Balanced Question Time panel tonight - of course not!
Discussion
Enjoyed the program strong caracters on the panel.Nigel blames everything what is going wrong here on Europe.Alan Jonhston is liked by most people with his sensible vieuws.Didn't know that China is the biggest customer of iron ore from Australia.The Chinese want to use the London financial system as their base in this part of the world.Energy and what we have to pay in the future to keep the lights on will be interesting.
Someone really needs to stress just how much effort and money it takes to restart some industrial processes; they just don't get it, not even the 'Chemical Engineer'. And lets just hope the trickle down effect from the new Chinese outpost is sufficient to keep everyone working in non-jobs paying a premium for services backed by foreign governments and pension funds.
Foppo said:
Enjoyed the program strong caracters on the panel.Nigel blames everything what is going wrong here on Europe.
We cannot balance our trade while in the EU, I think that is the real problem before we come to energy prices. Our present predicament was foreseen rather accurately by the (sadly weak) 1975 'No' campaign.economicpygmy said:
Someone really needs to stress just how much effort and money it takes to restart some industrial processes; they just don't get it, not even the 'Chemical Engineer'.
very much so, they still don't seem to have understood that Redcar is now gone, and they have done nothing to save it in the past.Good that Nigel got the energy debate some airtime, shame it's not the format to actually do the subject justice.
Greer's totally out of her depth on that stuff, unsurprising, but you would think if you're going to go on QT you might just brush up on some of this stuff first?
Business woman (who is she?) was pretty spot on, very much on the 'now' not next week problems.
Tory and Labour only interested in defending their records and attacking each others, no real answers/solutions.
Audience was pretty OK, apart from the obvious labour student zealot, easily identifiable by the stupid hair and tattoos.
I like the guy that said about all this re-training, to do exactly what? work in a call centre?
Service industries are no substitute for manufacturing and industry.
I also like the guy that pointed out if they had used 1/3 of the money they did to bail out the banks, steel would be safe for the next 50+ years.
hornetrider said:
LastLight said:
Christ, I've heard it all now - teachers on tax credits and lumped in to a general remark about being poor!
I rather suspect she was referring to support staff, dinner ladies etc. Possibly teaching assistants on the square root of f
k all.iphonedyou said:
Scuffers said:
think about it.
Please...
I asked because I'm interested in your rationale. I appreciate that's unusual in NP&E.Please...
How do call centre jobs add money to the economy?
(I appreciate there is more to the service sector than this, but humour me)
Unless you are making stuff, your just circulating money round.
you live in a house that's 'made' using materials that are 'made', you eat food that's 'made' etc etc etc.
what does a call centre produce?
what does a bank produce?
what does an insurance company produce?
what does the NHS produce?
what does the public sector produce?
Now, I am not suggesting we can live without the NHS/Local services/insurance/etc. however, the point I am making is that once the economy is dominated by the service sector, it's screwed.
where does the money to pay for all this come from?
Scuffers said:
OK, he's the simplistic argument.
How do call centre jobs add money to the economy?
(I appreciate there is more to the service sector than this, but humour me)
Unless you are making stuff, your just circulating money round.
you live in a house that's 'made' using materials that are 'made', you eat food that's 'made' etc etc etc.
what does a call centre produce?
what does a bank produce?
what does an insurance company produce?
what does the NHS produce?
what does the public sector produce?
Now, I am not suggesting we can live without the NHS/Local services/insurance/etc. however, the point I am making is that once the economy is dominated by the service sector, it's screwed.
where does the money to pay for all this come from?
But (as you allude to, and I think it's important) it's not all service centres. I would class myself as working in a service industry - I'm a Chartered Surveyor - and without the QS role very few of the houses you mention would get made, and those living in them wouldn't have factories to work in, in which they can make 'stuff'. We provide a service, all we're essentially paid for is ability, intellect, whatever way you want to put it - we produce, directly, nothing tangible.How do call centre jobs add money to the economy?
(I appreciate there is more to the service sector than this, but humour me)
Unless you are making stuff, your just circulating money round.
you live in a house that's 'made' using materials that are 'made', you eat food that's 'made' etc etc etc.
what does a call centre produce?
what does a bank produce?
what does an insurance company produce?
what does the NHS produce?
what does the public sector produce?
Now, I am not suggesting we can live without the NHS/Local services/insurance/etc. however, the point I am making is that once the economy is dominated by the service sector, it's screwed.
where does the money to pay for all this come from?
Apropos of construction alone, there are lots of service roles in the same vein - structural engineers, civil engineers, project management et al.
I don't think we're just circulating money around, though.
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