Hired goons to collect house hold charge

[El Gordo]

Of course they are hired goons. What were you expecting? Volunteer goons?

[Doozer]

[doodlebug]

You have to sign up to pay a mandatory charge issued by the government? I cannot even say how stupid that is. If it's mandatory that means you can't opt out so what the bloody hell are they thinking?

That is the bit of deception they were hoping no one would notice, if it was a tax per se there would be no need to sign up to it, but because it is essentially a contract they need you to consent. It was the same with the septic tank regulations, they dropped the signing fee from 50 to 5 euro to get people to sign up.

[Doozer]

Of course they are hired goons. What were you expecting? Volunteer goons?

Internship goons

[EnglishAlex]

That is the bit of deception they were hoping no one would notice, if it was a tax per se there would be no need to sign up to it, but because it is essentially a contract they need you to consent. It was the same with the septic tank regulations, they dropped the signing fee from 50 to 5 euro to get people to sign up.

So they resort to terrorising people to make them sign. Madness.

Do any of you regret voting in the people currently in power? They don't seem to be doing much right, but are they only doing what needs to be done and are the public being irrational in their refusal to pay?

[El Gordo]

Do any of you regret voting in the people currently in power?

I still remember the previous lot.

[LaBelleThatcher]

*sighs*

You guys REALLY don't understand politics, do you?

It's all very simple...nobody wants to be in power right now, Fine Gael were never forgiven for the LAST two times they got handed the ball during a recession...you think they want to be exiled like that again?

So, having completely failed to bring themselves down after a variety of escapades including, but not limited to, using the more optimistic hourly rates on E-I as guidelines for what to pay their new advisers after announcing a pay freeze on same, stealth cuts to pensioners (who ALWAYS notice), trying to reduce the young disabled to begging in the streets, and trying to make "home alone" 7 year olds compulsory in single parent families, with no success (but only really because nobody can stomach putting the other lot back in), they see no recourse but to drive the country to armed insurrection so they can get out (and each blame the other side of the coalition later).

If the household tax doesn't do it, good old Pat Rabbitte (staunch supporter of "Turn off The Red Light") has a plan to force us to pay TV licences whether we have a TV or not that certainly will...

[LaBelleThatcher]

That is the bit of deception they were hoping no one would notice, if it was a tax per se there would be no need to sign up to it, but because it is essentially a contract they need you to consent. It was the same with the septic tank regulations, they dropped the signing fee from 50 to 5 euro to get people to sign up.

I think the gods honest truth on both of those is that they haven't got half a clue where all the occupied houses in the country are, let alone who owns them, and whether they have a septic tank...the only chance of getting a lot of them at all is an "honour system"...

...and...this is Ireland...GOOD LUCK with that.

[doodlebug]

*sighs*

You guys REALLY don't understand politics, do you?

It's all very simple...nobody wants to be in power right now, Fine Gael were never forgiven for the LAST two times they got handed the ball during a recession...you think they want to be exiled like that again?

So, having completely failed to bring themselves down after a variety of escapades including, but not limited to, using the more optimistic hourly rates on E-I as guidelines for what to pay their new advisers after announcing a pay freeze on same, stealth cuts to pensioners (who ALWAYS notice), trying to reduce the young disabled to begging in the streets, and trying to make "home alone" 7 year olds compulsory in single parent families, with no success (but only really because nobody can stomach putting the other lot back in), they see no recourse but to drive the country to armed insurrection so they can get out (and each blame the other side of the coalition later).

If the household tax doesn't do it, good old Pat Rabbitte (staunch supporter of "Turn off The Red Light") has a plan to force us to pay TV licences whether we have a TV or not that certainly will...

I love your analysis, the new "TV" licence is something that will be very challengable in court as computers do not recieve a broadcast signal but data so are we to have a licence jus to receive data, if so then goodbye mobile phone, tablet, laptop, desktop etc.

I regret the people we have in power, in truth I have never voted for anybody who has had power so I am quite happy to hurl abuse. However, we must never refuse to vote, too many people died for us to have the vote, we must use it at all times even if we spoil it.

[LaBelleThatcher]

I love your analysis, the new "TV" licence is something that will be very challengable in court as computers do not recieve a broadcast signal but data so are we to have a licence jus to receive data, if so then goodbye mobile phone, tablet, laptop, desktop etc.

I regret the people we have in power, in truth I have never voted for anybody who has had power so I am quite happy to hurl abuse. However, we must never refuse to vote, too many people died for us to have the vote, we must use it at all times even if we spoil it.

Oh I don't know...far more people died for Christianity...and I do not feel that obliges me to go to church in the morning.

Democracy has become nothing only a PR war combined with a way of punishing the worst excesses. I can see the historical signs, all across Europe, of impending "social upheaval" (isn't THAT a nice wee euphemism?) seems to me a lot of politicians are not so much treading water in that as flayling around, frantic to find ways to avert that. Of course the best way to do so is a return to deregulation and a turning of the blind eye to let people concentrate on fending for themselves as best they can, hugely complicated by the fact that, sometimes during the boom, Ireland became "little Switzerland" for regulation with no established ethos and traditions of non-compliance.

Standing that down will not be easy, but it has to be done here. Irish people will only stand for regulation in return for a time of plenty, during a time of want it is an invasion liable to send them clean through the roof.