Poverty Documentaries

(24-01-2015 10:56 )HannahsPet Wrote:  in the victorian times the actual owners of wealth used to live in the communities and as a result used to spend a lot of money building houses for workers and other projects

You're absolutely correct of course. National benefactors and altruistic philanthropy were very important factors in the development of European nations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Without that sort of input, it's hard to see how taxation and government alone can sustain such developed societies. You only have to look at Greece, recently bankrupted, and compare with how well the country was developed to a highly sophisticated degree thanks to men such as George Averoff (google him).
The other key aspect was that, apart from philanthropic tycoons, who as you say don't really exist anymore, almost all politicians of the time went into the game later in life and had at least worked, lived and seen how the world really works. We can hardly expect today's (and I hate to use a cliched term) privileged lot to have a clue about the truth of life and poverty in Britain today.
It is, of course, a colossal shame.

Missing key events. Talking bollocks. Making stuff up.
~~~SAVE THE KRILL!~~~

There are some still left like bill gates and Warren buffet but very rare

There is no difference between the 3 main parties, all of them play politics with peoples lives while not giving a toss about them, they deliberately set out to divide and conquer. They are supported by various news outlets who run articles designed to stir emotions, which is the point of the aforementioned programmes and tabloid stories. Miliband, Clegg and Cameron three university educated tossers who have never done a decent days work in their privileged lives, they are more than happy to see the people fighting amongst themselves as it diverts attention away from their own inadequacies and incompetence.

(24-01-2015 12:36 )HannahsPet Wrote:  There are some still left like bill gates and Warren buffet but very rare

I stand corrected! And am very glad to be, too. Yes, that last word's the rub though, in't it? Still, maybe the rash of Secret Millionaire/Benefits Street-style rich/poor-divide themed shows will reignite the argument in a manner which will genuinely cause more of those who have the influence and power to consider doing something about it? I'm not saying it's the responsibility of the rich to help the poor; that's tantamount to communism (I know it isn't really! ), but it isn't the responsibility of the masses to elect a representative to go and be gilded & corrupted at our expense and tolerate it either.*
*That may be a straw man, but really it's not meant to be a direct comparison. And nor am I too convinced that a discussion on the Babeshows Forum will change the outlook for society's underclass. *Cue outrage*

Missing key events. Talking bollocks. Making stuff up.
~~~SAVE THE KRILL!~~~

(24-01-2015 10:56 )HannahsPet Wrote:  feel sorry for the tories because they always have to follow labour goverments who spend way to much money and then the tories have to come in an balance the books. ok i dont always like the way the tories go about balancing the books

Good post.
Don't agree with the snippet above though - Labour came into power in 1964 and the incoming Chancellor found a note on his desk "Sorry about the mess". They then spent years putting off a devaluation and eventually had to give in, and never really recovered their credibility as a result. I believe somebody in Nu Labour left a similar note for the ConDems as a kind of tit for tat when Pa Broon's mob were finally booted out of office.

Similarly, Tory Edward Heath's chancellor encouraged a credit card debt spree in the 1970-74 parliament - and Labour then inherited a hell of a mess in 1974 : three day week etc. Ok you could argue it was "lefty anarchists" bringing the government down - but the economic conditions were a gift to them. At this point neither Labour nor Tories had a clue - similar to now, and the public vote was inconclusive - Harold Wilson coming back in being seen as the slightly lesser of two evils, cos at least a Labour govt in theory had a better chance of negotiating with trades unions.


So they're all prone to the same behaviour as far as I can see.

Philanthrophic industrialists - yes interesting.

My guess would be there were a lot more of these in 19th century, and to an extent in early 20th because - as well as the factors mentioned already by others - religion was a lot stronger ?

I'm not religious myself, but we probably shouldn't underestimate the power of the concept of "Christian charity" and the wealthy's "fear for their souls" as an influence on their actions. That imperative doesn't exist in the same way anymore.

But the risks to society and infrastructure etc of a "beggar my neighbour" attitude by the wealthy really should give them pause for thought - when they care to glance at the state of things outside on their limousines as they drive into their gated fortresses or as they look out of their helicopter windows ?

I quite like the Secret Millionaire, from what ones I've seen, but I do recognise it's just as set up in its way as any show. Even the news is a set-up, really.

The level of benefit fraud is at worst about 3%. The Daily Mail or the average telly "expose" would have you believe it was more like 80%. Any half-decent statistician would tell you that 3% is a typical margin of error anyway.

Far more welfare money is spent by government on the elderly than so-called scroungers or immigrants. Good luck expecting many progs about that.

Thats cos the country is aimed for the elderly with now 1 in 10 pensioners being a millionaire on paper and yet they still moan and they are listened to because they vote. thats why i think a none of the above and compulsory voting would change things thats why they wont do it. the partys like low turnout for elections because it keeps the status quo as it is

How many on here who had a £ 1 million pound house would sell it and go and live somewhere nice with some cash to live a really nice life somewhere else

(25-01-2015 07:19 )HannahsPet Wrote:  "now 1 in 10 pensioners being a millionaire on paper"

How many on here who had a £ 1 million pound house would sell it and go and live somewhere nice with some cash to live a really nice life somewhere else

Where are these old millionaires? I need to get me a nice ailing old GIWNLF mistress of about 93 and then, I play the wai-ting gaaame-ah.

And yes, I would sell the heck straight up and invest vastly and smartly. Then I could re-retire in five to ten years and live like a prince. Seriously, i do know of a penny-pinching millionaire just north of Dorch and he is THE meanest, cheapest, most chiselling bar steward God evah put on this planet, in His 'infinite wisdom'. I mean, he's got a beautiful house and enough money, but he internet compares prices like someone on benefits would (sorry!) which is okay logic I guess, but I mean the guy DRESSES like a bloomin' DUSTMAN!!! What. Is. The. Point. of all that wealth if you just tie it up in bricks'n'mortar and live like a rich tramp? So yeah, while I am on the property ladder myself (a handy Get Out of Jail Free card if I ever Really Hit The Skids), it's not enough that I could downsize and suddenly find that I'm positively well-off. But a million-pound property? Yeah; turn it all into cash and start again with a new plan.
Actually, I feel that anyone with enough determination and discipline could play the same trick with whatever resources they have, provided they're not bringing up five kids single-handedly of course. It is a lot like hard work when you've limited means though, and a blow-out of two KFCs a month could ruin it. Maybe we should all do the Trading Places thing once a decade, so that nobody loses touch? *aaaah - Idea!*

(Just like to point out, those quote marks are not the author's own work, and have been put there by me purely to bastardize the original text and give a false impression that it was a genuine quote from somewhere else which HannahsPet referenced.)

Missing key events. Talking bollocks. Making stuff up.
~~~SAVE THE KRILL!~~~