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colinefb

Listed below are comments made by colinefb between Wednesday, 18th June 2008 and Monday, 28th July 2008.

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What's said and what's not 5:27pm on 28 Jul 2008 To T A Griffin,

I haven't commented on here for a while. In fact, bizarrely, the last time I commented on these blogs I was quite rude to you. I did subsequently try to post another comment that apologised for my rudeness, but a technical issue meant it never posted successfully. I hope you'll take me at my word on that one.

Anyway, more relevantly, I did google your son, Ben Griffin, and read the articles. What a brave and principled man, and what a loss to our armed forces! I wish him every success in life outside the army. Will he go into politics?
Not the economy, stupid 4:38pm on 19 Jun 2008 #114

Hello MonkeyBot5000.

To be honest, I was just trying to be polite to the person who posted #102. If I was being impolite I might have said something along the lines of "what a load rubbish you're spouting about pensions, you clearly don't know what you're talking about you cretin."

As you can see, in post #112 I was slightly less polite. Now I suppose I've been rude. Could have saved everyone two posts and just gone for the cretin option straight away.

As for your last paragraph, I think you are confusing my request for the poster to inject a little humility into his/her statement (ie implicitly accept that other people may hold a different opinion) with an inability to distinguish fact from opinion.
Problem of inflation 12:29pm on 19 Jun 2008 #193
What about personal responsibility?! If you took out a mortgage you could not afford then you have to take the risk of interest rates rising. You can't expect the government to step in and bail you out.

Everything that is going on now in the housing market is a correction of the ridiculous housing bubble of recent years, and an antidote to the British public's myopic belief that house prices always go up over any period of ownership. It might be painful, but this is necessary (and long overdue). The very last thing the government should be doing is trying to tinker with this.
Not the economy, stupid 10:35am on 19 Jun 2008 #110
Just because it keeps the debate a little more civilised.

Not doing so also diminishes any value attached to your comments, as it comes across as a presentation of fact - when so clearly it is just your opinion.

As a matter of interest, what would the basic state pension be now if had remained linked to National Average Earnings since the 80s? As a further matter of interest, it was my understanding that the NAEI link would not be restored until at least 2012, four years away. Does your crystal ball tell you what RPI and NAEI will be at that point. You seem to know so much, it would be useful to know....
Not the economy, stupid 09:57am on 19 Jun 2008 #102

be nice if you could remember to add "in my opinion", or something similar, when you're making posts like that.
Not the economy, stupid 5:41pm on 18 Jun 2008 #72

What I meant, and probably didn't articulate very well, is that "proper socialism" is merely a theoretical creation. In my opinion it cannot meaningfully exist (ie outside of tiny communities) in the real world because human nature gets in the way and there will always be people who subvert the system to leave themselves "more equal than others" (to continue that theme).

Capitalism is not the "best" solution, but it is - again, in my opinon - the only one that can successfully provide a framework for society whislt accommodating the shortcomings of human beings. Then, to make up for the shortcomings of the capitalist model the state must introduce the necessary safety nets and opportunities (broadly, "the welfare state" and high quality education for all). As far as I am aware this is classic "centre ground" politics - and I don't mourn the fact that all parties have gravitated in this direction from their respective extremes.
Problem of inflation 5:32pm on 18 Jun 2008 I wonder how many posts we might have got up to on the Divisive Davis thread if Kiwilegs had not been abroad? Might have blown up the servers at BBC HQ....
Not the economy, stupid 5:29pm on 18 Jun 2008 #69

I don't disagree with you. Measurement is extremely difficult. I guess it probably lies in the hands of the Public Accounts Committee, I'm not sure which other body might really have the clout and the resources to really consider all of the issues.

On a personal note, I was very sorry to read about your son and I wish you every strength in looking after your wife.
Not the economy, stupid 4:42pm on 18 Jun 2008 #59 One good thing about New Labour is that they shifted the spectrum of political policy away from the truly disasterous extemes of the left. Free markets and capitalims have a lot of faults in terms of social welfare, but these pale in insgnificance when you compare them with the (Orwellian) Animal Farm consequences of pursuing a genuinely left wing agenda.
Not the economy, stupid 4:31pm on 18 Jun 2008 regarding schools and hospitals. Surely it is not about whether these places have improved, what is relevant is the extent to which these places have improved relative to the amount of money that has been spent on them.

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