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yes

14 (30.4%)

no

29 (63%)

undecided

3 (6.5%)

Total Members Voted: 38

Voting closed: 29 November 2011, 19:36:51

[Kevin Wood]

Some of the best teachers I had at school were the ones nearing retirement. Plenty of experience to draw on (industrial experience before a career in teaching in many cases) and they had much more energy and enthusiasm than many younger teachers who just turned up and read from a script.

I say, if they are competent to do the job, then age is not an issue, and if the rest of us are going to be working longer to fund our retirement why not teachers? I could understand if the job were physically demanding but we're not talking Police / Firemen / Front line soldiers here, although experience in a war zone would have been an advantage in some of our classes .

[General Melchett]

Anyone on here got young kids? Do you want a 66 year old teaching them? Having to pop off for a wee-wee every five minutes and forgetting their teeth in the morning

Many people, teachers included, are like that well before they reach 66!  I seem to remember one who had a wig that often became unstuck and moved, bloomin hilarious

[Varche]

Voted yes.

The cost of public sector pensions is ballooning and does need some tweaking.

Did the people who work in the private sector and are now bleating about the value of public sector pensions ever think about changing sectors? Course not they were too happy with their companies TGIF incentives.

What a daft idea that because people are living longer they should work longer. I know plenty of people aged 60+ who wouldn't be or wouldn't have been able to(dead now) hold a job down at that age. Also what about the so called obesity issue (fattest in Europe). Are those fat gits still going to be alive in 40 years time looking forward to working till they are 78?

5 million unemployed?

Britain still engaged in profligate waste of public money. Charity begins at home but hey we can't even manage our borders.

I dare say later today Osborne will announce some infrastructure initiative (where the contract(S) will go to a foreign country to build something not needed to take peoples eye off the ball.

[albitz]

Where will the money come from to pay for it ? ................the figures involved will be many billions of pounds and will continue for ever and ever....

[albitz]

Voted yes.

1.The cost of public sector pensions is ballooning and does need some tweaking.

2.Did the people who work in the private sector and are now bleating about the value of public sector pensions ever think about changing sectors? Course not they were too happy with their companies TGIF incentives.

3.What a daft idea that because people are living longer they should work longer. I know plenty of people aged 60+ who wouldn't be or wouldn't have been able to(dead now) hold a job down at that age. Also what about the so called obesity issue (fattest in Europe). Are those fat gits still going to be alive in 40 years time looking forward to working till they are 78?

4.   5 million unemployed?

5.Britain still engaged in profligate waste of public money. Charity begins at home but hey we can't even manage our borders.

6.I dare say later today Osborne will announce some infrastructure initiative (where the contract(S) will go to a foreign country to build something not needed to take peoples eye off the ball.

1.The cost of the public sector including its pensions hasnt just ballooned,it has become an enormous uncontrolled monster which drains unthinkable amounts of money from the national budget. Any responsible govt. must grasp this nettle asap.
The previous excuse for a govt swelled the ranks of the already overstaffed public sector by at least 750,000 - that is the biggest single cause of the problem we now have.
2. Traditionally the private sector had higher wages than the public sector,but the public sector had better pension arrangemements for lower or no contributions.
Under the last govt public sector pay outstripped the private sector,so they now for the most part earn more than the private sector as well as having a pension scheme which no private company could afford under any circumstances.
3. I agree that it is far from ideal to give people little choice but to work longer,but the money is never going to be available to pay everyone a good pension from around 65 until death (20 years?) and fund the monster that is the public sector scheme at the same time.The figures could never be made to add up in any realistic scenario.
Perhaps if the public sector scheme (and numbers entitled to join it) was brought back (in real terms) with where it was 15vyears ago,it may be possible to let people in the private sector retire a bit earlier ?

4. Coincidentally, thats around the same number of people who have come to live here since the late 90,s.

4. there is a lot of waste,but realistically its unlikely there could be enough savings to pay the bill for the excess in the public sector wages/pensions. Its not that we cant manage our borders, it was decided to stop managing them - hence, the answer to number 4.

6. I hope your wrong,but I wouldnt be surprised if your right.

[aaronjb]

I strongly suspect this budget will be the death knell for the LibCon goverment, the gutter press are already paving the way for Labour to get back in with article that begin like this:

George Osborne revealed that borrowing is now expected to hit £79billion in 2014-15 - more than double the £37billion which he had previously forecast and more than the £74billion predicted by the former Labour chancellor Alistair Darling.

Which people will, of course, reas as "Labour were right, this new lot are useless. Labour wouldn't have been forced to do the same thing due to the worsening global economy, at all"


So don't worry, Labour will be back in and it'll be final salary pensions all round!

[Dishevelled Den]

Of course those of us who are not being distracted by the emotive element (if any) in this proposed action are looking at the potential of how a mass movement - motivated by common purpose - deploying onto the streets to protest their dissatisfaction can be the catalyst where such protests, if made on a sufficiently widespread basis, can cause very real problems for the government of the day and the Establishment in general.

I would suggest that this will be the interesting element - howsoever successful the protest, (should it occur in the numbers envisaged).

[Varche]

I strongly suspect this budget will be the death knell for the LibCon goverment, the gutter press are already paving the way for Labour to get back in with article that begin like this:

George Osborne revealed that borrowing is now expected to hit £79billion in 2014-15 - more than double the £37billion which he had previously forecast and more than the £74billion predicted by the former Labour chancellor Alistair Darling.

Which people will, of course, reas as "Labour were right, this new lot are useless. Labour wouldn't have been forced to do the same thing due to the worsening global economy, at all"


So don't worry, Labour will be back in and it'll be final salary pensions all round!

But the question I would ask is are the borrowing figures reported by the "gutter press" inaccurate then? If they are accurate ( and that is what I believe) then they have every right to let readers know the facts. We the public have a right to know this stuff ,

I don't think this budget will be the death knell of this government but they need to produce some rabbits quickly out of the hat to avoid the economy going down the pan.

[Kevin Wood]

So don't worry, Labour will be back in and it'll be final salary pensions all round!

For the public sector, perhaps, and another Gordy style plundering of private sector pensions to pay for it, no doubt.

Of course those of us who are not being distracted by the emotive element (if any) in this proposed action are looking at the potential of how a mass movement - motivated by common purpose - deploying onto the streets to protest their dissatisfaction can be the catalyst where such protests, if made on a sufficiently widespread basis, can cause very real problems for the government of the day and the Establishment in general.

I would suggest that this will be the interesting element - howsoever successful the protest, (should it occur in the numbers envisaged).

Do you think there's enough "mass" behind it for that?

Seems to me that there's little public support outside the public sector, as witnessed by the results of this poll, perhaps?

Then again, when bin bags start to pile up in the streets it will automatically be the government to blame.

[Varche]

Voted yes.

1.The cost of public sector pensions is ballooning and does need some tweaking.

2.Did the people who work in the private sector and are now bleating about the value of public sector pensions ever think about changing sectors? Course not they were too happy with their companies TGIF incentives.

3.What a daft idea that because people are living longer they should work longer. I know plenty of people aged 60+ who wouldn't be or wouldn't have been able to(dead now) hold a job down at that age. Also what about the so called obesity issue (fattest in Europe). Are those fat gits still going to be alive in 40 years time looking forward to working till they are 78?

4.   5 million unemployed?

5.Britain still engaged in profligate waste of public money. Charity begins at home but hey we can't even manage our borders.

6.I dare say later today Osborne will announce some infrastructure initiative (where the contract(S) will go to a foreign country to build something not needed to take peoples eye off the ball.

1.The cost of the public sector including its pensions hasnt just ballooned,it has become an enormous uncontrolled monster which drains unthinkable amounts of money from the national budget. Any responsible govt. must grasp this nettle asap.
The previous excuse for a govt swelled the ranks of the already overstaffed public sector by at least 750,000 - that is the biggest single cause of the problem we now have.
2. Traditionally the private sector had higher wages than the public sector,but the public sector had better pension arrangemements for lower or no contributions.
Under the last govt public sector pay outstripped the private sector,so they now for the most part earn more than the private sector as well as having a pension scheme which no private company could afford under any circumstances.
3. I agree that it is far from ideal to give people little choice but to work longer,but the money is never going to be available to pay everyone a good pension from around 65 until death (20 years?) and fund the monster that is the public sector scheme at the same time.The figures could never be made to add up in any realistic scenario.
Perhaps if the public sector scheme (and numbers entitled to join it) was brought back (in real terms) with where it was 15vyears ago,it may be possible to let people in the private sector retire a bit earlier ?

4. Coincidentally, thats around the same number of people who have come to live here since the late 90,s.

4. there is a lot of waste,but realistically its unlikely there could be enough savings to pay the bill for the excess in the public sector wages/pensions. Its not that we cant manage our borders, it was decided to stop managing them - hence, the answer to number 4.

6. I hope your wrong,but I wouldnt be surprised if your right.

Didn't Fred the Shred retire with a fantastic pension that made a public sector pension look like a bag of peanuts, despite having presided over a disastrous out come for Britain in his time at the Bank?

Still counts regardless of who made the decision. Britain lacks people able to cut through the wrong and to make things right. I bet all those border staff right from the top(including May) will take home a nice bonus for having worked so hard. More waste.

[aaronjb]

But the question I would ask is are the borrowing figures reported by the "gutter press" inaccurate then? If they are accurate ( and that is what I believe) then they have every right to let readers know the facts. We the public have a right to know this stuff ,

They may well be accurate, but that's not really the point.. the point is that by comparing figures Labour gave over a year ago, you're implying to (easily led) readers that Labour would not have done what the LibCons are now doing, and that the LibCons are somehow worse than Labour.. When the reality is almost certainly that Labour would also be increasing their borrowing 'estimates' were they in power right now.

[edit] Now, perhaps if Labour produced a shadow budget and their shadow borrowing figures were also widely reported.. but I'm sure that won't happen.

But people don't want to think about that, just look for the latest politician to blame and vote 'the other lot' back in as they'll clearly do a better job.

[Dishevelled Den]

Do you think there's enough "mass" behind it for that?

Seems to me that there's little public support outside the public sector, as witnessed by the results of this poll, perhaps?

Then again, when bin bags start to pile up in the streets it will automatically be the government to blame.

Its early days in terms of widespread protest, but I would suggest that when the bags begin to pile up and other effects of this shambolic government's policies (and those of their predecessors) begin to bite, many people will soon realise that such widespread protest will be the only thing to get the government's attention and be more inclined to take to the streets in order to make their point – with all the potential for mayhem that it holds.

[aaronjb]

with all the potential for mayhem that it holds.

Anarchy rules, KO! (Or was that dyslexia..)

[STMO123]

So don't worry, Labour will be back in and it'll be final salary pensions all round!

For the public sector, perhaps, and another Gordy style plundering of private sector pensions to pay for it, no doubt.

Of course those of us who are not being distracted by the emotive element (if any) in this proposed action are looking at the potential of how a mass movement - motivated by common purpose - deploying onto the streets to protest their dissatisfaction can be the catalyst where such protests, if made on a sufficiently widespread basis, can cause very real problems for the government of the day and the Establishment in general.

I would suggest that this will be the interesting element - howsoever successful the protest, (should it occur in the numbers envisaged).

Do you think there's enough "mass" behind it for that?

Seems to me that there's little public support outside the public sector, as witnessed by the results of this poll, perhaps?

Then again, when bin bags start to pile up in the streets it will automatically be the government to blame.

The result of the poll on here? I hardly think a bunch of middle aged omega drivers would be considered representative 

[aaronjb]

The result of the poll on here? I hardly think a bunch of middle aged omega drivers would be considered representative 

Oi, some of us aren't middle aged yet, you know