What's caused the downfall of this country?

[One True BHA]

I'm not bitter. I've got a mortgage I can pay and live well within my means.

But too many people in this country are ruled by consumerism based almost entirely on credit. Nobody seems prepared to wait for anything these days. It isn't just the chavs either - its the families who over-stretch themselves for a nice four by four to keep up with the playground set, the students who take our loans and then spunk it on designer clothes and the latest mobiles phones...

i usually agree with, and enjoy reading your posts, but to be honest, you're a bit off the mark with the student loan comment there.

 

[simmo]

Just so your post is clearer to me by what criteria are you measuring London vs New York?

What? In a nutshell, in the earlier update you said what has the UK got that Western Europe would want/desire. What does the UK do better?

HatterslovesBrighton said Financial Services. I concur with that and I stated that only Tokyo and Wall Street (in New York) are comparable to the City of London.

Is that clear enough?

 

[Lord Large]

i usually agree with, and enjoy reading your posts, but to be honest, you're a bit off the mark with the student loan comment there.

Fair enough. I just know a lot of students who do not live within their means.

Of course there are plenty that do but there are a large majority who do not.

 

[simmo]

You can repeat it all you like but either Simmo isn't listening or he suffers from selective dyslexia!

Or it could be that I left my pc.

Thatcher said that. I did not. I do not agree with that statement. I am my own man whom has my own thoughts, unlike it would seem yourself whom trots out the same drivel that blames Thatcher for every single thing that is wrong. Is it Thatcher's fault because it is raining hard? Or that Brighton aren't in the Premiership?

This statement is a fact. Labour have been in power for over 11 years now and could rectify/reverse anything that she did.

Thatcher was not perfect, where she made mistakes Poll Tax etc. they have been rectified by legislation from later administrations. However, most of her legislation has been allowed to stand because it benefits this country, she brought in laws that helped tame the unions and this has not been reversed by the Labour Party, even though the Labour party was founded by the unions and the unions are Labour's primary financial backers!

Why do you think this is? It is because it was good legislation that has massively benefited the country, even the goddam Labour Party can see this! One thing is for sure, to paraphrase what she said when she left office. We leave 10 Downing Street with the country in a very much better state then when we arrived.

 

[User removed 4]

Gordon Brown is a decent and honest man. Hardly his fault Fanny May and Freddie f*** and Northern Cocks got greedy and blew the world economy into recession. Actually, can't WAIT til you all get the spiv Tory Boy government you deserve. Will be totally in keeping with the Southern set of me-based values. Scotland's got the right idea, distancing itself from England, aligning more and more with Europe and becoming a place that looks after its people, rather than denying them life-saving cancer drugs on the advice of their accountants. What a land fit for heroes. Better shot of it. Maybe the North of England should consider doing likewise, and leave the Home Counties entrenched in a morass of greed, selfishness and stupidity. Cos it seems to like it that way. IMHO, like.

and... RELAX

why dont you f*** off there then ?

 

[Nibble]

There are just too many blacks.

 

[One True BHA]

Fair enough. I just know a lot of students who do not live within their means.

Of course there are plenty that do but there are a large majority who do not.

when you say live within their means do you mean living off a student loan? student loans are there to cover tuition fees and the cost of living. they do not. therefore, people will either get help from their parents (if they are able to) or get a job. i do not know one person who can flash the cash simply from their loan.

no 18 year old will be able to live within their means if they wish to study at university due to the sheer cost of it nowadays.

having said that, the system is utter bollocks and grants are given out willy nilly to people who do not need it.

 

[Nibble]

when you say live within their means do you mean living off a student loan? student loans are there to cover tuition fees and the cost of living. they do not. therefore, people will either get help from their parents (if they are able to) or get a job. i do not know one person who can flash the cash simply from their loan.

no 18 year old will be able to live within their means if they wish to study at university due to the sheer cost of it nowadays.

having said that, the system is utter bollocks and grants are given out willy nilly to people who do not need it.

I'm assuming you didn't get a grant then?

 

[One True BHA]

I'm assuming you didn't get a grant then?

no, the system is a joke. people i know get '000s of pounds a year (which by definition does not need paying back) to "help them out" on top of the loan, that is. wish someone would f***ing help me out like that.

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

no, the system is a joke. people i know get '000s of pounds a year (which by definition does not need paying back) to "help them out" on top of the loan, that is. wish someone would f***ing help me out like that.

Whether you qualify for a maintenance/special support grant is income dependant. There's a sliding scale based on your (parents) household income but if this exceeds about £60K (for 2008/9) then you won't get anything; the assumption being (as it was when I went to University in 1972) that your parents will contribute the shortfall.
Have you ever applied; if so, why was the application rejected?

 

[Djmiles]

no, the system is a joke. people i know get '000s of pounds a year (which by definition does not need paying back) to "help them out" on top of the loan, that is. wish someone would f***ing help me out like that.

I know how you feel.

They give out £3,200 loan, and expect you to magically conjure up thousands more on top to live off of. Christ, when accomdodation alone is £3k, it's a bit hard!

 

[Djmiles]

the assumption being that your parents will contribute the shortfall.

That's all very well, but some parents who earn more than the highest boundary can't afford to do that. Doesn't matter to the government though, they are earning more than £30k a year so that MUST mean they can support 1/2/3 children all at university :thud:

 

[Pavilionaire]

The numbers on the poll are interesting.

As many people think "Blacks" are to blame as the whole of education, drugs and alcohol combined.

Is this because a lot of people are voting mischievously, or not?

 

[User removed 4]

The numbers on the poll are interesting.

As many people think "Blacks" are to blame as the whole of education, drugs and alcohol combined.

Is this because a lot of people are voting mischievously, or not?

bit of both i think

 

[sydney]

so you are saying that the immigration policy is responsible for the state of the country and also the failure of the government to have the bollocks (30 years ago) to do something about it............most of the africans , west indians , and indians are ok , they were bought in for a purpose and that is a fact no matter how bad it sounds , the arabs however have come in , on the take and our once proud country is fuct on its knees , there is no denying it...........the drugs are a symptom of the foreign influx and an easy way to make BIG ,QUICK, pounds to send home..........FuksaKe

 

[Pavilionaire]

I would suggest that the only thing this poll proves is that despite what people may say there is still a lot of latent racism in the UK.

 

[Nibble]

I know how you feel.

They give out £3,200 loan, and expect you to magically conjure up thousands more on top to live off of. Christ, when accomdodation alone is £3k, it's a bit hard!

Perhaps you could "magic" up some money with a part time job. Evenings, weekends, holidays?

 

[sydney]

I would suggest that the only thing this poll proves is that despite what people may say there is still a lot of latent racism in the UK.

and why wouldn't there be............

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

That's all very well, but some parents who earn more than the highest boundary can't afford to do that. Doesn't matter to the government though, they are earning more than £30k a year so that MUST mean they can support 1/2/3 children all at university :thud:

The upper limit for parental income (ie no grant) is set at £60K and you're saying that parents earning more than this cannot afford to contribute anything - really?
The principle of parental contribution based on household income hasn't changed since my wife and I went to university in the 70's but if it's going to be struggle for parents then you (the student) could save from evening, weekend jobs whilst still at school, delay going to university for a year or two and work, get a job during the holdays while you're at university or maybe work during term time. Many have done this before.
The information on likely costs is out there; nobody waits until their A-level results arrive before thinking about how to finance a 3-4 year university course do they? Both of my kids started planning for university when they were in year 11 (2001); their parents started in 1995.

 

[Nibble]

There isn't a student in the UK that doesn't spend at least half his loan/grant on boooze, pizzas, entertainment etc. Any of them that say they don't is either lying or a massive geek. It is what uni is for. You drink your food money and live off beans. Any of them that say they are hard up should get a fecking job and stop moaning.