My eye! Sweet Jesus, Ouch!

[Hedganian]

 

 

Get a high density of consumers all in one place and the price for consumable items should go down. Economies of scale and all that.

Doesn't that only work if supply is ahead of demand?

 

If supply stays the same but demand increases, then people start being prepared to pay more for things to ensure getting some of the dwindling availability.

 

As evidenced by shops selling out of "must-have" Xmas gifts which sell on eBay for three hundred times their RRP.

 

Once the supply problem is resolved, prices should come down again, but people got used to paying more for that item so maybe they don't come down as much as they could.

 

I always struggle to blame people being overcharged on the retailers - they're in business to make a profit, and if people are stupid enough to pay £5 for a £2 item, why not let them?

 

This is why we need to have capitalism restrained by government, otherwise it does what it wants.

[scorch]

 

Doesn't that only work if supply is ahead of demand?

 

If supply stays the same but demand increases, then people start being prepared to pay more for things to ensure getting some of the dwindling availability.

 

Yeah, with limited availability comes increased price (London property anyone? Why anyone would pay that much to live there is beyond me) But when it's something that doesn't really run out (like beer) it's a bit of a rip.

 

Maybe I'm just changing in my mindset, but I don't get what the attraction is. I'd rather have a quiet pub with decent beers at £2 a pint than traipse down to London where I can't get bloody served and pay over double that. Some think the nightlife there is worth it, I prefer to be able to sit and scheme in a booth with my cohorts. (Or just chat, whatever)

[Hedganian]

I heartily agree with you there.

 

I fondly remember a little pub just outside Sennybridge camp - open fire, dog, only about 5 people in the whole place, decent ales on tap...

 

How it stayed open is beyond me...

[hitmanNo2]

Those little places are always rinsing drug money.  No one expects nice Mrs. Samson at 'The Coin and Barrel'.  It's a perfect setup heh.

[Hedganian]

Now I am less happy.

[hitmanNo2]

Ha ha.  I'm kidding.  Sounds plausible though right?  It's like a dry cleaners.  Lots of cash transactions.  You buy whatever you need for the business, cleaning fluid/beer whatever.  Put all the transactions through your books and as long as you have a trusted person to sell the stuff you said you already sold at a cut price, you're laughing. And just to confirm, I'm not a money launderer heh.

[Hedganian]

I like to think our friendly law enforcement services and the clever people at HM Revenue & Customs are all over schemes like that.

[Lone_Bullet]

So... Don't watch the news for a bit?

It's not the news, but every. Single. Program on every. Single. Station broadcasting his songs. For 3 days now

[amateurstuntman]

Off into London to watch a friend run the marathon.. Just imagine the crowds. Good lord, the crowds.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

The problem with crowds is that they are made up of people.

 

And people are *albatrosses*.

 

 

I've had it with the media covering Prince's death. Just like Michael Jackson and David Bowie I've been oversaturated with their songs and everybody's say in it on every-fekin'-channel on the radio. They were legends, I get it! But now I feel disgust hearing one of their songs, thank you media coverage...

This shows news isn't brought. It's made. They don't know what else to do, at the broadcast stations...

 

 

If he was that much of a legend we'd have all been listening to his music constantly already.

 

Sure he was talented but talented people die.

Untalented people die.

Good people die.

Bad people die.

Adults.

Children.

Cats.

Dogs.

Tardigrades.

Galaxies.

*fruitcage* everything.

 

Everyone and everything dies.

 

Some things just last longer.

 

Better start enjoying life because you only get one shot and then you die.

100 years after that nobody will even remember you.

 

I like to think our friendly law enforcement services and the clever people at HM Revenue & Customs are all over schemes like that.

 

 

You would be utterly shocked to discover how wrong you are.

 

The law is complex, the police aren't trained in the complexities of tax law.

The people you would expect to be experts (the employees of HMRC) are morons hiding in a bulletproof civil service job scraping by on the minimum work necessary.

 

Otherwise explain how a retirement age woman whose degree is in textiles and who failed O grade maths was Scotland's most valuable employee 10 years in a row.

 

Her competition are vegetables.

[Hedganian]

I didn't say I was right, just that I like to think it.

 

Thinking the police and other agencies are good at their jobs and give a *suitcase* helps get through the days...

[Skarclaw]

Yeah, with limited availability comes increased price (London property anyone? Why anyone would pay that much to live there is beyond me) But when it's something that doesn't really run out (like beer) it's a bit of a rip.

 

Maybe I'm just changing in my mindset, but I don't get what the attraction is. I'd rather have a quiet pub with decent beers at £2 a pint than traipse down to London where I can't get bloody served and pay over double that. Some think the nightlife there is worth it, I prefer to be able to sit and scheme in a booth with my cohorts. (Or just chat, whatever)

Property has a knock on effect.. I can pop down to the offy and get cans for a quid... if I wanna sit down in a pub or bar than I pay for the pleasure!

 

Tbh its not too bad. I live in zone 3 and my local is £3 for a bitter or £3.40 for a lager. Find places with happy hours and make most of 2-4-1, so on and so forth and you can do ok.

 

Never gonna be as cheap as newcastle or somewhere but its not too different from Reading or Southampton.

 

Though of course lots of places are £4.50+ a pint :/

 

At the risk of sounding like a 'lad' the best thing about london is 1) employment market 2) women. And I'm not rich )!

[Skarclaw]

Yeah, with limited availability comes increased price (London property anyone? Why anyone would pay that much to live there is beyond me) But when it's something that doesn't really run out (like beer) it's a bit of a rip.

 

Maybe I'm just changing in my mindset, but I don't get what the attraction is. I'd rather have a quiet pub with decent beers at £2 a pint than traipse down to London where I can't get bloody served and pay over double that. Some think the nightlife there is worth it, I prefer to be able to sit and scheme in a booth with my cohorts. (Or just chat, whatever)

Property has a knock on effect.. I can pop down to the offy and get cans for a quid... if I wanna sit down in a pub or bar than I pay for the pleasure!

 

Tbh its not too bad. I live in zone 3 and my local is £3 for a bitter or £3.40 for a lager. Find places with happy hours and make most of 2-4-1, so on and so forth and you can do ok.

 

Never gonna be as cheap as newcastle or somewhere but its not too different from Reading or Southampton.

 

Though of course lots of places are £4.50+ a pint :/

 

At the risk of sounding like a 'lad' the best thing about london is 1) employment market 2) women. And I'm not rich )!

[scorch]

The sooner jobs start specifying "useful degree" rather than "degree level education" the better.

 

Too many students skating into cushy jobs on pointless hobby degrees with no relevance.

[Hedganian]

The education system has long been funneling everyone down an academic path towards university when many people would be better suited to more vocational based training.

 

Nursing, for example, is now a degree course. It doesn't need to be, nursing is a practical career best learned on the job from experienced and effective practitioners - some classroom learning is required, don't get me wrong, but that could be covered with in-house lectures or day-release college.

 

So what we have now are nurses with degrees, some of whom think they're above cleaning up vomit or cleaning up patients. "That's the HCA's job."

[Skarclaw]

Have to define cushy but I don't see it like that. Was it last year that 1700 people applied for 8 jobs at a costa? Took me a year and a half after graduating before I went over NMW. Not complaining but not skating either. Same for most of my friends and many make coffee, bar work (with degrees).

 

I guess what I mean is;

 

If there are employed people with useless degrees either the degree isn't useless, the job isn't cushy, or they worked hard to get it.

 

Imo its a toxic combination of:

 

1) a massive service economy

2) collapse of industrial work

3) over supply of degree educated

4) large amount of immigration

5) automation

 

Here's some modern day madness for you;

 

My brother (a good degree in real estate) did 3 months in land management at the foresty commission. They told him that they could probably hire him on a proper contract - but he 'd have to go get a masters in woodland management.

 

Meanwhile the farming industy seems to be on its knees. My dad used to let out fields to a dairy farmer. He went under, so with nothing to do with the land (apart from our scrambler bike) my brother arranged a grant from the woodland trust for about £35k to plant a tree every 2.5m!

 

Both of those cases seem ok... just not together!

[hitmanNo2]

Brb, looking into buying some cheap fields.

[amateurstuntman]

4 is a red herring.

 

There are very few immigrants tekkin your jerbs if you have a degree.

 

If you were a high flying technician in the exciting world of cleaning cars in an old petrol station then yes, they are going to tek your jerb because they work harder and complain less...

 

 

I got thrown out of university and still don't have a degree and yet was only unemployed once when I was sleeping rough and even then it only took me 6 weeks to get my *suitcase* together, I just go out and get a job because I know that no job that pays is beneath me.

 

 

The education system has long been funneling everyone down an academic path towards university when many people would be better suited to more vocational based training.

Nursing, for example, is now a degree course. It doesn't need to be, nursing is a practical career best learned on the job from experienced and effective practitioners - some classroom learning is required, don't get me wrong, but that could be covered with in-house lectures or day-release college.

So what we have now are nurses with degrees, some of whom think they're above cleaning up vomit or cleaning up patients. "That's the HCA's job."

 

 

Just say, good point, well done.

You actually have a degree in cleaning up vomit so get mopping.  Chop chop or you're *fruitcage* fired.

[Skarclaw]

4 is a red herring.

 

There are very few immigrants tekkin your jerbs if you have a degree.

 

If you were a high flying technician in the exciting world of cleaning cars in an old petrol station then yes, they are going to tek your jerb because they work harder and complain less...

 

Degree is the red herring in this instance. Each of the points plays into each other.

 

If you are working a 'professional' job than yes immigration is unlikely to be competing.

 

But having a degree does not mean 'professional'

 

Its not about working harder or complaining less it is first and foremost saturation of the labour market then undercutting of wage.

[Habakure]

Skarclaw, seriously (hate the way you have to put this these days) not trying to start an argument, just generally interested, what would you call a professional?

[Alias1983]

Had to work today to make up hours, does that make me a heathen?

[shmook]

Not if you don't believe in a god

[Tw1tch]

Can't remember the last Sunday I had off barring booked holiday.

[Hedganian]

Actually, not believing in god makes you a heathen:

 

heathen

 

noun

 

derogatory

 

1. a person who does not belong to a widely held religion (especially one who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim) as regarded by those who do.

[shmook]

Actually, not believing in god makes you a heathen:

 

 

I know, I was being silly. Tried to convey that with the tongue out emoticon thingy but looks like I failed!

[Alias1983]

Right