What are your unpopular opinions?
Discussion
Fastchas said:
I've posted this before in PH and got a good-ish reception but outside of PH I'm vilified;
Maggie Thatcher introducing the Poll Tax was a good idea. It was spoilt by scum who wanted other people to pay more than them for the same service.
I agree with you, but the Community Charge (Poll Tax to its opponents) turned out to be an unfortunate political misjudgement, and mob rule killed it off.Maggie Thatcher introducing the Poll Tax was a good idea. It was spoilt by scum who wanted other people to pay more than them for the same service.
My feeling has always been that basically we should pay as individuals for local services. After all, it's people that require the services, not buildings, property, land etc. Unfortunately, local taxation was paid by the household collectively, and people were not accustomed to paying individually for the services they receive, and they didn't want to start doing so. The battle cry was 'can't pay, won't pay' etc. and they backed this up with disgraceful scenes of rioting and destruction, and the government had to abandon the scheme.
Subject to having a good system that provided for reduced rates of charge - down to zero if appropriate - for individuals who truly could not afford to pay, it would, in my view, have been a fairer system than the previous domestic rating system, or indeed the present Council Tax.
k off. 
StevieBee said:
People get smarter to levels and in numbers that mean a political structure is not required because individuals accumulate the ability to self govern.
Well now, I'm not particularly smart (I demonstrate that often enough here 
) but I already operate on a self-governing basis. 
Frank7 said:
p1esk said:
Well that's something I didn't know, so thanks for that.
BTW, was Pele the guy who (so it was claimed) once scored a goal using his hand? Maybe it was somebody else, in which case ignore that.
Maybe Pele did, but I doubt it, he always came across as a stand-up guy, a Brazilian Bobby Moore if you will, you're probably thinking of the Argentine, Diego Maradona, but as that was against England, and I have a soupçon of French blood, I don't care.BTW, was Pele the guy who (so it was claimed) once scored a goal using his hand? Maybe it was somebody else, in which case ignore that.
Thierry Henry of France also allegedly used his hand to score a goal against Ireland in 2009, and although I think that Ireland is a great place, and the Irish are mostly nice people, Thierry is also French, so I was not unduly upset about that either, in fact I gave him the benefit of the doubt.
However, when the extremely talented and all round nice French guy, Zinedine Zidane, gently brushed the Italian Marco Materazzi's chest with his head in the 2006 World Cup Final, and got sent off, with Italy winning on penalties, that was a travesty of gargantuan proportions.
DurianIceCream said:
Antony Moxey said:
As it is, I suspect I’d assess the situation to see which was easiest to get to - the last thing I’m going to do is fall off myself and get myself killed, however all things being equal I’d probably still save my dog. I can live with a friend not being a friend any more if his child pegged it because I didn’t save him.
Quoted for posterity. Need to stop telling kids in school that they can all be lawyers and accountants sat behind a nice desk earning 50 to a 100k a year. For most this is not possible. Not saying kill there dreams but at least be realistic.
A lot degrees are totally useless and not worth anything to employers. Had a chap for an interview last year who genuinely couldn't understand why I thought his degree in Danish literature wasn't relevant for a sales position selling safety clothing.
A lot degrees are totally useless and not worth anything to employers. Had a chap for an interview last year who genuinely couldn't understand why I thought his degree in Danish literature wasn't relevant for a sales position selling safety clothing.
Antony Moxey said:
DurianIceCream said:
Antony Moxey said:
As it is, I suspect I’d assess the situation to see which was easiest to get to - the last thing I’m going to do is fall off myself and get myself killed, however all things being equal I’d probably still save my dog. I can live with a friend not being a friend any more if his child pegged it because I didn’t save him.
Quoted for posterity. Come on, Antony, you don't really mean what you wrote, do you? You're just being provocative, are you not?
Brave Fart said:
Perhaps so that when he next disagrees with you, he can resurrect this post and say "see? Mr Moxey is a fool - look at what he says here!".
Come on, Antony, you don't really mean what you wrote, do you? You're just being provocative, are you not?
Either that or honest. It's always difficult with hypothetical situations though.Come on, Antony, you don't really mean what you wrote, do you? You're just being provocative, are you not?
ntiz said:
A lot degrees are totally useless and not worth anything to employers. Had a chap for an interview last year who genuinely couldn't understand why I thought his degree in Danish literature wasn't relevant for a sales position selling safety clothing.
You missed an opportunity to break into the Nordic market ;-)Crossflow Kid said:
Those who buy under "Affordable Housing Schemes" do not make good neighbours.
I don't think that's an unpopular view.I get the need for them in London/Home Counties where property prices are way beyond the means of people essential to a functioning society e.g. nurses, teachers et al but the requirement for a street full of four-bed detached homes to have a few housing association type properties bunged down one end in my neck of the woods is completely unwarranted.
It's no coincidence that every time there's a police car on our road it's down that end dealing with the egg-stained vest wearing, super-strength lager-swilling, crap-tattooed, weeknight music-blaring, heavy smoking, overgrown-garden-dwelling chavs inhabiting the housing association properties.
Antony Moxey said:
DurianIceCream said:
Antony Moxey said:
As it is, I suspect I’d assess the situation to see which was easiest to get to - the last thing I’m going to do is fall off myself and get myself killed, however all things being equal I’d probably still save my dog. I can live with a friend not being a friend any more if his child pegged it because I didn’t save him.
Quoted for posterity. Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff