Comments | mmoa: Question Time thoughtage

mmoa

Question Time thoughtage

Jan 18, 2008 12:25

First Question Time of the year last night, which I enjoyed thoroughly but nevertheless found a little depressing...

Unfortunately, having been distracted by 'Girls of the Playboy Mansion', I only watched half of the programme, but I can always say it was probably the better half, so there.

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banks, question time, secularism, politics, modern morality

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flutterbyeaten January 18 2008, 16:44:09 UTC

oh my god you're amazing... how do you fit everything in your brain?! and put it all so elegantly? When you write this stuff I actually understand it ( ... )

Seriously, these rants are only to justify my having a livejournal at all... mmoa January 18 2008, 18:39:32 UTC

Personally, I don't think you're silly. I mean today, it's all so 'damned if you do, damned if you don't'. I'd hate to go back to living with my parents after Uni, so, unless some miracle happened and I made a fortune from my comics/writing/etc or turned to prostitution, I'd be straight there at the bank, asking for a loan. That's why I get mad with the banks because they are so unsympathetic that any financial woes we might have now will be nothing compared to what they will be by the time the banks have finished with us. I mean, we're not asking to be bailed out, just to have a bank that is not so gung-ho after commissions that it forgets we're real people ( ... )

Re: Seriously, these rants are only to justify my having a livejournal at all... flutterbyeaten January 18 2008, 23:33:35 UTC

I guess that's what it comes down to isn't it? University used to be a nice easy way of leaving home but these days it's just a way of getting a taste of being home, acquiring huge amounts of debt only to find that you can't buy a house so if your parents live in a place that's suitable to get a decent job you go home. So many of my friends did, either to do pgce and teach or, if their parents live near london to commute. there are a few of us, naturally, who did PhD and that's ok because you're still in the tax haven and can, in theory, take home anything up to 18 grand a year (which is nothing to complain about) and student living is quite cheap. (well on that kind of income anyway ( ... )

Re: Seriously, these rants are only to justify my having a livejournal at all... mmoa January 24 2008, 12:33:33 UTC

No, that's okay - sorry for not replying sooner, but I had to think a bit...

I also think that top-up fees aren't all bad. My concern, as someone who (like you) is from a poor background and knows just how easy it is to get into serious financial difficulties post-University, is the lack of education concerning finances, especially in today's society where it is actually quite a complex issue which everyone is involved in. Like you said, and from what I read, credit facilities available are actually ok. Unfortunately, wisdom can't be taught and (most) people have to make a lot of mistakes first. It just seems a pity that now those mistakes can easily descend into something much worse ( ... )

Re: Seriously, these rants are only to justify my having a livejournal at all... flutterbyeaten January 24 2008, 17:18:07 UTC

well, if from a less well-off background you should be ok on the loan front, they do give you bits that you don't have to pay off. i think the system needs to be restructured. I know someone whose parents are millionaires but because they don't work anymore as they are retired she gets full loan and maintenance grant. Ok so they aren't working which is fair enough but her family are certainly not in the position that mine are... they can clearly downsize some of their £3m home to pay for her education... let's face it, if they didn't have such a lavish home and just had the money they would have to anyway. I think we have become a country of people who believe that the world owes them something. Now yes, I have had my fair share of handouts but I would not have been educated without it and would much rather it was some other way. I have friends whose parents are pretty well off but are always out for what they can get. but we could bang on about the system all day... my view of it is that it's pretty screwed but while it's very easy ( ... )

Re: Seriously, these rants are only to justify my having a livejournal at all... flutterbyeaten January 24 2008, 17:18:21 UTC

bah, my reply was too long ....

this is a random tangent. i'm not sure it makes sense. i think i probably do take the libertarian stance... but at teh same time i guess i can see how people can think that it would be the answer to all their problems... i see adverts on telly for cheerful people taking out huuuuuge loans and that winds me up but i'm always wondering how anyone could be that stupid to accept that on those terms and i guess the answer is that it's more desparation than stupidity really. we as a country are greedy and that will be our downfall i imagine. it's certainly an uneasy financial time globally.

you're far more intelligent than I am, and i don't consider you lecturely. I enjoy the fact that you make me think about things that generally (and shamefully) I tend to avoid. I'm actually honoured that you take the time to read a load of babble from me when i'll be the first to admit that I don't fully understand this stuff. I'm an idealist I think, full of ideas but they're somewhat conditional on 'ideal situations'

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