See that's actually a sensible move
but the ministers know it won't pass the Daily Mail test. So they've decided it's not "tax relief" which=good. It's "bullying" which=bad. fucking spin cunt politics bollocks.
(PsychoChomp, Wed 19 Oct 2011, 10:55, 3 replies, latest was 14 years ago)

I can't see it being any use.
Old people are cunts.

Apart from my mum obviously.
( girlinthehole, Wed 19 Oct 2011, 10:56, Reply)

And you and me.

( b3th Not shit. Not mod., Wed 19 Oct 2011, 10:58, Reply)

: )

( girlinthehole, Wed 19 Oct 2011, 10:59, Reply)

I can counter that by being a triple-cunt, though.

( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Wed 19 Oct 2011, 11:03, Reply)

Like sugababes!

( b3th Not shit. Not mod., Wed 19 Oct 2011, 11:09, Reply)

how the fuck is it a sensible move?
It pays no attention to anything remotely sensible, like the only big houses that familes could afford are nowhere near where said families want to live. All the idiots have done is taken the basic statistics of an aging population and expressed them in a different way. Tools.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Wed 19 Oct 2011, 10:58, Reply)

Your argument that they've massivly simplified the reality of the situations
pretty much contradicts your "the only big houses that familes could afford are nowhere near where said families want to live".
That may be true for the majority, but even a minority of 8million homes is still a decent number of houses and will make as big a difference as the headline grabbing "250,000 homes in five years" which every government seems to claim they'll do every few years.
(PsychoChomp, Wed 19 Oct 2011, 11:03, Reply)

no it doesn't
since I only offered one reason it was stupid, and I'm not trying to put forward a step change in housing policy, so I'm not obliged to back up the shite statistics that are being put forward to do so.

However, if you want some back up, I will gladly bet you my next pay cheque that the single greatest driving factor in preventing familes getting the space they want is the cost-location balance and that "old people not wanting to sell their big house" is about 12th on the scale, after whether the bedroom carpet matches their current bedding. Would you care to take on that bet?
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Wed 19 Oct 2011, 11:07, Reply)

Don't you think your massive and angry reaction kind of proves the point I was making.
That this is a report that should be thought about sensibly but it never will because people will scream about their mothers being thrown into the street.

And it doesn't matter where it is on the list they should be looking at the whole list.
(PsychoChomp, Wed 19 Oct 2011, 11:10, Reply)

I am really very angry today, aren't I?
perhaps I'm manstruating. However, that report should not be thought about sensibly, because it's horseshit. It's drawn a loose and tangential conclusion from some statistics that aren't relevant and then they are attempting to present that as a coherent housing policy.

An equivalent mis-use of statistics would be to suggest that, statistically, we should have anti-shark measures in all UK canals because a shark attack happens once every billion litres of water on the earth's surface per year, on average. Yes, some people want bigger houses. Yes, some people have spare rooms and yes, some people are old. You can't, however, just randomly connect the three and go "Well, fuck me, I can solve this RIGHT NOW".
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Wed 19 Oct 2011, 11:39, Reply)

you can't tell people what to do with their own homes
my dad is 68 and lives by himself in a 5 bed house. fine, sometimes he rattles. but he regularly has me, both brothers, wives, and all kids round. at which point the house bursts at the seams. my older brother and kids live in essex. so if they couldn't stay over, they'd hardly see him. when my younger brother sprogs up, it'll be even more full.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Wed 19 Oct 2011, 11:45, Reply)

that's true as well, but a more minor point to the one I'm trying to make
which is the idea that encouraging older people to "downsize" is going to make the tiniest shit of difference anyway.

They'd have been much better employed spending the money they undoubtedlty invested in that horseshit report on building a couple of big houses and then giving them away, thus at least doing something that would have some effect.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Wed 19 Oct 2011, 11:55, Reply)

It's sensible in a communist share-the-wealth sense
But if you've worked hard all your life to afford yourself a nice house, why should you be asked to leave it just because you have a couple of spare rooms? Will it also extend to childless couples, on account of how families could use their spare rooms too?

I may be slightly biased, living with a pensioner.
( b3th Not shit. Not mod., Wed 19 Oct 2011, 10:58, Reply)

Because the old and frail would be much better off warmer and safer in a modern bungalow
than in a victorian three storey terrace.
(PsychoChomp, Wed 19 Oct 2011, 10:59, Reply)

I've had relatives in sheltered accommodation
who've appreciated the help of teh wardens, and the company of other residents, so I do see your point there. But not all pensioners are frail. Look at that bloke who did the marathon the other day.
( b3th Not shit. Not mod., Wed 19 Oct 2011, 11:01, Reply)

That's why I used "and" in that sentance.
And I don't see how giving a tax incentive to do it is anything like bullying people out of their home, it's just saying if you want to do it it's cheaper for you.
(PsychoChomp, Wed 19 Oct 2011, 11:04, Reply)

Fair enough on teh 'frail'
but 'old' is subjective. And yes, having seen a lot of Flog It / Cash in the Attic, I know a lot of older people are trying to 'downsize'.
( b3th Not shit. Not mod., Wed 19 Oct 2011, 11:07, Reply)

There was some discussion between BGB, Amberl and 'Swipe about "downsizing" on here yesterday.
I'm sure you would have had some opinions to contribute to that particular discussion. But enough. I said I wasn't going to get drawn into that subject again today.
( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Wed 19 Oct 2011, 11:17, Reply)

Congratulations
I suspect that reply has broken every single safety stop at the top of the "patronisation and epic generalisation" scale.

Even for you, that's a win.
( the mighty badger Aphrodite, on a bar stool, by your side, Wed 19 Oct 2011, 11:02, Reply)

dunno
some people would consider it a "lose", in all fairness.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Wed 19 Oct 2011, 11:45, Reply)