Debt, and where are you going?

So according to reports 10% of us live below the poverty line (that ever changing standard) and are paying of huge debts. To illustrate this one of the morning shows gave us the plight of one women with two children (IIRC) who earns £1,200 a month, but is paying back £600 in loans. She's only been able to go to Greece on a cheap £200 holiday and if she needs new clothes she has to sell some of the toys that her kids no longer need.

What sort of country is this where a person can't afford to fly first-class to whatever destination that they choose. What sort of country is this where, instead of simply throwing them out, a person has to sell unwanted possessions as if they were... gag... trade!

Not to worry though mention is made that credit card and other loan companies should offer free or cheap loans to these people.

Okay let's stop there. Why the hell should people who managed to get themselves into trouble be bailed out? Where do people think the money is going to come from to do this, yep that's right from the people who actually do pay their bills. I mean what's the likelihood of the companies cutting back on their profits?

Did anyone force them to take a loan, did anyone force a credit card into their hand and say "Now you must use this" sure an argument can be made that these firms are very persuasive at getting us to spend money we don't have, but you don't have to listen to them. You don't need the latest 56" plasma television, the hi-fi system, the £120 pair of trainers for Junior to grow out of in a year; nobody needs this stuff. Buy hey that's how our economy functions, you buy something, it becomes obsolete, you buy essentially the same item again, and again. If you haven't got the money you take out a loan, if you don't then you're impoverished; you don't fit into society and you should be jeered at or ostracised.


So more attempts to stop terrorism. Reforms are being proposed to extend the Terrorism Act so that police can stop and question anyone they like anywhere they like about terrorism (provided, of course, they have reasonable suspicion to do so - hah). Fail to co-operate and face a £5,000 fine.

"Excuse me sir may I ask where you're going?"
"Oh I'm just off to plant a bomb in that train station over there"

Newsflash - terrorists lie. So seeing as the only people who are likely to give a true answer to this question are the everyday innocent people in this country, what's the point of all this?

Ah see remember those three guys who were suspected of wanting to kill UK soldiers (note that's "suspected of wanting to kill" rather then actually having killed) disappeared. These tough new reforms would have stopped that from happening; no doubt the police would have been able to ask where they were going and picked them up later from that location...