Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
We don’t use voting machines in the UK.
In the UK, we use pencils not pens to mark our ballots. ( Just encase those nasty old pens are full of invisible ink).
Ballot box’s are sealed with all candidates representatives present and watched. Its normal for all of the same people to travel with the ballot box’s to and from the polling stations too. Again seal transport.
There only opened with candidates present and full checks are made on seals.
Anyone can go and watch the ballots being counted. Anyone can ask to count votes too. Even you !!!
But the real strength of our system is simple… to have a majority, a political party must win over half of the seats: at least 326.
So there’s little or no point in trying to stuff a few extra ballot in a box. If you wanted to fix a ballot here in the UK… you’d need a thousands people to help in 326 areas or more. And you’ll have to get past the army of candidates representatives who are well know for being militant over 50’s hand bag swingers and calling your mum.
Linda the reason for the UK vacation program wasn’t to stop covid, lets face it… you cant.
The aim was to keep people out of hospital’s and allow those with more serious conditions like cancer to carry on with treatment. Keeping beds free in intensive care units and cardio wards. (People are still having car crashes and heart attacks. ) In the UK that’s worked. Our hospital’s haven’t been swamp with covid cases or older members of our community. Our system didn’t break and like Italy or Spain last year.
But I will tell you want I do know about the current vaccine’s. There basely a non stick coating that fill’s in the bits covid like to stick too stopping the virus attacking blood cells. Its the reason they came up with them so fast, its not “alive” vaccine. We need two goes at it and boosters later in the year. The concern is it may work too well in some causing blood clots.
I ask myself how effective a vaccine needs to be before I’d refuse it……… I think back to my late aunty do died from cancer a few years ago. If there was a vaccine offering her a 2% chance of surviving she would have taken it. A 2% chance is better than no chance.
You’ll see a lot more of this somer…. people are worried. Few believe we can get to Christmas without a new lockdown.
I think the main issue for America voters is the time taken for the process.
There two good ensamples of this from the UK, the eu referendum & general election.
The eu referendum process start a year before the vote. The issue divided friends and family’s. A year of both sides fighting it out in the media adding fuel to the fire.
A general election in the UK is announced 5-6 weeks before the vote and is far less so. And a new governments take control the next day.
In America the process can take up to two years to complete. Nominations, party run offs and more. It takes the new president and congress 3 months to take over after an election. And I believe this is the main reason America is so dived.
Unlike the UK where party leaders are decided long before any election and are active parts of the process long before any vote…. Americans decide on there candidates 18 months before. There little time to see how candidates would lead a government, there too busy campaigning.
If America wants to change… the first step would be to have party leaders who will stand in presidential elections ending the long draw out process. With a shorter campaigning season people will be less brainwashed by media and become less divided.
1 member liked this post.
I’ve made a mistake there…….. stamp duty is paid by the purchaser of the property.
Capital gains tax (CGT) is payable when you sell an asset that has increased in value since you bought it. … For residential property it may be 18% or 28% of the gain (not the total sale price). Usually, when you sell your main home (or only home) you don’t have to pay any CGT.
If you are going to university there are loans to pay for fees and living costs in England & Wales. There means tested too. In Scotland there are no fees and places are free.
In 2020, students graduating from English universities will have incurred an average of 40.28 thousand British pounds of student loan debt, compared with 24.96 thousand pounds in Wales, 23.52 thousand pounds in Northern Ireland, and 13.89 thousand pounds in Scotland.
So its about 1 to 2 years salary to attend a university here
Property taxes depend on where you live. There based on your house price and discounted if you live alone.
See:
https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/council-tax/paying-your-council-tax/your-council-tax-bill-explained
When you sell a house you pay stamp duty. Again these depend on the area you live.
Property purchases from 1 July 2021 to 30 September 2021
The <abbr title=”Stamp Duty Land Tax”>SDLT thresholds will be:
- £250,000 for residential properties
- £150,000 for non-residential land and properties
The threshold for residential properties will change on 1 October 2021.
So if you sell a 3 bedroom flat in Lewis for 180k there is no tax.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/91016698#/
But 10 miles away in Brighton the same flat will cost you 600k and you will pay about 20k tax on the sale.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/90861343#/
I’m not sure on the whole defunding Police thingy. Politicians who cut Police numbers ever get re elected here. And there bring out the new Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill just to keep voters happy….well some of them.
There too many new infrastructure projects for me to cover on here and schools are the same.
Then you cant moan !!!!
I had to look up “community college”. In the UK there called further education colleges. Free if your under 24 and have been for years.
I’m not too sure on the “immigrant children” thingy….. but I do know its been going on for years too.
And unlike us poor workshy dosers in UK who live on chips and porkpies….. Americans do have a say on taxation.
Well in California they do
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-11-03/2020-california-election-tracking-prop-15
American Airlines
As with other U.S airlines (Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, United Airlines, SkyWest Airlines and Southwest Airlines), American Airlines has accessed funding as part of the U.S the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
It will receive $5.8 billion from the Payroll Support Program (PSP) to support staff salaries and benefits, which comes in two forms: a direct grant of $4.1 billion, and a low-interest rate loan of $1.7 billion. In addition to the $5.8 billion, American expects to separately apply for a loan from the U.S. Treasury of approximately $4.75 billion.
Now you’d think there be alright with 6 billion but noooooooooo
American Airlines has said it will cut 19,000 jobs in October when a government wage support scheme extended to airlines during the pandemic comes to an end.
Oh wait this one is better :)
Starbucks‘ net revenue reached 19.16 billion U.S. dollars in 2020, reflecting a 27.7 percent drop from the previous year.27 Apr 2021Not bad for a business that closed 800 shops in the pandemic Well I hate to sound like kiwi….. but it was mostly Trumps fault.
Back in March last year… the UK government roll out a stimulus program.
See:
On March 27, President Donald Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act.
See:
https://www.oberlo.co.uk/blog/us-stimulus-package
The main difference was there was no furlong scheme in the US. $500 billion to large corporations & $377 billion to small businesses without the key condition of keeping staff.
In simple terms these corporations & businesses took the cash and cut there work force.
The other issue was health care and out of work support. In America health care isn’t free and long term support for the employment is next to nothing. In the UK its not the same.
The bottom line is simple. Trumps government spend 6 times as much on there stimulus package with 4 times the population of the UK. While the UK is starting to recover and get back to work, American business isn’t.
So linda where do you think the $2 trillion stimulus package money went?
Let me give you a clue
October 29, 2020 — Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2020 fourth quarter ended September 26, 2020. The Company posted record September quarter revenue of $64.7 billion and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $0.73.
