Quote:
Originally Posted by LewisM
Much like the state of politics.
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What state of politics? That is such a wide ranging statement Lewis, and many have made the same statement.
I have no idea what the state of politics are, not a flaming clue, and I doubt many really do, unless they are an economist, an accountant or a political analyst, or something along those lines. Yes, I could believe everything I hear or read in the news or from other sources, but based on that it is merely hearsay. It is not a source of 'primary information'. It is a 'secondary source' thus must be analysed and research thoroughly to ensure its validity and needs to be checked against the 'primary source', if possible. Have you done this? I sure haven't. There is a major bias and that is that you can get facts to fit your particular argument. I am sure guilty of this, but I do try to keep an open mind, but that isn't always so easy, particularly in the heat of discussion.
Sorry, but you have said this in the thread earlier, but failed back that with any real facts, or sources, and without empirical evidence it is merely conjecture, nothing more. And that is essentially the problem, most people are basically clueless, me included, about the real state of politics and the economy, simply because we are not politicians or work within the political machinery. Nor would I want to.
The only thing I can say for a fact though, my belly is full and I have a roof over my head, and as long as I have that, all is well. I can still pay my bills and that hasn't changed. Things haven't really got any harder. I have spreadsheets, of my monthly budget, going back 15 years or more and these demonstrate that I haven't been going backwards either. Yes, cost of living pressures have risen, but so has my income. Sure I haven't got much further ahead, but I haven't gone backwards either, relatively speaking. So, nothing has really changed.
As for the cost of living, well.......it just isn't free. I don't like paying taxes as much as the next man, but it is one of the two certainties in life. Nothing has really changed there. Do I have control over how those taxes are spent? No I don't, so I am not going to worry about it. What gets done, will get done. Can I change that, well maybe, if I can do something, I do it, regardless whether I make a difference or not. At least I have tried.
I cannot say who is and isn't doing, or will do, a good job, as I lack totally understanding of the countries actual economic or political state of affairs, nor the capability of the politicians concerned. After all, I don't get to see their curriculum vitae. Nor do I actually analyse the state of a our budget, and probably wouldn't understand it anyway, if I did. So I cannot, in good conscience, say anything about an individual that I have no contact with, as all I have is hearsay about their performance. And, furthermore, listening to Question Time isn't any more illuminating either, as our system is based on an adversarial system, that is the Opposition will mostly oppose anything anyway, and later introduce what they oppose.
Without a full understanding of politics and economics, I doubt anyone can make that statements with any real meaning.
I know I will end up with a politician, whether I like them or not. I am not a swinging voter, as I have a definite position based on ideology and not by its characters, which come and go anyway. mI haven't changed that position in 40 years.
Cheers Peter
