Who are you voting for?

[grizzleb]

Whilst being grilled by Paxman on the telly yesterday evening, the Green party leader Caroline Lucas mentioned their 'Citizen's Income' policy: 'an unconditional payment made to each individual as a right of citizenship.'

Good idea?

I like it. Or, you could basically tax any income 100% over a certain amount. Does anyone need to be able to earn over £300,000 a year? What other daft, half-considered ideas for taxing/welfare/whatever have people thought up?

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

What other daft, half-considered ideas for taxing/welfare/whatever have people thought up?

Reaganomics

 

[mixed_biscuits]

I like it. Or, you could basically tax any income 100% over a certain amount. Does anyone need to be able to earn over £300,000 a year? What other daft, half-considered ideas for taxing/welfare/whatever have people thought up?

Taxing at 100% would effectively be banning salaries above that level - bad news for Rooney, et al, however much say they may have in the cash they attract to their employers.

Maybe we could look forward to watching the premier league played out in Swiss stadia!

 

[mixed_biscuits]

New question: if you live in a super safe seat so noone gives a shit how you vote anyway (www.voterpower.org.uk reckons I have 0.017 of a vote, although that is a pro electoral reform site so they'll be choosing their scale to exaggerate the effect as much as possible), what's the best protest?

Not to pick on you in particular, Slothrop, but isn't it a logical error to see voting in a safe seat as being less 'useful' than the others - similar to thinking that a win late in the season, to take the league, is worth more than one earlier on?

Another way of looking at it would be to consider that the losing votes in a marginal seat would be worth less than those in a safe seat, as you have a larger number of voters whose preferences are 'ignored.'

Or, alternatively, a 'safe seat' is nothing more than an overwhelming show of voter power.

 

[massrock]

You do have the power, May the 4th be with you.

http://torymergency.webfreehosting.net/

 

[Slothrop]

Not to pick on you in particular, Slothrop, but isn't it a logical error to see voting in a safe seat as being less 'useful' than the others - similar to thinking that a win late in the season, to take the league, is worth more than one earlier on?

Another way of looking at it would be to consider that the losing votes in a marginal seat would be worth less than those in a safe seat, as you have a larger number of voters whose preferences are 'ignored.'

Or, alternatively, a 'safe seat' is nothing more than an overwhelming show of voter power.

No.

If 1000 people in Tottenham are against a policy and 500 people in (say) Enfield Southgate are in favour of it, then a sensible political party is going to support that policy because the odd thousand in Tottenham makes no difference whereas the 500 in Enfield could easily swing the result.

Hence I have less influence on political decision making than I would if I was voting in Enfield.

 

[mixed_biscuits]

If 1000 people in Tottenham are against a policy and 500 people in (say) Enfield Southgate are in favour of it, then a sensible political party is going to support that policy because the odd thousand in Tottenham makes no difference whereas the 500 in Enfield could easily swing the result.

Hence I have less influence on political decision making than I would if I was voting in Enfield.

Ah, okay.

 

[crackerjack]

Lib Dems slipping everywhere

Down to 24 in tomorrow's YouGov, 3rd in the poll of polls

Nation out of step with Dissensus

 

[hucks]

Nation out of step with Dissensus

As per fucking usual

 

[paolo]

Green Party bwoyyyyyeeee :flavaflav:

Felt lovely walking back from the polling station in the spring sunshine

 

[Tentative Andy]

Just got off the subway where a friendly bloke from the Anarchist Federation was handing everyone in the carriage pamphlets explaining why the best option was not to vote at all. Sadly in my case it was already far too late...

 

[Mr. Tea]

Smiley Tory woman outside the polling station said "Thank you!" as I left just now; I should have said "What for?". I'd gone there straight from work...hope she wasn't assuming I'd voted Tory just because I'm white and was wearing a suit.

Shit, I've been STEREOTYPED!

 

[vimothy]

I imagine you in pinstripes, Mr Tea--I hope this is true.

 

[scottdisco]

Smiley Tory woman outside the polling station said "Thank you!" as I left just now; I should have said "What for?". I'd gone there straight from work...hope she wasn't assuming I'd voted Tory just because I'm white and was wearing a suit.

Shit, I've been STEREOTYPED!

i went to the polling station in grey jogging bottoms and a grey hoodie and black trainers. the Lib Dem and Tory folk outside the station gave me a berth. i too know the pain of stereotyping

 

[scottdisco]

I imagine you in pinstripes, Mr Tea--I hope this is true.

IIRC Tea does have a good line in fancy brollies? (i may be making that up.)

 

[Tentative Andy]

Only seemed to have SNP and Labour folks outside of my local polling booth. The SNP lot were friendly enough, approached each person, gave a few polite, brief but constructive words about why to vote for their candidate.
The couple of Labour campaigners were very moany, seemed to be only interested in picking fights with/yelling negative slogans at the SNP campaigners. You'd think they might have learned by now that they need to, y'know, engage people and make themselves appealing to them and all that stuff. (But at least they bothered to show up, I guess).

 

[crackerjack]

Only seemed to have SNP and Labour folks outside of my local polling booth. The SNP lot were friendly enough, approached each person, gave a few polite, brief but constructive words about why to vote for their candidate.
The couple of Labour campaigners were very moany, seemed to be only interested in picking fights with/yelling negative slogans at the SNP campaigners. You'd think they might have learned by now that they need to, y'know, engage people and make themselves appealing to them and all that stuff. (But at least they bothered to show up, I guess).

So was that allowed? The poll booth I was manning, the police turned up and barred people from gving out leaflets and me from taking polling-card numbers.

Respect looked like they were trying to walk Asian voters into the booth half the time.

 

[crackerjack]

Smiley Tory woman outside the polling station said "Thank you!" as I left just now; I should have said "What for?". I'd gone there straight from work...hope she wasn't assuming I'd voted Tory just because I'm white and was wearing a suit.

Shit, I've been STEREOTYPED!

All the Tories at mine were wearing suits - they were all lawyers on their day off. What kind of freaks are these people?

 

[hucks]

There were fucking loads of young Bangladeshis in Tory t shirts outside my polling station on the way home. Which is not the stereotype.

 

[grizzleb]

Got a heavy first time vote on earlier. Felt badass exercising my democratic rights. Felt like shouting 'democracy baby' as I hit up the ballot box.