The 2015 Popularity Contest (aka UK General Election )

[Bruce Wayne]

do your figures there not confuse "working age" with "in work"? And aren't we working age at 16 (so may still be in education)

Ultimately I agree with you though, pensions are essentially unsustainable. Final Salary is the most amazing and at the same time preposterous thing I'd ever heard

Generally speaking I think the ratio looks at things from a simple age perspective, as obviously some people carry on working past 65, just as some people of working age don't work. I suspect if you calculated it using those actually in work, it becomes even less attractive.

 

[EverBlue86]

Where's your proof for this like ?

Life experience mate, western countries by large are quite lazy compared to countries such as China, Japan, Poland, tbf to polish brickies they work their arses off and do it for alot less money than what we would want (a problem in itself there) travel to Japan or China and see how much time kids put into education, although that does have its own problems such as increase in suicides. But it's night and day compared to our society

 

[L4Everton]

why not make it compulsory to enter into apprenticeships, college courses that are useful not film/media studies etc. From school rather than once year 11 ends do as you please

Some children have been utterly failed by schools already, forcing them onto Maths and Chemistry A-levels only ends one way. The exasperated already suggest a year or two military service, (discipline, learning skills...)

 

[orly]

Where's your proof for this like ?

It's absolute tosh.

Makes you laugh when they cite Koreans as being the hardest working "because they are in the office the most hours". They sleep for an hour after lunch ffs at their desks, play sports on a Wednesday afternoon etc etc

 

[orly]

Life experience mate, western countries by large are quite lazy compared to countries such as China, Japan, Poland, tbf to polish brickies they work their arses off and do it for alot less money than what we would want (a problem in itself there) travel to Japan or China and see how much time kids put into education, although that does have its own problems such as increase in suicides. But it's night and day compared to our society

CHINA?!?!?!?!?!?!

You have got to be absolutely joking - that can't be firsthand, living over there experience or you would know that is tosherino

 

[L4Everton]

Peston here argues that if a company accountant used the same method the state uses then they would quite probably be sent to jail. Which is comforting.

The current Tesco fiasco is testament to that. Regards French retirement, haven't they become a lot less giving in terms of citizenship and so qualification for said retirements?

 

[L4Everton]

CHINA?!?!?!?!?!?!

You have got to be absolutely joking - that can't be firsthand, living over there experience or you would know that is tosherino

Didn't he play for Leeds?

 

[EverBlue86]

CHINA?!?!?!?!?!?!

You have got to be absolutely joking - that can't be firsthand, living over there experience or you would know that is tosherino

Aye sure mate, that's why my partners just come back from a conference in shanghai were schools in this country want to try adopt their system (albeit not the hours that they do)

Theirs a reason China is gonna be the future super power of this world

 

[Brennan]

Life experience mate, western countries by large are quite lazy compared to countries such as China, Japan, Poland, tbf to polish brickies they work their arses off and do it for alot less money than what we would want (a problem in itself there) travel to Japan or China and see how much time kids put into education, although that does have its own problems such as increase in suicides. But it's night and day compared to our society

Working long hours is not the same as working hard.

 

[EverBlue86]

Working long hours is not the same as working hard.

It's just the attitude to work/education. In general kids from asia/eastern countries value their education and are pushed by their parents rightly or wrongly. Their is a problem with kids being flogged to death with education in certain countries but their attitude Is positive to it. Over here we don't do as much, we laugh at the "swats" who do their homework and get the top grades etc. It's just a totally different culture to ours.

In work it's the same not everyone unemployed but we do have an Issue with people who don't want to work or think their above certain jobs, I know a lad who's been in and out of jobs never held one down and didn't work for about 7 years after leaving school because he wanted a salaried job from the get go and not build his way up from a cashier or shop assistant etc. It's part of our culture sadly for many people, now offer that job to someone from Poland they would jump at it theirs the difference in attitude. Again not everyone but you do see it

 

[L4Everton]

Theirs a reason China is gonna be the future super power of this world

Yeah but can they conjure up any rock n roll?

 

[Eggs]

do your figures there not confuse "working age" with "in work"? And aren't we working age at 16 (so may still be in education)

Ultimately I agree with you though, pensions are essentially unsustainable. Final Salary is the most amazing and at the same time preposterous thing I'd ever heard

....I'm fortunate to be on the verge of my final salary pension. That was an agreement with my employer when I started work in 1975 and I will have paid into that scheme for close on 41 years by the time I retire. Not sure that's preposterous, I like to think that I have given good value to my employer and will never be reliant on state benefits after the age of 60.

 

[roydo]

....I'm fortunate to be on the verge of my final salary pension. That was an agreement with my employer when I started work in 1975 and I will have paid into that scheme for close on 41 years by the time I retire. Not sure that's preposterous, I like to think that I have given good value to my employer and will never be reliant on state benefits after the age of 60.

I think the lad meant the concept of them mate. Which seeing that the vast majority of Final Salary pensions are in the Public Sector these days , thus underwritten by the Government, he has a point. The cost to an Employer, well most of them, would be ruinous now.

 

[orly]

Aye sure mate, that's why my partners just come back from a conference in shanghai were schools in this country want to try adopt their system (albeit not the hours that they do)

Theirs a reason China is gonna be the future super power of this world

The hours the kids do in Chinese schools?!?!

Mate I worked in one, it's hilarious fun for the kids.

We are venerating all things China because we want some of their good dosh.

I can assure you mate that any wealthy Chinese person is frantically sending their kids abroad or to Foreign schools set up in the city like Dulwich in Shanghai... which operates a European model.

@Brennan has it spot on. Long hours does not mean higher productivity or harder working

 

[Clint Planet]

More likely the scope of their research was limited by the funding available.

Come on Clint, you're better than that. On a very simple level, do you not agree that reliability of research results is increased where the sample size is bigger?

I think 5,000 families is a pretty sizeable sample, though I'm no statistician. Are you? Or are you just guessing with that lazy "maybe they didn't have enough funding" comment?

(And, did you by any chance find that example of me "correcting" your grammar? You've posted earlier on this thread that you sent it to me but we both know that isn't the case. I'm happy to hold my hands up if found to be guilty but I genuinesly don't recall it)