I have recently lambasted train travel simply because I don't see the benefits over using the car other than for specific trips like getting from Folkstone to Calais.
But today I did one of my round trips to Reading, and the short Birmingham to Derby leg of the return trip was made in conversation with a lady who boarded in what can only be described as an harassed state, having experienced delays and missed connections on a return trip from delivering her son to her ex-husband.
This lady was returning to her home in Sheffield virtually penniless, but looking forward to starting a new job - her first with pay above the minimum rate laid down by the government. Good news but tinged with the knowledge that her husband of one year cannot join her in the UK under changes that came into force on 9th July. So she finds herself having to save to afford the flights out to visit him at his home in Jamaica.
Sue and I have holidayed in Jamaica and she has lived there over the years so we had something in common and chatted freely, but in reality our lives are worlds apart. However, her lively chat and openness made that short journey a gem that will be remembered and I wish her every success in her new job and hope she finds a solution to the issues that confront her in her private life.
Wednesday 15 August 2012
Thursday 9 August 2012
Politicians - more perks
Politicians continue to find more ways of sticking the taxes we pay into their pockets. The latest ruse is to "learn a foreign language". Now when I was preparing for my trip to France in June 2011 I looked at courses available locally, with the price typically working out at around £120. However, due to the pressures on my time I decided on a CD/DVD learning based learning that set me back the grand sum of £18 off eBay (2 courses, one £10 and the other £8). OK, not everyone uses eBay. Not everyone gets on with electronic learning. But our fabulous politicians have claimed sums varying from circa £600 up to £1600 to learn languages including French, Italian and Mandarin.
Now if I have to fund my own learning, and you have to fund your own learning why the hell do we have to fund over paid politicians learning?
Now if I have to fund my own learning, and you have to fund your own learning why the hell do we have to fund over paid politicians learning?
A "Dummies" guide to Banking
A "Dummies" guide to what went wrong in Banking. (Acknowledgements to the unknown author, this is not my work but is truly worthy of further publication)....
Helga is the proprietor of a bar. She realizes that virtually all of her customers are unemployed alcoholics and, as such, can no longer afford to patronize her bar. To solve this problem she comes up with a new marketing plan that allows her customers to drink now, but pay later.
Helga keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby effectively granting her customers' loans). Word soon gets around about Helga's "drink now, pay later" marketing strategy and, as a result, increasing numbers of customers flood into Helga's bar. Soon she has the largest sales volume for any bar in town.
By providing her customer's freedom from immediate payment demands Helga gets no resistance when, at regular intervals, she substantially increases her prices for wine and beer - the most consumed beverages. Consequently, Helga's gross sales volumes and paper profits increase massively.
A young and dynamic Manager at the local bank recognizes that these customer debts constitute valuable future assets and increases Helga's borrowing limit. He sees no reason for any undue concern, since he has the debts of the unemployed alcoholics as collateral. He is rewarded with a six figure bonus.
At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert traders figure a way to make huge commissions by transforming these customer loans into DRINKBONDS. These "securities" are then bundled and traded on international securities markets.
One day, even though the bond prices are still climbing, a risk manager at the original local bank decides that the time has come to demand payment on the debts incurred by the drinkers at Helga's bar. He so informs Helga.
Helga then demands payment from her alcoholic patrons but, being unemployed alcoholics, they cannot pay back their drinking debts. Since Helga cannot fulfil her loan obligations she is forced into bankruptcy. The bar closes and Helga's 11 employees lose their jobs.
The suppliers of Helga's bar had granted her generous payment extensions and had invested their firms' pension funds in the BOND securities. They find they are now faced with having to write off her bad debt and with losing over 90% of the presumed value of the bonds. Her wine supplier also claims bankruptcy, closing the doors on a family business that had endured for three generations; her beer supplier is taken over by a competitor, who immediately closes the local plant and lays off 150 workers.
Fortunately though, the bank, the brokerage houses and their respective executives are saved and bailed out by a multi-billion dollar no-strings attached cash infusion from the government.
They all receive a six figure bonus.
The funds required for this bailout are obtained by new taxes levied on employed, middle-class, non-drinkers who've never been in Helga's bar.
Now do you understand?
Helga is the proprietor of a bar. She realizes that virtually all of her customers are unemployed alcoholics and, as such, can no longer afford to patronize her bar. To solve this problem she comes up with a new marketing plan that allows her customers to drink now, but pay later.
Helga keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby effectively granting her customers' loans). Word soon gets around about Helga's "drink now, pay later" marketing strategy and, as a result, increasing numbers of customers flood into Helga's bar. Soon she has the largest sales volume for any bar in town.
By providing her customer's freedom from immediate payment demands Helga gets no resistance when, at regular intervals, she substantially increases her prices for wine and beer - the most consumed beverages. Consequently, Helga's gross sales volumes and paper profits increase massively.
A young and dynamic Manager at the local bank recognizes that these customer debts constitute valuable future assets and increases Helga's borrowing limit. He sees no reason for any undue concern, since he has the debts of the unemployed alcoholics as collateral. He is rewarded with a six figure bonus.
At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert traders figure a way to make huge commissions by transforming these customer loans into DRINKBONDS. These "securities" are then bundled and traded on international securities markets.
Naive investors don't really understand that the securities being sold to them as "AA Secured Bonds" are really debts of unemployed alcoholics. Nevertheless, the bond prices continuously climb and the securities soon become the hottest-selling items for some of the nation's leading brokerage houses.
The traders all receive a six figure bonus.
One day, even though the bond prices are still climbing, a risk manager at the original local bank decides that the time has come to demand payment on the debts incurred by the drinkers at Helga's bar. He so informs Helga.
Helga then demands payment from her alcoholic patrons but, being unemployed alcoholics, they cannot pay back their drinking debts. Since Helga cannot fulfil her loan obligations she is forced into bankruptcy. The bar closes and Helga's 11 employees lose their jobs.
Overnight, DRINKBOND prices drop by 90%. The collapsed bond asset value destroys the bank's liquidity and prevents it from issuing new loans, thus freezing credit and economic activity in the community.
The suppliers of Helga's bar had granted her generous payment extensions and had invested their firms' pension funds in the BOND securities. They find they are now faced with having to write off her bad debt and with losing over 90% of the presumed value of the bonds. Her wine supplier also claims bankruptcy, closing the doors on a family business that had endured for three generations; her beer supplier is taken over by a competitor, who immediately closes the local plant and lays off 150 workers.
Fortunately though, the bank, the brokerage houses and their respective executives are saved and bailed out by a multi-billion dollar no-strings attached cash infusion from the government.
They all receive a six figure bonus.
The funds required for this bailout are obtained by new taxes levied on employed, middle-class, non-drinkers who've never been in Helga's bar.
Now do you understand?
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