3 100%

those contracts take years to tender and likely have huge clawback clauses. I doubt that Labour got into power and immediately signed contracts for things like this. More likely it was more expensive to stop it.

spent 3 minutes looking for Saddam

I have a Hasselblad 500 and I like to fill the whole frame with interesting architecture at odd angles. 1920s and 30s art deco is especially good to photograph.

Actually Ovo energy is trying to do that - they estimate a reduction in your energy bills based on installing an energy efficient system like solar, heat pump, loft insulation, etc. Then they carry out the work and you pay it off gradually through your energy bills.

The challenge I think is then if you want to leave them then you have to either repay that debt or the next energy company has to assume it. There’s a few ways it could be abused and of course the savings take years or even decades to pay off, so there’s a few kinks to work out.

I hope they manage to get it working though, it will be big for UK customers.

I feel like capitalists are waiting on some magic solution like some chemical we spray into the air or a miracle new fuel source.

The established suggestions from scientists (“fly less, stop buying SUVs/Trucks, eat less meat, consider a heat pump and solar panels” etc) doesn’t support the narrative that we can continue unabated infinite growth with no consequences.

Far less. In the UK half of all wealth is owned by the top 10% but there is very little concentration in the top 1% compared with the USA and other nations like Italy, Russia and China. Also, the degree of wealth inequality has mostly remained consistent for the last 10-15 years.

Another factor to consider is that for the top 10% (which in the UK you are in if you earn more than £52,000) hold around 50% of their wealth in pensions (which are taxed) and around 32% in properties on average.

Have a look at ONS data to back up what I’ve said. https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/dvc1727/Fig2/datadownload.xlsx

I still do believe that there is a better balance to be found with tax and wealth, but I’m less convinced that the answer is solely based on going after a 0.1% of wealthy.

it scratches an itch

you don’t fancy stargate origins or stargate infinity?

agree, but a reminder that the top 1% pay 30% of the taxes the treasury receives.

M

…and a day later it’s sold, probably for above asking price as well

In the first mission of Battlezone, it’s possible to travel out of the map and find a 1960s lunar lander that you can enter and pilot. It’s equipped with a one of a kind super weapon that plays trance music as you fire it.

Unfortunately it’s only available in the first mission and you can’t take it with you to subsequent missions.

can you do some feet pics please?

same, fortunately there’s a whole internet of content that I can browse instead of signing in.

fair. US debt to GDP seems to be around 100-120%[1] whereas in the UK there was briefly a spike of debt to 100% of GDP[2].

As a much smaller nation whose currency isn’t used as a world trade mechanism, britain devalue its currency too much, so there are fewer economic levers to pull when managing debt.

[1] https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/USA/united-states/debt-to-gdp-ratio [2] https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/uk-debt-hits-100-of-gdp-adding-to-rachel-reeves-headache/ar-AA1qSNYF

the thing is, it’s a gap between the money the government is spending and the amount of money it gets through taxes and other incomes each year.

So it’s money that has to be borrowed from folks, every year to keep things going as they are. And each time that money is borrowed it needs interest paid on it which makes the problem worse. Especially with the high interest rates around the world.

So british people are working hard, paying their taxes and a percentage of those taxes is going towards servicing debt that has been built up, by poor spending decisions in the past.

It’s like payday loans for governments. you’ve either got to get spending under control, make more money somehow (tricks in the car park or maybe sell crack) or eventually reach the end of the road.

reminder if there is no clear winner then congress votes on who should be president with each state getting one vote. every state counts.

imagine the resources needed to pull something like this