Complaint about public transport

Be interesting how you'd envisage paying for all the general services you need directly. Can't imagine anyone paying voluntarily their share of policing, fire services, armed forces etc etc directly. Unless forced to do so by law to some form of private monopoly. And we know just how efficient those tend to be...

Effectively there is a tax on aviation fuel. It is in the form of the air transport levy.

There is an international agreement not to tax aviation fuel so as not to encourage airlines to so manage the fuel reserves of aircraft in the air in such a way as to maximise their uptake of low tax fuel to the detriment of safety.

DG

These are easy. There's no reason why they couldn't be subscription services.

This one is problematical, although the first change I would make would be to forbid the deployment of armed forces outside the UK. The armed forces should be for the defence of the realm, not protecting commercial interests overseas.

Besides, I said "more or less"; I'd be happy to reduce the Government's "take" of the GDP from the ~50% it presently is to below 10%. The law of diminishing returns would make it hard to eliminate the remaining 10%. We could start by eliminating the 650 quangos in this country.

etc etc directly. Unless forced to

All monopolies suck. The ones that suck hardest of all are the ones enforced by violence; the ones "offered" by the State.

I'd be happy to loan you my copy of Murray Rothbard's "Towards a New Liberty" which discusses the "free loader" problem at great length. Providing you promise to return it.

In the same way then as VED is a tax on the fuel used by road vehicles?

If that were the case, *every* aircraft would jettison fuel before landing anywhere.

Derek was referring to the risk of running out of fuel.

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes

It would give us a chance to support what we want though, like the NHS but not the illegal war in Iraq.

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes

Correct me if I'm wrong but I understood it was a requirement of each captain of an aircraft to have an extra 30 min's fuel in case of landing difficulties like stacking at Heathrow?

No:

Because VED is not a tax on travelling by motor vehicle or on the use of fuel. It is a tax on having a vehicle licensed to go onto public roads, and it is due whether any journeys are made or not.

As I know to my cost Re: absentee daughter's car.

Some economy measure that would be. Jettison a few tons of fuel you've already paid the tax on so you can get more cheap stuff in when you stop in Leichtenstein (or wherever) . LOL.

DG

Probably true, but where some shonky/third world airlines are involved safest just to make sure there's no additional financial incentive to cut corners beyond the cash flow and weight implications.

DG

The limiting factor in central Edinburgh is the parking; there has been a defacto informal "park'n'ride" system greatly predating the new official overpriced version.

The "loony" measures I refer to are things like the short stubs of bus lane and road narrowing which create pinch points where none existed and successfully screw up traffic flow for cars and buses alike.

I think it would require a *lot* of extra traffic to congest as badly as the Beggisms, and it would be moving, so less polluting.

I live in Central Edinburgh and I can breathe :)

In message , Derek * writes

To be honest with you I was concerned after a holiday in Egypt, coming back on their flag carrier it became apparent that the wing air brake flaps weren't working properly and I seriously doubted we'd stop on the runway at Heathrow.

Oh well, never mind. :-)

Yes. But can you imagine a government of *any* colour giving you that choice?

Seems to me those who frequently bleat on about excessive taxation, etc, would be the very last ones to give any choice about paying for waging war on another country. Same with policing and prisons, etc. No matter how much money those waste through just not working as intended.

Before the local authorities were re-organised in 197(4) ? it wasn't too far from that situation, here at any rate. In our small authority we got a detailed breakdown from each of the services in with the rates bill.

The current situation whereby the authority (The Council) is 50 times the size, and is getting more of it's funding from the government (who can treat it like a political football) than from local tax payers is just a barrel full of dog's vomit.

Nobody knows what's gone into it.

You mean like "The Radiochemical Centre" ? (Amersham International).

There's enough signs and information at the bus stops. If people are too thick to read them, then that's a different issue.

I couldn't care less. I think the London congestion charge is a fantastic idea.

I sometimes drive into the Congestion Charge area (for work purposes) and do pay it. I do see a benefit.

Fuck knows what you expect for the fiver.

In message , T. writes

I have an oyster pre pay for when I visit London, I live in the Lake District.

-- Clive.

Hmm, looks to me like there's a case of identity crisis going on round here...

(c:

Douglas