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Thursday, April 21, 2005

Responses

I do think some people are underestimating the way Baby Bonds can change saving habits and give poorer families a better start in life.

Think of those families where there is not a culture of saving and money management may not be too good.

I have seen plenty of people over the years who would benefit from having a bank account and it is important to remember that even the least well organised families might have friends or relatives who can also contribute over the years.

The issue of student fees was mentioned. I don't have the precise figures to hand but each student costs the taxpayer about £4000. Primary school children only cost about £1500 even with the increases of expenditure.

So if we have extra cash to spend why not spend it where it makes the most difference? That is Primary and pre school.Students do go on to earn more then non graduates.

If you are interested in this subject look back at the lively debate on this site when it was going through the House of Commons.

Dan. I will see the group about Iran but there is not much I can do during the election. If they want to see me after the election get them to write to me at 16,Church Road, W3 8PP

Issues like this and the latest reports from Burma on the use of chemical weapons show how important it is to reform the UN and regional groups like the ASSEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations).

Thanks to Dave Collins for his supportive comments. Chris or Simone ought to think about what sort of image they give of themselves. Most of us can engage in argument or discussion without personal abuse or libel.

People are not stupid. When they see unsubstantiated allegations of the type made by Simone and Chris they tend to ignore them and assume that the writer is either vindictive or unwell. In years to come they are likely to be embarrassed about these comments.

Hi Clive,

Slightly OT for you, but can you have a word with Andrew Slaughter about him setting up a blog like this asap so we constituants can put a few questions too him before the election?

Kind regards,

Andrew

Clive:

I agree that there is a significant section of the population which has no real experience of managing money, is not inclined to save or budget, and lives hand-to-mouth lurching from crisis to crisis.

I agree that these people have no real chance of getting themselves out of poverty until they learn and implement Mr. Micawber's lesson.

I am sceptical that the baby bond will do that.

Paying a little more attention to the scandalously high effective marginal tax rate experienced by poor families (tax + withdrawl of tax credits + withdrawl of benefits) would be a start.

If you want to encourage prudent saving (and I think you do) then you need to ensure that people who do manage to make some modest savings are in a better position than people who don't - otherwise there's no incentive to save. The current benefits system is not very good at providing that incentive.

It would be instructive to see by how much the benefits bill would increase were we to abolish completely any savings limits and "notional income from savings" from the benefit calculation.

I suspect, however, that wholesale reform is what is needed rather than such minor tinkering.

Hi Clive,

Someone is posting under my name or by coincidence has the same name but I suspect they just don't want to put their own name to their ignorance. Anyway - it isn't me! I'm a warm supporter of yourself and of the Labour Party and although I don't usually get into debates about Iraq I actually think that Tony Blair made the right decision. It was also a decision that any British government probably would have made given our history with the US and Iraq so that there is no reason to penalise labour for its policy on this.

I think less money should be spent on an unlawful war.

If less money was spent on unlawful wars, we could spend that extra money on more useful things.

If your other self called Simone wants another unlawful war, then why not let her join the army and kill innocent women and innocent chidren?

The world is a dangerous enough place without more clone politicians being involved as politicians who will lie and derive a huge benefit.

Now I understand why the world is such a sick place!!!

Too many lying politicians - but these just take the biscuit - as they keep lying as they go into another unlawful war.

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