Left wing or right wing?

[epepke]

Does that mean that no-one in Britain would vote Republican?

Not to put too fine a point on it, but mumble mumble MARGARET THATCHER mumble mumble. She was not only what we'd call a Republican, but IMO like Reagan, a fascist. Even George Bush Sr. wasn't a fascist.

As for the rest of that side of the pond, well, Pim Fortuyn wasn't born in Iowa.

 

[Giz]

Re: Re: Re: Re: For reference

Oooooooo!!! Below The Belt!!!



This may be a good idea- lets take the example of a cabinet minister, say the minister for transport.

Set a minimum salary- £15,000 being what a graduate can expect and so should be good enough for a crap minister. And a maximum, say £250,000 which is a definite incentive and good value for money for the best service.

Now take a base rate of around £115,000 which will be the starting pay. Set targets ie. 95% of trains should depart within 5minutes of the scheduled time. If, like at present, the figure is only 79% then the minister takes a 16% pay cut for each month every month while this remains so until said minister bottoms out at impoverished graduate level or until the service improves.

Somehow I feel that the trains would get very good very quickly were this regime enforced!

I think that sounds great!

Link em all to the National Average earnings! A regular MP could be two times NAE (I'm feeling generous), a minister 3 times and the PM 4 times. Make them think feel the effects of recessions! might concentrate their minds...

 

[Jon_in_london]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: For reference

Link em all to the National Average earnings! A regular MP could be two times NAE (I'm feeling generous), a minister 3 times and the PM 4 times. Make them think feel the effects of recessions! might concentrate their minds...

With a %age cut from their pay according to the %age unemployment may bring some added focus.

 

[specious_reasons]

Being a right-winger, I sometimes get treated like a far right wing "fundy" (religious connotations), which I am definitely not. In Australia, it seems everything is upside down and inverted, so I guess I would be a left-winger there. It’s not that way in the British Isles, is it?

The whole right-wing/left-wing classification system is based on the UK Parliament.

 

[Matabiri]

The whole right-wing/left-wing classification system is based on the UK Parliament.

Ah! Is that why the "right wing" is the natural party of government...? They're sitting in the correct seats?

 

[Luke T.]

Democrats pay a lot of lip service to homosexuals

That's what homosexuals want!

 

[Luke T.]

Re: For reference

The reason this came up is because I was arguing - semi-seriously - that the British PM is overcompensated for his job.

Consider:

He earns £163,000 per year. After tax = approx. £100,000. He has almost no expenses.

He gets (as an MP) a final salary pension, 1/40th for every year he works. Even assuming he is only an MP for five years, that pension is worth £20,000 per year.

So after five years (one full term) as PM, he's put £500,000 in the bank and has a pension (when he's 65) of £20,000 per year. Which is pretty good compensation for any job, and will (if you're not completely cr*p) sort you out for the rest of your life.

For American Presidents, it is similar. But the real money doesn't start rolling in until after they leave office.

Speaking engagement fees. The "mashed potato circuit." That's where the money is.

 

[Mendor]

The whole right-wing/left-wing classification system is based on the UK Parliament.

French parliament, I thought - the radicals sat to the left of the speaker, the reactionaries to the right.