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Where do you think this country wastes money?


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Old 26-12-2016, 20:39
Steve9214
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From the above you estimate the NHS is spending up to £25 per week on prescription food per coeliac. That is up to over £1,300 a year on prescription food per coeliac

The NHS is only spending an average of £180 per year on prescription coeliac food per coeliac. That is less than £3.50 a week on prescription food per coeliac.

While in part the massive difference between your guesstimate and NHS spending will be due to many coeliacs not bothering to get food on prescription, I think your five times more expensive via prescription vs via supermarket is also too high.
To be honest my 5X might be a bit conservative.
The Sales guy who dealt with prescriptions was seriously considering setting himself up as a "middleman" using his retail contacts, as he knew it could be doen cheaper, and he would have still made a fortune.
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Old 26-12-2016, 20:50
Mark_Jones9
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To be honest my 5X might be a bit conservative.
The Sales guy who dealt with prescriptions was seriously considering setting himself up as a "middleman" using his retail contacts, as he knew it could be doen cheaper, and he would have still made a fortune.
I think your costs are based on having a prescription for one loaf of bread, rather than as is done in the NHS trust area where I live where you get a prescription for eight loaves of bread which you get all in one go once a month, which presumably means one handling fee. The issue of costs was in the media news about five years ago and resulted in change of practices, the limit to just bread or flour and the getting a months worth in one prescription.
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Old 26-12-2016, 21:04
Steve9214
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I think your costs are based on having a prescription for one loaf of bread, rather than as is done in the NHS trust area where I live where you get a prescription for eight loaves of bread which you get all in one go once a month, which presumably means one handling fee. The issue of costs was in the media news about five years ago and resulted in change of practices, the limit to just bread or flour and the getting a months worth in one prescription.
They have taken some steps but it is still the pharmacies who are the problem.

Majority of UK coeliacs could have bread etc from a supermarket pharmacy who collect the products form the shop floor - but everything has to work to the "worst case" so they assume every pharmacy is a rural putpost in the middle of nowhere.

Like I said earlier - common sense is not something we do well in the UK - hence we over pay for everything done by the public sector.
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Old 26-12-2016, 21:21
tim59
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There are plenty of highly paid disabled people.
I've worked with many.
A disability doesnt necessarily stop people making a contribution and earning a salary
Frank Williams is one example.
Stephen Hawkins is another
Better tell employers this as they are the ones not willing to employ the long term sick and disabled
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Old 26-12-2016, 21:29
Sluger
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A disability doesnt necessarily stop people making a contribution and earning a salary
Frank Williams is one example.
Stephen Hawkins is another
Hilarious, so a man who had already build a big success business before being confined to a wheelchair and the most intelligent man on the planet. Joker.
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Old 26-12-2016, 21:34
Dotheboyshall
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The simple answer to OPs question is "nobody knows". No true measures of effectiveness or efficiency exist, there's not even comparisons with other countries to show where the UK is effective / ineffective, efficient / inefficient.

One widespread area is probably government prevarication and the unwillingness to spend today if they can pass the buck several years down the line which only leads to additional expense IF it's eventually spent
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Old 26-12-2016, 21:55
tim59
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loads of things.
i agree house of lords...
plus legal aid.
too high housing benefit for well off people and landlords
its endless
Housing benefit is based on peoples income and is means tested
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Old 26-12-2016, 22:12
davor
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Tax loss

The attached shows the rates for corporation tax since 1971. This has gone from 40% down to 20%, and is scheduled to go down to 17% by 2020.

Alongside this, we have the biggest corporations pay little or no tax, with 5 companies avoiding £1 billion in taxes in 2015 alone.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...-apple-7251746

Then we have the off shore investment funds, such as the one run by Mrs May's hubby. Or money laundering as it's more often know. Another $1.4trn worth of assets stolen.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...-a7133231.html

We've basically had governments and major corporations working in unison to steal from the investment & infrastructure pot.

A 2013 leak showed $23 trn moved to the British Virgin Islands alone.

Then we have my old favourite, the £4bn in annual subsidies paid to private train operators, from which they pay out dividends.

The bankers who are still benefiting from the bailouts and quantitative easing which is going straight into their bonus funds.

If you think about all the stolen wealth and the progress this country could have made over the last 40 years, it's an absolute scandal.

I'd say the UK has probably lost close to £50trn in stolen/ offshore funds and even more in the subsequent lost business advantages, improved infrastructure, better healthcare, better housing etc.

It's probably cost each individual an average of £20,000 pa in real terms over the last 37 years through suppressed wages, increased taxes to cover lost corporation tax receipts, pass on costs (ie costs which used to come from our taxes, but we now pay privately, such as dental care, increased cost from privatisation).

I agree big companies pay less in taxes, but we live in an era of globalisation and single market. It's easy for companies to move their HQs elsewhere in Europe where they can pay less taxes and have more benefits. Look what's happening with Apple in Ireland.

Big companies still pay hefty taxes and governments don't want to scare them away by imposing even higher taxes and regulations. I doubt that any government wouldn't like to receive more money in taxes from big corporations, but now when everything is global, they don't want to lose a secure source of income.

Look what's happening in Danmark where they have 51% income tax. They come to London, register a company or business in the UK and avoid paying taxes in Danmark.

You have to be sensible when running a country, and not impose silly rules and levies that would scare those who pay taxes, make jobs and contribute to society.
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Old 26-12-2016, 22:19
Aurora13
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Brexit planning.
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Old 26-12-2016, 22:22
Sluger
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Which will save us a fortune in the future.
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Old 26-12-2016, 22:28
davor
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Brexit is the only thing that could save UK in the long run and prevent EU rulers to impose they silly regulations on our business and every day life. Brexit won't be easy, but in the long run it should pay off if played well.


Globalisation is sucking the money and resources off every country and the sooner we curb effects of globalisation the better will be for the economy. We have our jobs going to Eastern Europe, China, India or Bangladesh just because it's easy for big companies to produce things there because the rules of globalisation enable them to do so. Just one example..
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Old 26-12-2016, 22:32
Arcana
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Referenda

More fundamentally, I'm great believer in the adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. By fetishising a fantasy version of freedom for which humans lack the capacity, politicians foster counter-productive behaviour and bad habits which then consumes vast resources to address.
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Old 26-12-2016, 22:35
Maxatoria
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I did work for a council for a while and being in IT I got to see a lot of data and most of the problem is that they're required to actually provide the services and there is no dodging the bullet so there will be a calculable value for the picking up of your bins or keeping the street lights on or trying to keep traffic order on the high street and whatever else.

There was a while when lots of things were easy to send to the private sector but now budgets are tighter than a gnats chuff shall we say and many companies in the private sector are dumping the contracts back.

Some councils are having to return to running their care as for them they basically would have to work for zero profit or less and thats not a thing for the private sector.
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Old 26-12-2016, 22:53
mgvsmith
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Brexit is the only thing that could save UK in the long run and prevent EU rulers to impose they silly regulations on our business and every day life. Brexit won't be easy, but in the long run it should pay off if played well.


Globalisation is sucking the money and resources off every country and the sooner we curb effects of globalisation the better will be for the economy. We have our jobs going to Eastern Europe, China, India or Bangladesh just because it's easy for big companies to produce things there because the rules of globalisation enable them to do so. Just one example..
Do you think that the U.K. can resist the effects of globalisation on its own though?
What will be the difference in practice for the U.K. of global capitalism setting the rules as opposed to the EU imposing regulations?
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Old 26-12-2016, 23:15
Sluger
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Do you think that the U.K. can resist the effects of globalisation on its own though?
What will be the difference in practice for the U.K. of global capitalism setting the rules as opposed to the EU imposing regulations?
But its not just the UK, Worldwide opinion is turning against globalisation. Look at the USA.
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Old 26-12-2016, 23:57
Aurora13
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Do you think that the U.K. can resist the effects of globalisation on its own though?
What will be the difference in practice for the U.K. of global capitalism setting the rules as opposed to the EU imposing regulations?
Blindingly obvious to everybody other than those who think isolationism somehow will turn back the tides.
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Old 27-12-2016, 07:38
rusty123
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A smaller list would be "where doesn't this country waste money" wouldn't it?
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Old 27-12-2016, 10:54
wordfromthewise
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The simple answer to OPs question is "nobody knows". No true measures of effectiveness or efficiency exist, there's not even comparisons with other countries to show where the UK is effective / ineffective, efficient / inefficient.

One widespread area is probably government prevarication and the unwillingness to spend today if they can pass the buck several years down the line which only leads to additional expense IF it's eventually spent
The last thing we need is a 'true measure of efficiency' because good as it sounds that in itself would translate into a public enquiry type scenario that would last years and cost millions ... hang on a minute ,that's another one....surely where necessary,public enquiries can be done a lot more cost effectively and without the employment of six figure paid Sir This or Lady That to head them up.

I think with the political carping,selfishness and oh dear it's too difficult aside we've got some genuine ideas to get some dosh back in the pot here to get things that need doing done...

Shouldn't an effective government and certainly the opposition be all over these kinds of ideas to explore if there really is mileage in them?
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Old 27-12-2016, 12:44
chavet
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Blindingly obvious to everybody other than those who think isolationism somehow will turn back the tides.
I'm hoping it will turn back the tides of the bent leadership training that has not only caused so much destruction to every aspect of our lives but bled out incalculable sums of money from the people.

I use a checklist of about 15 words as a shortcut to work out who is using the leadership training cult's thoughts as their own. On a completely unrelated note, Mischcon de Reya's site made interesting reading. Can't think what would make them want to represent a case to do with the EU pro bono.

What massive sums of money involved in selling out the little people for bogus infrastructure schemes and secretly giving away land? Wait -- could it be that a policy of unminuted meetings is not just about diversity and sustainability, and could in fact be used for nefarious purposes?
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Old 27-12-2016, 13:43
mungobrush
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Hilarious, so a man who had already build a big success business before being confined to a wheelchair and the most intelligent man on the planet. Joker.
Here are some more successful disabled people for you to laugh at:

Albert Einstein
The Mathematician/Physicist who had a learning disability and did not speak until age 3. He had a very difficult time doing maths in school. It was also very hard for him to express himself through writing.

Alexander Graham Bell
Had a learning disability

Cher
Has dyslexia

Christopher Reeve
Never has a person with a disability commanded so much media attention in recent history. Christopher Reeve, crippled after a horse-riding injury, wants to be up on his feet & wants to help others stand confident too. His life is now dedicated to harnessing the power of medical research to get up & ride again.

David Blunkett
The Rt Hon David Blunkett MP is without doubt Britain's most famous guide dog owner. Often photographed with his guide dogs - Ted, Offa and Lucy - David Blunkett also holds the powerful political post of Home Secretary. Joining the Labour party aged 16, he was elected to Sheffield City Council aged 22. He was the council leader from 1980 to 1987 until he was elected MP for Sheffield Brightside. Seen as the archetypal municipal Socialist, he is in many senses a traditional Labour man - beard-wearing and blunt-talking. Arguably, he is a role model for disabled people who just want to get on with their lives.

Thomas Edison
Edison is the great inventor who had over 1,000 patents and his inventions are in various fields used in our daily life. In his early life he was thought to have a learning disability and he could not read till he was twelve and later he himself admitted that he became deaf after pulling up to a train car by his ears. He first captured world attention by inventing the phonograph. His most popular invention is the electric light bulb. He also developed the telegraph system. He also became a prominent businessman and his business institution produced his inventions and marketed the products to the general people.

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Roosevelt had Polio, was governor of New York State then elected President of the United States for 4 terms.

George Washington
Had a learning disability. He could barely write and had very poor grammar skills.

Francsico de Goya
Spanish painter (1746-1828): At age 46, an illness left him deaf. He went on to create the most famous Spanish art of the 19th century.

Helen Keller
(Devoted Life to Persons with Disabilities) She was Blind, Deaf, and Mute

Ian Dury
movement/walking disability, resulting from polio. Hits from 1978 ("Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick") into 1980's. Recorded "Spasticus Autisticus" which was banned from radio, not surprising, as lyrics could be mis-construed as disabled-ist

John Milton
English Author/poet (1608-1674): He became blind at age 43. He went on to create his most famous epic, Paradise Lost.

Lord Byron
"Mad, bad and dangerous to know", Britain's great romantic was also born with talipes, a club foot. It is said that he "walked with difficulty but wandered at will". He toured Europe extensively and captured the popular imagination through his poetry and his personality. From gloomy egoism through to satiric realism he was renowned for his writings, his sexual ambivalences and his championing of Greek independence from the Turks. Disability activist Tom Shakespeare summed him up in the following way: "Most of his poetry hasn't stood the test of time, but he was a blockbuster in his day, and like very few other heroes, his name is still used as an adjective - 'Byronic', meaning dashing.”

Lord Nelson
Viscount Horatio Nelson is certainly Britain's greatest naval hero. His skill as a naval commander is, of course, well-documented. He won crucial victories at Trafalgar in 1805 and the Battle of the Nile in 1798, during the wars with revolutionary and Napoleonic France. What is less often remarked upon is that a great part of his naval career and his major victories were won as a disabled person. Going ashore in Corsica following the fall of Toulon, a French shot flung debris into his face leaving him without sight in his right eye. Later, an assault on Tenerife resulted in a shattered right elbow - back on his flagship the arm was amputated. He carried on as a disabled seaman for nearly ten years, securing his most important naval victories at the Battle of the Nile and the infamous Battle of Trafalgar - where he died on October 21, 1805. Contrary to popular belief, he didn't say "I see no ships". Instead he said, during the Battle of Copenhagen, "... I have only one eye. I have a right to be blind sometimes" and, raising his telescope to his blind eye, "I really do not see the signal".

Ludwig van Beethoven
(famous musician) Beethoven is the greatest German composer and musician who was deaf at the later part of his life. In his early life he was famous as a pianist. He got the primary knowledge of music from his father, who was a musician. He has some mysterious power which led him to create famous compositions one after another. He went to Vienna and learned from some of prominent musicians. After the age of 28, he started becoming deaf and his personal life was not so peaceful. He composed many piano sonatas such as Waldstein, Appassionata, etc.

Marla Runyan
One of the women representing the Unites States in the 1500 metre track event at the 2000 Olympics was Marla Runyan. The American runner finished seventh in her preliminary heat and rose to sixth in the semi finals to qualify for the finals. During the final race, Marla lost track of the major competitors. She finished in eighth position, 3.20 seconds behind the gold medal winner. In 1996, Marla set several track and field records at the Paralympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Following that success, Marla wanted to compete in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney -- even though she is legally blind. The 31-year-old runner has been diagnosed with Stargardt disease. This is a condition that leaves her with a limited ability to see what is in front of her. In Sydney, Marla became the first legally blind athlete to compete in an Olympics.

Marlee Matlin
Marlee Matlin is a stand-up comedian and an actress. Some of her films include A Dead Silence, My Party,A Hear No Evil, A Bridge to Silence, A Walker, and A Children of A Lesser God. In 1987, she captivated the world by winning the Academy Award for Best Actress in the film A Children of a Lesser God. Marlee Matlin became deaf in infancy due to Roseola infantum. However, deafness has not disabled her or her career.

Robin Williams
(Hollywood star) was diagnosed to be suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as a child. He never refuses a role related to medicine e.g Awakenings, Patch Adams

Sarah Bernhardt
French actress (1844-1923) Disabled by a knee injury, her leg amputated in 1914, she continued starring on stage until just before her death. She is regarded as France's greatest actress -- "The Divine Sarah".
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Old 27-12-2016, 15:35
tim59
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 25,217
Here are some more successful disabled people for you to laugh at:

Albert Einstein
The Mathematician/Physicist who had a learning disability and did not speak until age 3. He had a very difficult time doing maths in school. It was also very hard for him to express himself through writing.

Alexander Graham Bell
Had a learning disability

Cher
Has dyslexia

Christopher Reeve
Never has a person with a disability commanded so much media attention in recent history. Christopher Reeve, crippled after a horse-riding injury, wants to be up on his feet & wants to help others stand confident too. His life is now dedicated to harnessing the power of medical research to get up & ride again.

David Blunkett
The Rt Hon David Blunkett MP is without doubt Britain's most famous guide dog owner. Often photographed with his guide dogs - Ted, Offa and Lucy - David Blunkett also holds the powerful political post of Home Secretary. Joining the Labour party aged 16, he was elected to Sheffield City Council aged 22. He was the council leader from 1980 to 1987 until he was elected MP for Sheffield Brightside. Seen as the archetypal municipal Socialist, he is in many senses a traditional Labour man - beard-wearing and blunt-talking. Arguably, he is a role model for disabled people who just want to get on with their lives.

Thomas Edison
Edison is the great inventor who had over 1,000 patents and his inventions are in various fields used in our daily life. In his early life he was thought to have a learning disability and he could not read till he was twelve and later he himself admitted that he became deaf after pulling up to a train car by his ears. He first captured world attention by inventing the phonograph. His most popular invention is the electric light bulb. He also developed the telegraph system. He also became a prominent businessman and his business institution produced his inventions and marketed the products to the general people.

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Roosevelt had Polio, was governor of New York State then elected President of the United States for 4 terms.

George Washington
Had a learning disability. He could barely write and had very poor grammar skills.

Francsico de Goya
Spanish painter (1746-1828): At age 46, an illness left him deaf. He went on to create the most famous Spanish art of the 19th century.

Helen Keller
(Devoted Life to Persons with Disabilities) She was Blind, Deaf, and Mute

Ian Dury
movement/walking disability, resulting from polio. Hits from 1978 ("Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick") into 1980's. Recorded "Spasticus Autisticus" which was banned from radio, not surprising, as lyrics could be mis-construed as disabled-ist

John Milton
English Author/poet (1608-1674): He became blind at age 43. He went on to create his most famous epic, Paradise Lost.

Lord Byron
"Mad, bad and dangerous to know", Britain's great romantic was also born with talipes, a club foot. It is said that he "walked with difficulty but wandered at will". He toured Europe extensively and captured the popular imagination through his poetry and his personality. From gloomy egoism through to satiric realism he was renowned for his writings, his sexual ambivalences and his championing of Greek independence from the Turks. Disability activist Tom Shakespeare summed him up in the following way: "Most of his poetry hasn't stood the test of time, but he was a blockbuster in his day, and like very few other heroes, his name is still used as an adjective - 'Byronic', meaning dashing.”

Lord Nelson
Viscount Horatio Nelson is certainly Britain's greatest naval hero. His skill as a naval commander is, of course, well-documented. He won crucial victories at Trafalgar in 1805 and the Battle of the Nile in 1798, during the wars with revolutionary and Napoleonic France. What is less often remarked upon is that a great part of his naval career and his major victories were won as a disabled person. Going ashore in Corsica following the fall of Toulon, a French shot flung debris into his face leaving him without sight in his right eye. Later, an assault on Tenerife resulted in a shattered right elbow - back on his flagship the arm was amputated. He carried on as a disabled seaman for nearly ten years, securing his most important naval victories at the Battle of the Nile and the infamous Battle of Trafalgar - where he died on October 21, 1805. Contrary to popular belief, he didn't say "I see no ships". Instead he said, during the Battle of Copenhagen, "... I have only one eye. I have a right to be blind sometimes" and, raising his telescope to his blind eye, "I really do not see the signal".

Ludwig van Beethoven
(famous musician) Beethoven is the greatest German composer and musician who was deaf at the later part of his life. In his early life he was famous as a pianist. He got the primary knowledge of music from his father, who was a musician. He has some mysterious power which led him to create famous compositions one after another. He went to Vienna and learned from some of prominent musicians. After the age of 28, he started becoming deaf and his personal life was not so peaceful. He composed many piano sonatas such as Waldstein, Appassionata, etc.

Marla Runyan
One of the women representing the Unites States in the 1500 metre track event at the 2000 Olympics was Marla Runyan. The American runner finished seventh in her preliminary heat and rose to sixth in the semi finals to qualify for the finals. During the final race, Marla lost track of the major competitors. She finished in eighth position, 3.20 seconds behind the gold medal winner. In 1996, Marla set several track and field records at the Paralympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Following that success, Marla wanted to compete in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney -- even though she is legally blind. The 31-year-old runner has been diagnosed with Stargardt disease. This is a condition that leaves her with a limited ability to see what is in front of her. In Sydney, Marla became the first legally blind athlete to compete in an Olympics.

Marlee Matlin
Marlee Matlin is a stand-up comedian and an actress. Some of her films include A Dead Silence, My Party,A Hear No Evil, A Bridge to Silence, A Walker, and A Children of A Lesser God. In 1987, she captivated the world by winning the Academy Award for Best Actress in the film A Children of a Lesser God. Marlee Matlin became deaf in infancy due to Roseola infantum. However, deafness has not disabled her or her career.

Robin Williams
(Hollywood star) was diagnosed to be suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as a child. He never refuses a role related to medicine e.g Awakenings, Patch Adams

Sarah Bernhardt
French actress (1844-1923) Disabled by a knee injury, her leg amputated in 1914, she continued starring on stage until just before her death. She is regarded as France's greatest actress -- "The Divine Sarah".
employer attitude to employing the long term sick and disabled is biggest barrier to the long term sick and disabled. And until that changes the long term sick and disabled will find it difficult to get a job
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Old 27-12-2016, 15:43
blueisthecolour
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The largest waste is obviously all the human talent that isn't put to it's best use - either because people are unemployed/underemployed or not provided the opportunity to reach their potential. How much better would our professional classes and businesses be if everyone that had the potential to do those roles were giving the chance to compete for them.
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Old 27-12-2016, 16:35
muggins14
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I think one of the biggest problems in our society is lack of hope.

When the idea of leaving school, working in a job for minimum wage or zero hours contracts, which are on the rise - which will mean you need to top-up with welfare (if you qualify, which you won't before you're 25 and - even then - doubtful if you're single), you will likely never be able to afford your own home - even fairly well-off professionals are living at home still or renting.

Disabled people - you can reel off a list as long as your arm about musicians and artists (many of whom achieved much greater success once dead) who have been successful, there's a list that would go around the world several times over of people with severe mental and physical disabilities whom nobody would employ.

Benefits - the pensioners receive a high proportion of those, followed by those who are working. Unless you are going to raise the NMW to a living wage - which some employers are paying, they are always going to need help from the state - into which they pay from their minimal earnings, which they spend on taxable products, pensioners and minimum wage earners alike. Even unemployed people pay taxes.

Coeliac prescriptions - slowly but surely this is being stopped - several areas have already done so. http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/8203-...ail/story.html

Means testing on benefits - this is done for most benefits, as are assets taken into consideration (having just had a form the week before Christmas reviewing my council/housing benefit which asks for a lot of information regarding income and requires bank statement evidence too).

Means tested:
Income Support.
Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance.
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance.
Pension Credit Guarantee Credit.
Working tax credit.
Child Tax Credit.
Universal Credit.
Housing Benefit.
Obviously Universal Credit is an umbrella benefit comprising several of these. The cost of the creation of the UC system has been a huge waste of taxpayers money that nobody seems to have complained about - with computer systems being brought in and scrapped seemingly several times over.

"Since the 2012 estimate, DWP has been forced to tear up its original plans for the troubled programme, writing off millions of pounds in scrapped IT development and revising the timetable for roll-out"

"Early IT development for Universal Credit was beset by problems. By the time the welfare programme is fully implemented, it will have scrapped more than £300m of IT development work. Under the original plans, all benefit claimants were expected to be on Universal Credit by 2017/2018. The DWP has since revised the target so only new claims will be on the system by 2017." http://www.computerweekly.com/news/4...an-20-to-158bn

Universal Credits will now not be fully implemented until 2022! http://www.publicsectorexecutive.com...yed-until-2022

You wonder how your money's being spent/wasted?
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Old 27-12-2016, 16:46
CELT1987
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Scotland
Posts: 10,237
Here are some more successful disabled people for you to laugh at:

Albert Einstein
The Mathematician/Physicist who had a learning disability and did not speak until age 3. He had a very difficult time doing maths in school. It was also very hard for him to express himself through writing.

Alexander Graham Bell
Had a learning disability

Cher
Has dyslexia

Christopher Reeve
Never has a person with a disability commanded so much media attention in recent history. Christopher Reeve, crippled after a horse-riding injury, wants to be up on his feet & wants to help others stand confident too. His life is now dedicated to harnessing the power of medical research to get up & ride again.

David Blunkett
The Rt Hon David Blunkett MP is without doubt Britain's most famous guide dog owner. Often photographed with his guide dogs - Ted, Offa and Lucy - David Blunkett also holds the powerful political post of Home Secretary. Joining the Labour party aged 16, he was elected to Sheffield City Council aged 22. He was the council leader from 1980 to 1987 until he was elected MP for Sheffield Brightside. Seen as the archetypal municipal Socialist, he is in many senses a traditional Labour man - beard-wearing and blunt-talking. Arguably, he is a role model for disabled people who just want to get on with their lives.

Thomas Edison
Edison is the great inventor who had over 1,000 patents and his inventions are in various fields used in our daily life. In his early life he was thought to have a learning disability and he could not read till he was twelve and later he himself admitted that he became deaf after pulling up to a train car by his ears. He first captured world attention by inventing the phonograph. His most popular invention is the electric light bulb. He also developed the telegraph system. He also became a prominent businessman and his business institution produced his inventions and marketed the products to the general people.

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Roosevelt had Polio, was governor of New York State then elected President of the United States for 4 terms.

George Washington
Had a learning disability. He could barely write and had very poor grammar skills.

Francsico de Goya
Spanish painter (1746-1828): At age 46, an illness left him deaf. He went on to create the most famous Spanish art of the 19th century.

Helen Keller
(Devoted Life to Persons with Disabilities) She was Blind, Deaf, and Mute

Ian Dury
movement/walking disability, resulting from polio. Hits from 1978 ("Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick") into 1980's. Recorded "Spasticus Autisticus" which was banned from radio, not surprising, as lyrics could be mis-construed as disabled-ist

John Milton
English Author/poet (1608-1674): He became blind at age 43. He went on to create his most famous epic, Paradise Lost.

Lord Byron
"Mad, bad and dangerous to know", Britain's great romantic was also born with talipes, a club foot. It is said that he "walked with difficulty but wandered at will". He toured Europe extensively and captured the popular imagination through his poetry and his personality. From gloomy egoism through to satiric realism he was renowned for his writings, his sexual ambivalences and his championing of Greek independence from the Turks. Disability activist Tom Shakespeare summed him up in the following way: "Most of his poetry hasn't stood the test of time, but he was a blockbuster in his day, and like very few other heroes, his name is still used as an adjective - 'Byronic', meaning dashing.”

Lord Nelson
Viscount Horatio Nelson is certainly Britain's greatest naval hero. His skill as a naval commander is, of course, well-documented. He won crucial victories at Trafalgar in 1805 and the Battle of the Nile in 1798, during the wars with revolutionary and Napoleonic France. What is less often remarked upon is that a great part of his naval career and his major victories were won as a disabled person. Going ashore in Corsica following the fall of Toulon, a French shot flung debris into his face leaving him without sight in his right eye. Later, an assault on Tenerife resulted in a shattered right elbow - back on his flagship the arm was amputated. He carried on as a disabled seaman for nearly ten years, securing his most important naval victories at the Battle of the Nile and the infamous Battle of Trafalgar - where he died on October 21, 1805. Contrary to popular belief, he didn't say "I see no ships". Instead he said, during the Battle of Copenhagen, "... I have only one eye. I have a right to be blind sometimes" and, raising his telescope to his blind eye, "I really do not see the signal".

Ludwig van Beethoven
(famous musician) Beethoven is the greatest German composer and musician who was deaf at the later part of his life. In his early life he was famous as a pianist. He got the primary knowledge of music from his father, who was a musician. He has some mysterious power which led him to create famous compositions one after another. He went to Vienna and learned from some of prominent musicians. After the age of 28, he started becoming deaf and his personal life was not so peaceful. He composed many piano sonatas such as Waldstein, Appassionata, etc.

Marla Runyan
One of the women representing the Unites States in the 1500 metre track event at the 2000 Olympics was Marla Runyan. The American runner finished seventh in her preliminary heat and rose to sixth in the semi finals to qualify for the finals. During the final race, Marla lost track of the major competitors. She finished in eighth position, 3.20 seconds behind the gold medal winner. In 1996, Marla set several track and field records at the Paralympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Following that success, Marla wanted to compete in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney -- even though she is legally blind. The 31-year-old runner has been diagnosed with Stargardt disease. This is a condition that leaves her with a limited ability to see what is in front of her. In Sydney, Marla became the first legally blind athlete to compete in an Olympics.

Marlee Matlin
Marlee Matlin is a stand-up comedian and an actress. Some of her films include A Dead Silence, My Party,A Hear No Evil, A Bridge to Silence, A Walker, and A Children of A Lesser God. In 1987, she captivated the world by winning the Academy Award for Best Actress in the film A Children of a Lesser God. Marlee Matlin became deaf in infancy due to Roseola infantum. However, deafness has not disabled her or her career.

Robin Williams
(Hollywood star) was diagnosed to be suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as a child. He never refuses a role related to medicine e.g Awakenings, Patch Adams

Sarah Bernhardt
French actress (1844-1923) Disabled by a knee injury, her leg amputated in 1914, she continued starring on stage until just before her death. She is regarded as France's greatest actress -- "The Divine Sarah".
Whats your point? Not everyone has the same chances or skills. How many current employers want to recruit disabled people who have complex needs or mental health issues?
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Old 27-12-2016, 18:28
clinch
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 8,622
Scrap the House of Lords. Seriously tackle MPs' dodgy exes claims and business connections. We need to address the housing benefit bill. To do that we need to build lots of council houses. Scrap HS2 and build council houses.
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