on properties obtained by various nefarious means including murder, doesn't pay for her numerous council houses, in fact gets paid huge wedges of money just to keep them going, gets all her holidays and travel paid for (but doesn't use the bus).Still its nice she bought her grandson a helicopter and I trust the relevant tax was paid for a gift of such magnitude.She's only worth £500mil, so she needs every penny she can get 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 (edited) I can't vouch for the accuracy of the figures quoted (though one would hope they're near the mark/spot on given the nature of the organization) but here's a bit more detail from FullFact: How generous are firefighters’ pensions? September 16, 2013 • 4:55 pm Public sector pension reform began with a paragraph, became a 200 page report, later passed through parliament and this year became law. For firefighters, however, this hasn’t turned out to be the end of the story. Instead, last month the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), which represents 85% of uniformed staff of the UK fire and rescue service, voted to strike over the government’s position on firefighters’ pensions. The FBU opposes the pension reforms that have been put forward, saying it involves “unaffordable and unfair contribution rates”, “a totally unrealistic retirement age for firefighters” and “an unsustainable scheme for the fire service”. Meanwhile, the government argues it’s a generous offer. Minister Brandon Lewis was quoted as saying: “After two years of discussions and improved terms, firefighters will still get one of the most generous public service pensions available – £26,000 a year, when including the £7,000 state pension.” £26,000 – generous? Many people would consider this sum – roughly equivalent to the median annual earnings for an employee - as generous for a pension, and more so when considering a ‘competent’ (fully trained) firefighter can expect an annual salary of just under £28,500. But a closer reading suggests this is an unrealistic sum for most firefighters. First of all, £7,000 in state pension has been added, but the State Pension is only payable at state pension age (65 and rising), whereas the government’s current proposals suggest an occupational retirement age of 60. So in reality, the government’s example firefighter would only be getting £19,000 a year when they actually retire. So a better question is whether £19,000 is a ‘normal’ pension for a firefighter. £19,000 – normal? That’s where things get tricky – currently most firefighters will be under one of two schemes – the Firefighters Pension Scheme (1992) and the New Firefighters Pension Scheme (2006). Two-thirds of scheme members find themselves in the former. A firefighter under the 1992 scheme gets a pension worth a fraction of their final salary, dependent on their length of service. The most they can get is 2/3 of their salary. Someone earning £28,500 retiring with 20 years of service would receive a pension of £9,500 a year, but a colleague on the same salary who had spent 30 years as a firefighter would get an annual income of £19,000. The only way a firefighter could receive a pension larger than £19,000 per year is through additional contributions from their own income. The 2006 scheme changed this so that the pensions pot accrued more slowly – after 30 years the pot would only be worth £14,250 (with no additional contributions) but goes up to £19,000 after 40 years (and can still grow after 40 years). So at the moment, a firefighter gets the kind of pension the government is talking about if they serve 30-40 years and have a final salary of around £28,500 (though some will finish on higher salaries if they’re promoted to managers, and so get higher pensions anyway). Under the new proposals, firefighters contribute more, get a pension based on their career average earnings rather than final salary, and accrue their pot at a slightly faster rate for each year of service. For long-serving staff, the outcomes are similar: a firefighter serving for 40 years earning about £28,500 on average over the course of their career gets about £19,000 per year for a pension. 40 years service – realistic? Serving 40 years without any reduction for early retirement normally means joining the fire service not much later than age 20 and working up to the proposed retirement age of 60 (the same as the 2006 scheme but five years higher than the 1992 scheme). Figures on what a ‘normal’ service length is aren’t readily available, although the government suggested in 2011 that only 1% currently work past age 55. The FBU and others have argued that since uniformed ocupations such as the fire service require a certain level of physical fitness, the normal pension age shouldn’t be this high in the first place – so for most firefighters 40 years would put them beyond adequate fitness for the service. The evidence they cite is a 2012 review of how firefighters’ abilities change with age. The study analysed existing literature and found that, based on data from four fire services, at 50-54 years of age half of firefighters were below a ‘minimum standard’ of fitness, while two thirds fell below it at 55-60 years (this isn’t a universally agreed measure, so the research used existing practices as a benchmark). The evidence isn’t conclusive about exactly how many firefighters can be expected to fall away from fitness standards in their 50s but does suggest this will be an issue for many trying to clock up the 40 years’ service required to reach the Minister’s example. So whether or not we could expect most firefighters to receive the £19,000 upon retirement is perhaps a more contentious issue than the Minister suggests. (Links within the article are carried over from the original website in copying). Edit: And from a beeb article in 2010: What is the average pension in payment? £12,000 a year. Edited June 21, 2014 by snowychap 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drat01 Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Government endorsed monarchy spends £8m on a helicopter. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth when most people's pay is going down. Good lord, it must be a quiet day in Leftyville if that's all you've got to moan about. What exactly does "government endorsed monarchy" mean? They're the Royal Family, and like them or loathe them they've been around for hundreds of years. So rather than leaving a bad taste in the mouth, I'm not sure that many people would give two hoots that one of the richest women in the world has just bought her grandson a new helicopter. "Leftyville"? really? .................. a lost argument immediately 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drat01 Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Media melt down over Fabricant (lichfield MP) tweeting that he couldn't appear on a discussion programme with Yasmin Alibi Brown without punching her in the throat. Not a smart thing for an MP to say but I get where he's coming from, she's a racist bitch. Quite strong words and accusations there. I would love to see how you back up on a public forum calling someone a racist. I look forward to your "evidence" and also note your tolerance of violence towards women - nice ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davkaus Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 The most surprising thing for me is that someone working as a firefighter and risking their life for 30 years is on a salary of only £28,500... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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