The Political Thread

[COMMANDO FORCES]

Excellent answer there, I'm impressed that the world is following our lead!

As for privatisation, it will work in the areas that I have said, mainly procurement. You look at all options that are on the table, rather than just have a closed mind on such things. I'm not for the privatisation of the NHS but the logical parts, where we all know money is wasted.

[JamesC]

I'm currently despairing at the mainstream media's yearly coverage of A Level results.
There seems to be o reason for having A Levels other than to get accepted onto a University course. Many of the courses will take anyone, A Levels or not, through clearing. Many of the courses are absolute crap, purely in place for no other reason than to raise funds, effectively using students as a sacrificial cash cow.
There's a whole generation of young people who are starting their adult lives in debt that they'll never get out of. It's an absolute disgrace.

[COMMANDO FORCES]

I see more people than ever are going to university and if I remember correctly. You only start paying the money back if you reach a certain wage threshold and if you never do, you never have to pay it back. Also, after a certain amount of years it's written off. I'm just putting this up for balance, thank you!

[Grugz]

balance on the t'internet?  CF's finally lost it!!

[COMMANDO FORCES]

Well, I am one of the few Liberal voters left

[Grugz]

Well, I am one of the few Liberal voters left

  that's fine, some may think i'm a neo-Nazi, moonie blackshirt.with a bunker ...which is a lie, if I had a bunker i'd rent it to sharky

[JamesC]

You have to pay it back once you are earning £21000 a year. That's less than the national average wage.

I've no doubt that some people should be educating themselves further and that they should be going to university to do so. I'm not sure 'record numbers' should be doing so and I think that many of the courses are set up almost purely to raise funds (or make profits).
It's scary how, over the last couple of years, the thought of young people staring their working lives £30000 or more in debt has been normalised.

[Grugz]

less than half the national wage? when I was working I was on half the half!!! mind you I am an ignorant  black pudding eating northerner

[COMMANDO FORCES]

I've copied this from Martin Lewis and his superb Money Saving Expert site. This was in the Student Loans Mythbusting article.

Once you leave university, you only repay when you're earning above £1,750 a month (equivalent to £21,000 a year) and then it's fixed at 9% of everything you earn above that. Earnings mean any money from employment or self employment and in some cases earnings from investment and savings.

Even if you've started repaying the loan, but then lose your job or take a pay cut, your repayments drop accordingly. To labour the point somewhat:

If you earn £22,000 in a year, what do you repay?

The answer is £90, as £22,000 is £1,000 above the threshold and 9% of £1,000 is £90.
And if you earn £31,000, what do you repay?

The answer is £900. £31,000 is £10,000 above the threshold and 9% of that is £900.
'How on earth will my child be able to afford to repay these debts if they get a poorly-paying job?'

This panicked question has been thrown at me by many parents – and it's really important to examine it in the light of the required repayments.

Someone on a low wage will be required to repay little or nothing at all. In fact, only higher earners will be shelling out large amounts.

It's important to note that not repaying much because you're just over the threshold isn't being bad. The system is, in reality, a graduate contribution, designed so that, in the main, those who gain the most financially out of university contribute the most.

[GordonR]

I didn't mention funds, I thought more actual boots on the ground would've been more helpful

Not so long ago, you were saying we didn't need the EU because we won WW2 and used to have an empire.  Now you're complaining that there weren't any EU 'boots on the ground' to help with flood response.

Which one of these completely contradictory but equally idiotic positions are you sticking with - that we're self sufficient enough to prosper away from the EU, or that we need EU help every time there's heavy rain?

[Professor Bear]

Student debt isn't written off, it's sold on to private companies who often change the terms and conditions of the original contract in order to trick debtors into paying back money regardless of how much they earn, or - in the case of some companies like Erudio - they just take money from your account anyway, call it "an honest mistake" and then don't give it back.

As for privatisation, it will work in the areas that I have said, mainly procurement. You look at all options that are on the table, rather than just have a closed mind on such things. I'm not for the privatisation of the NHS but the logical parts, where we all know money is wasted.

Money certainly won't be wasted once procurement is operated on the basis of contracting to the lowest bidder.  That's always ended up in a more efficient and cost-effective workplace with the most capable staff who absolutely want to be there, and absolutely never ended up a complete shambles that has to be bailed out with an influx of public funding to prop up the profit margins of private industry.  What's that?  What is this "public transport" you speak of I CAN'T HEAR YOU LALALALALALALA

[JamesC]

I've copied this from Martin Lewis and his superb Money Saving Expert site. This was in the Student Loans Mythbusting article.

Once you leave university, you only repay when you're earning above £1,750 a month (equivalent to £21,000 a year) and then it's fixed at 9% of everything you earn above that. Earnings mean any money from employment or self employment and in some cases earnings from investment and savings.

Even if you've started repaying the loan, but then lose your job or take a pay cut, your repayments drop accordingly. To labour the point somewhat:

If you earn £22,000 in a year, what do you repay?

The answer is £90, as £22,000 is £1,000 above the threshold and 9% of £1,000 is £90.
And if you earn £31,000, what do you repay?

The answer is £900. £31,000 is £10,000 above the threshold and 9% of that is £900.
'How on earth will my child be able to afford to repay these debts if they get a poorly-paying job?'

This panicked question has been thrown at me by many parents – and it's really important to examine it in the light of the required repayments.

Someone on a low wage will be required to repay little or nothing at all. In fact, only higher earners will be shelling out large amounts.

It's important to note that not repaying much because you're just over the threshold isn't being bad. The system is, in reality, a graduate contribution, designed so that, in the main, those who gain the most financially out of university contribute the most.

Which is all fine and dandy but it still effects things like mortgages and visa applications. It seems to me that we have far too many young people being shepherded down the A Levels and then University route for no real reason than that no one else knows what to do with all these young people and colleges and universities have money to make. It's even worse when you add academies into the mix.

[Jim_Campbell]

less than half the national wage? when I was working I was on half the half!!! mind you I am an ignorant  black pudding eating northerner

Well, reading clearly isn't one of your strong suits. JamesC said "less than the national average wage", nothing about "half".

[Grugz]

...and maths isn't yours as half is less whichever way you look at it.

Gordon , with the amount of rain Scotland gets I assumed that was the very reason you want to stay in the eu ,but that was just an example off the top of my head , I wasn't on the phone calling merkel for a U-boat to get mrs higginbottom off the roof of her cottage or anything, you just like to pick nits and call people names which just seems petty and childish .

[Jim_Campbell]

...and maths isn't yours as half is less whichever way you look at it.

For fuck's sake: you said JamesC had claimed £21K was less than half the national average wage. Your words are right there in your post, and above them, JamesC's post which demonstrably says nothing of the sort.

And I'm still waiting for you to tell me what 'boots on the ground' the EU could have provided to assist during the floods, and how they would have been helpful.