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Council Tax vs Sky/Mobi

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By *ethnmelv OP   Couple
over a year ago

Cardiff

So this time of year we get our new Council Tax bill. It hasn’t gone up much from last year, it still provides an enormous range of services (getting more stretched each year), but it seems my Sky bill, my mobile phone bill and my self storage bill (amongst others) are the same or larger!

Surely we should pay more for Council services? I rarely volunteer to pay more, but when you look at what you get and its impact on the fabric of society, surely we could significantly increase council spending through increased Council Tax? Yes we will all moan, but so what if we have to have less Latte’s, less data, less crap tv, we’d have a more cohesive society and better services locally.

Can’t see anything against this approach - clearly not hitting everyone equally, charge more expensive houses more.

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By *ethnmelv OP   Couple
over a year ago

Cardiff


"So this time of year we get our new Council Tax bill. It hasn’t gone up much from last year, it still provides an enormous range of services (getting more stretched each year), but it seems my Sky bill, my mobile phone bill and my self storage bill (amongst others) are the same or larger!

Surely we should pay more for Council services? I rarely volunteer to pay more, but when you look at what you get and its impact on the fabric of society, surely we could significantly increase council spending through increased Council Tax? Yes we will all moan, but so what if we have to have less Latte’s, less data, less crap tv, we’d have a more cohesive society and better services locally.

Can’t see anything against this approach - clearly not hitting everyone equally, charge more expensive houses more."

Oops, silly me. I brought up something real that might help society & I accidentally put it in the Politics forum!

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Only people who drink lots of lattes and watch sky think that, everybody else thinks wtf not more tax and price increases while having no wage increase.

Councils squander money like it's going out of fashion so it's a plus and minus issue for most of us.

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By *asyukMan
over a year ago

West London


"So this time of year we get our new Council Tax bill. It hasn’t gone up much from last year, it still provides an enormous range of services (getting more stretched each year), but it seems my Sky bill, my mobile phone bill and my self storage bill (amongst others) are the same or larger!

Surely we should pay more for Council services? I rarely volunteer to pay more, but when you look at what you get and its impact on the fabric of society, surely we could significantly increase council spending through increased Council Tax? Yes we will all moan, but so what if we have to have less Latte’s, less data, less crap tv, we’d have a more cohesive society and better services locally.

Can’t see anything against this approach - clearly not hitting everyone equally, charge more expensive houses more."

The problem is central government grants being tied to not increasing Council tax.

It sort of worked for a little while but eventually...

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Plus I don't think paying a tenner a month more on council tax would give us this more cohesive society your selling us, I think it would be exactly the same except I'm down a tenner a month.

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By *vbride1963TV/TS
over a year ago

E.K . Glasgow


"So this time of year we get our new Council Tax bill. It hasn’t gone up much from last year, it still provides an enormous range of services (getting more stretched each year), but it seems my Sky bill, my mobile phone bill and my self storage bill (amongst others) are the same or larger!

Surely we should pay more for Council services? I rarely volunteer to pay more, but when you look at what you get and its impact on the fabric of society, surely we could significantly increase council spending through increased Council Tax? Yes we will all moan, but so what if we have to have less Latte’s, less data, less crap tv, we’d have a more cohesive society and better services locally.

Can’t see anything against this approach - clearly not hitting everyone equally, charge more expensive houses more.

Oops, silly me. I brought up something real that might help society & I accidentally put it in the Politics forum! "

Your being to sensible obviously this is an April fools ploy .

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

My first reaction to your post was to recoil in horror, I never got over the Poll Tax. But actually, you make a good point. Where I live, I have very few services, but I am pretty sure just getting my bins emptied privately would cost more than my Council Tax.

So, assuming you get your way and I have to do without lattes, what would you spend the new money on? My vote would be for more community based hubs, places where people meet and do stuff together (and drink lattes). And also much, much better care for the elderly, preferably in their own home.

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By *ethnmelv OP   Couple
over a year ago

Cardiff

Neither of us drink coffee, so the Latte point is moot, if not an observation on society

If you look at the breadth and scale of the services provided by councils, it always looks like phenomenal value compared to Sky/Virgin/BT, or Mobi’s, or many other costs we incur. It isn’t an attempt to say we should all pay an extra £10 per month, it is an attempt to get people to reflect on the value of the things they spend their money on.

Why not pay more Council Tax, you get back way more than you pay - but then we actually want a working society, where the poor, the weak and the disadvantaged are not forgotten...

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"Neither of us drink coffee, so the Latte point is moot, if not an observation on society

If you look at the breadth and scale of the services provided by councils, it always looks like phenomenal value compared to Sky/Virgin/BT, or Mobi’s, or many other costs we incur. It isn’t an attempt to say we should all pay an extra £10 per month, it is an attempt to get people to reflect on the value of the things they spend their money on.

Why not pay more Council Tax, you get back way more than you pay - but then we actually want a working society, where the poor, the weak and the disadvantaged are not forgotten..."
.

I pay £1400 a year for a semi.

How much increase do you think it would take to get this cohesive society you talk about?.

Most people I know aren't frivolous with their tenner a month they have spare, that's if they have anything spare.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Although I agree with you £50 a month for broadband is outrageously expensive, I guess somebody has to pay for that bearded idiots private island.

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By *ethnmelv OP   Couple
over a year ago

Cardiff


"Neither of us drink coffee, so the Latte point is moot, if not an observation on society

If you look at the breadth and scale of the services provided by councils, it always looks like phenomenal value compared to Sky/Virgin/BT, or Mobi’s, or many other costs we incur. It isn’t an attempt to say we should all pay an extra £10 per month, it is an attempt to get people to reflect on the value of the things they spend their money on.

Why not pay more Council Tax, you get back way more than you pay - but then we actually want a working society, where the poor, the weak and the disadvantaged are not forgotten....

I pay £1400 a year for a semi.

How much increase do you think it would take to get this cohesive society you talk about?.

Most people I know aren't frivolous with their tenner a month they have spare, that's if they have anything spare."

This is not a criticism of any individual, more an observation on society. If my Council Tax bill is less than my Sky/Mobi bill then shame on me for spending so much on unnecessary content. Why should I expect to spend what I like on these luxuries and not spend enough on social care, police, road sweeping, bin collection, etc.

Surely, we can live without paying Sky to subsidise Premier League footballers obscene salaries - would this money not be better spent on societal benefits?

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By *asyukMan
over a year ago

West London


"My first reaction to your post was to recoil in horror, I never got over the Poll Tax. But actually, you make a good point. Where I live, I have very few services, but I am pretty sure just getting my bins emptied privately would cost more than my Council Tax.

So, assuming you get your way and I have to do without lattes, what would you spend the new money on? My vote would be for more community based hubs, places where people meet and do stuff together (and drink lattes). And also much, much better care for the elderly, preferably in their own home. "

I think you're on point.

After school youth activities. Everything from sport to music to coding. The opportunity to find a talent maybe?

These are all the investments that will provide the biggest conceivable return on investment for society from purely a financial basis, let alone making individuals more engaged and cared for...

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By *estivalMan
over a year ago

borehamwood

i would not pay more.our local council has twinned us with a town in china last year alone there were several trips to china the council made pretty much every member of the council had a trip our there at one time or another.the whole council are tory apart frim 3 councilors who are labour who cover the poorest area of my town.that is just one of the things they spunk money on amongst other things so i would resent giving them even more cash.if you want a more equal society do it yourself dont rely on the state to do it there not intrested

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By *anejohnkent6263Couple
over a year ago

canterbury

In France I get more and better services for a quarter of the price ....why??? .even electric is 60% cheaper and yet both provided by edf

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"In France I get more and better services for a quarter of the price ....why??? .even electric is 60% cheaper and yet both provided by edf "

Probably because the french unlike the British aren’t daft enough to accept that all their middle managers need flash german cars and six figure salaries so that they can keep up with their chums at the golf club! That French revolution thing they had makes them more engaged in their own day to day lives instead of being fed a diet of media driven wank that fills the pockets of the rich and it also enshrines their right to protest as a nation.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"i would not pay more.our local council has twinned us with a town in china last year alone there were several trips to china the council made pretty much every member of the council had a trip our there at one time or another.the whole council are tory apart frim 3 councilors who are labour who cover the poorest area of my town.that is just one of the things they spunk money on amongst other things so i would resent giving them even more cash.if you want a more equal society do it yourself dont rely on the state to do it there not intrested"
.

My experience as well, I can't fathom why people are obsessed with the state being massive and doing everything for them will lead to improvement, China is the best example of this and it sure as hell doesn't work out that well for most Chinese, communist Russia also tried it and the less said the better about that episode.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"In France I get more and better services for a quarter of the price ....why??? .even electric is 60% cheaper and yet both provided by edf "
.

They use nuclear power, I think they have 40 odd of them, it's incredible cheap and they don't fuck about spending fortunes on green energy escapades.

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By *rumpyMcFuckNuggetMan
over a year ago

Den of Iniquity


"Neither of us drink coffee, so the Latte point is moot, if not an observation on society

If you look at the breadth and scale of the services provided by councils, it always looks like phenomenal value compared to Sky/Virgin/BT, or Mobi’s, or many other costs we incur. It isn’t an attempt to say we should all pay an extra £10 per month, it is an attempt to get people to reflect on the value of the things they spend their money on.

Why not pay more Council Tax, you get back way more than you pay - but then we actually want a working society, where the poor, the weak and the disadvantaged are not forgotten..."
Try living in Northampton and then tell me the council are good value for money lol

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By *illwill69uMan
over a year ago

moston


"Try living in Northampton and then tell me the council are good value for money lol "

So no non motorway or trunk roads or street lighting or police or fire service or refuse services or libraries (shall I continue) in Northampton?

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Northamptonshires gross budget this year was 617 million.

Couldn't find Northamptons budget but annual council tax was up 5% to an average of £1375.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

My council tax dropped by 0.6 % but the police put their cut up by 6%..

It's about £2300 here.

The increases where i live are all about the police and firemen wanting more.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Newest census shows a population of 745,000 so that's about £850 per person.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

After capping council tax for so many years, it’s apparent that councils are now trying to recoup the funds they lost.

They shouldn’t have capped it in the first place, it should been incremental so the hit would be much Less now.

When it comes to council tax you have no choice, pay or Get it taken out of your income, bailiffs or jail. Very punitive.

Councils are more likely to go to the bailiff or criminal proceeding route. Talk about a getting a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

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By *verysmileMan
over a year ago

Canterbury

You cannot renegotiate your Council tax but you can phone Sky and tell them you want to cancel. After 10 minutes of chatting with them, I ended up with a 25% reduction for my existing package.

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By *andACouple
over a year ago

glasgow

I think part of the problem is most people don't realise or think of some of the services that council's provide. Emptying bins etc is a pretty small part of a council's expenditure, the majority of it goes on education and social care. Social care in particular is increasing a lot due to our ageing population.

Up here the Scottish Govt has been drastically cutting council budgets so council's have difficult decisions to make. In my own area they've decided to protect the education, health and social care budgets so that means the cuts fall on those other areas that are very visible to the public, i.e. grass cutting in public areas reduced, street cleaning reduced, charges for all services increased (burials etc), roads budgets decreased so more potholes with less resurfacing work etc etc.

I should also add that Council Tax only makes up a small part of Council's revenue. Most of it comes from general taxation.

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By *rumpyMcFuckNuggetMan
over a year ago

Den of Iniquity


"Try living in Northampton and then tell me the council are good value for money lol

So no non motorway or trunk roads or street lighting or police or fire service or refuse services or libraries (shall I continue) in Northampton?"
Street lighting was cut back a few years ago , and nearly all of our libraries have closed

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

The council tax rise in my county is the largest percentage wise in the U.K., they’re moving to 3 weekly rubbish collection and are closing other services. But somehow they can still give the Council leader a hybrid Porsche on expenses...

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

If your blaming the council you should think again and look at how the government have cut funding to councils.

The councils spend most of their budget on social care and education .

Every central government funding cut,causes a cut in services provided by your council.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

My personal experience is I've found local councils even more corrupt than government, they've managed to avoid exposure only by government being in the media spotlight.

I've seen hundreds of thousands of pounds payoffs for utterly useless council leaders and senior management, foreign jaunts abroad for no reason whatsoever, Bentley cars for jobless majors, tens of thousands spent on court cases to stop whistleblowers.

The squandered list is endless, eventually we'll end up like the French Revolution solution.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"My personal experience is I've found local councils even more corrupt than government, they've managed to avoid exposure only by government being in the media spotlight.

I've seen hundreds of thousands of pounds payoffs for utterly useless council leaders and senior management, foreign jaunts abroad for no reason whatsoever, Bentley cars for jobless majors, tens of thousands spent on court cases to stop whistleblowers.

The squandered list is endless, eventually we'll end up like the French Revolution solution."

I am afraid its true of councils and public companies too! The management teams spend most of their days tinkering with existing systems in order to make “improvements” that lead to chaos and then they expect six figure salaries and flash german cars for their hard work! Its all lies and bullshit and short term profits for their shareholders or those of the companies they subcontract the work too. Take a look at virgin heaithcare losing their contracts with Devon County Council or G4S with Birmingham jail. They were neither cost effective or efficient but somehow they managed to win those contracts. Corruption? If it looks like shit and smells like shit you really dont need to taste it to prove yourself right!

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago


"My personal experience is I've found local councils even more corrupt than government, they've managed to avoid exposure only by government being in the media spotlight.

I've seen hundreds of thousands of pounds payoffs for utterly useless council leaders and senior management, foreign jaunts abroad for no reason whatsoever, Bentley cars for jobless majors, tens of thousands spent on court cases to stop whistleblowers.

The squandered list is endless, eventually we'll end up like the French Revolution solution.

I am afraid its true of councils and public companies too! The management teams spend most of their days tinkering with existing systems in order to make “improvements” that lead to chaos and then they expect six figure salaries and flash german cars for their hard work! Its all lies and bullshit and short term profits for their shareholders or those of the companies they subcontract the work too. Take a look at virgin heaithcare losing their contracts with Devon County Council or G4S with Birmingham jail. They were neither cost effective or efficient but somehow they managed to win those contracts. Corruption? If it looks like shit and smells like shit you really dont need to taste it to prove yourself right! "
.

Well all the upper management are in cahoots with the private firms, it's the management merry-go-round.

I give you a contract,I get fired for being a useless lying shitbag,I come work for you on a nice big salary, case in point that tosser clegg from the libdems

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