Greg2607

24% less GDP now versus the trend up to 2008..... We never really recovered from the Financial Crisis and then Austerity has stripped out all the potential growth. It's been a disastrous 15 years or so.

Can we go back to square one yet??

if anyone is interested in learning more about this topic.... this video is solid.

and yet for future retiring generations, the combination of state and private pensions won't be enough to provide a comfortable level of income in retirement. The vast majority of people currently working in the UK, aren't saving enough to provide for themselves in retirement. 82% of workers, has less than 15% of total contributions into their private pension. The Pension Commision themselves say that 15% is the minimum amount people should be putting aside. I suspect that most of us look at people in retirement and think they have it relatively good (which is true for many) which lulls us into a false sense of security that we will have it the same.... in most cases, we won't.

1 million seconds is 11 days...... 1 billion seconds is 31.5 years..... That's the scale of the wealth that some people have. The difference is gargantuan.

It genuinely isn't about envy. It's about a fair share. If someone earning £120,000 through PAYE can be taxed at 60%, then how is it fair or equitable that someone with a yearly income at £2.3m can pay roughly 20%? If you want to be a British citizen, then contribute fairly to society. Jim Ratcliffe's wealth grows exponentially each year and yet I suspect he still minimises his personal tax liability. I don't think people realise how much money £1bn is. If the general population really realised how the super rich operate, they would soon come to realise that it's not the top 10% of earners (which is a salary over £52k btw) that is making their life more difficult. £4bn might not sound much in overall terms, you are right. But it might feel like a lot if it were focused purely on raising children out of destitution and poverty. Or if that £4bn annually, was spent on building social housing to get the homeless off the streets. It doesn't has to solve ALL our ills, but it can help to prove society overall. The other option of course is just to make the guy earning £120,000 pay 65% tax and perpetuate the belief that it's HIM that's making the poor feel poor.

I think with Ipswichs' recent struggles and Southampton losing tonight, that's promotion pretty much guaranteed now. We aren't losing 5 more games than the others on the run in.

oh I totally agree that their lifestyles aren't "comparable"........ someone on £125k a year is earning around £6,500 a month after tax......... but if someone has £20m or more, they are earning over £800,000 in interest alone, at 4% growth... after tax, that's £35,000 a month...... and that's purely interest....... so the £25k earner and the £125,000 earner, have far more in common in their personal situations, than the person with £20m in wealth. I don't think the general population see that though.

the problem, is that we've been led to believe for years, that someone on £25,000 and someone on £125,000 are pitched against each other.... when the reality, is that essentially, they are both in the same boat. (admittedly, with very different lifestyles and disposable incomes) NEITHER of them are earning enough to be "Rich".... it's the people with earnings in the millions and wealth at eye watering proportions that are hoarding the money across society. Take Sunak as an example........... he is "worth" £730m........ we should tax his total wealth at 2% a year...... it would provide £15m of taxes into the coffers........... BUT because of the way rich people invest, it's highly likely that his £730m is growing at least 4% a year.... so his wealth still goes up... next year he's worth £745m, but he's paid £15m back into the system whilst increasing his wealth. do this across everyone that is "super rich" (anything above £10m) and I think you'd see we would have plenty of money to improve the country. I promise you, it isn't the Surgeons, Managing Directors, CFO's or Sales Directors that are the root cause of inequality across society. There are 10,000 people in the UK worth more than £20m....... tax their wealth at 2% and it provides a minimum of £4bn a year in tax income....

As much as I hate saying this, but I think Vardy would be an absolute passenger in the Premier League next year if we extended his contract. If he is purely there to pass his wisdom on to Daka and Cannon, then I could possibly see a place for him, but it's been a good couple of seasons since he was consistently showing defenders a clean set of heels. if he doesn't have that explosive pace anymore (which i think we can all agree, he doesn't) then I don't see how he could be effective. Offer him a role as an assistant coach if he wants to stay in the game (a bit like we did with Kevin Phillips) If you look at strikers to play in the Premier League in the last 10 years, Only Peter Crouch and Ronaldo would have been older than Vardy going into the 24/25 season. Neither of those were effective in their final seasons.

unrelated... sort of, but how are we all feeling about Sunak getting an hour long "Q&A" on GB News this evening? I understand not many people watch it.... but feels like our democratic standards are at an all time low in the UK.

none of it will make the mainstream press either as the King's Cancer diagnosis will push this into the weeds. It's such a despicable thing to do. it's almost like the bullingdon club mandate of burning £50 notes in front of homeless people. They are all cut from the same cloth.

We are doing Barcelona at the end of March, so any recommendations gratefully received.

if you are going to the Amalfi Coast, depending on how you get there, the vesuviana railway is notorious for pick pockets. I had my phone and wallet taken and I didn't have a clue! didn't feel a thing. so be alert for that, they are super clever. In terms of Naples, I felt safe everywhere I went, but the area up near the train station is pretty sketchy, so only go there during the day (there isn't that much to see at that end of town, it's fairly industrial. Castel Dell'Ovo and the surrounding area is really nice. Marble lined streets, good restaurants and great for both a day time and a night time walk. But as a top tip, if you head out at about 17:00 anywhere in italy and order a cocktail, they also bring you free food. The italians tend to eat late at night, so "happy hour" is great for topping up on arrancinni! There is one long street through the centre of naples that is full of little pop up food stalls (I forget what it's called, but it's worth googling) - you can walk along that one evening and have loads of cheap snacks and great food. The underground caverns are fascinating as well, full of relics from WW2. I'd definitely recommend doing that!

The beauty of Rome is that you can literally just walk around and you'll stumble onto things that are incredible: - Highlights for me though. Clearly, you are going to do St. Peters Basillica, but make sure you also do the rooftop. The views across Rome and St Peters is stunning. I don't like heights, but I loved it up there. Someone else has mentioned Trestevere. It's brilliant. Especially in the evenings for food and drink and a really great atmosphere. Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain as well as the Pantheon are all pretty close to each other... so try to group them together where you can. Be careful of pick pockets and scam artists on the Spanish Steps. The old Forum is well worth a visit. Colloseum, Forum and the Emmanualle Vitoria Momument are all pretty much in a straight line with each other, so you can group them together well. but the biggest advice I have, is be prepared to get up "relatively" early and get to places early. Otherwise you'll waste most of your break queueing, even if you buy tickets in advance. The crowds in Rome can be insane. Enjoy the food though, have an aperol spritz and look for traffic when you cross the roads, the Romans are crazy drivers!

The 32 point gap to Boro already told me this! 🤣

Shows how important George hirst is for them.

Now rearranged to the 18th May, with each fighter putting in £10m as a deposit, which the other fighter gets if someone withdraws. No card at all though on 17th and Hrgovic now gets into the undercard (I assume as step aside money for his mandatory)

Assuming PNE win, I think we can pretty much discount ipswich as a threat for the league now.

Played for 30 years but our club folded at the end of the season due to a lack of players. I'd pretty much stopped playing recently as age, kids and life took over. Shame for the club though Market Bosworth was a great little team.

I'm gutted by this, was really looking forward to the fight.

I would say "Good Luck With that".... but some may say... "break a leg"

That's not a penalty that is it!!

I don't really disagree with this sentiment either... hence I struggle to rank him!!