Log in
Register
Search
Search titles only
By:
Search titles only
By:
Forums
New posts
Forum list
Search forums
Leaderboards
Games
Our Blog
Blogs
New entries
New comments
Blog list
Search blogs
Credits
Transactions
Shop
Blessings: ✟0.00
Tickets
Open new ticket
Watched
Donate
Log in
Register
Search
Search titles only
By:
Search titles only
By:
More options
Toggle width
Share this page
Share this page
Share
Reddit
Pinterest
Tumblr
WhatsApp
Email
Share
Link
Menu
Install the app
Install
Forums
Discussion and Debate
Discussion and Debate
Politics
General Political Discussion
Bill Gates: I don't pay enough tax!
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="mindlight" data-source="post: 59926864" data-attributes="member: 21246"><p>I have seriously missed our discussions and have been thinking about your post most of the day. I can respect you are a Christian and yet yes we do have very different ways of looking at the world. The combination of those two things is a definite stimulus to serious debate <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>That's not entirely fair the Tories have always been about smaller government and objected to the various quangos and bureaucracies that Labour were foisting on the public services at an early stage. The mess made of the defence budget is a national disgrace and the mismatch between commitments and expenditure would be funny if it were not so costly. Other countries came into this crisis much better prepared and there is no real reason why Britain, unlike Germany for instance, could not have been running a surplus rather than a substantial deficit coming into this crisis. Gordons Browns vision of a socialist state is a primary factor in Britains current problems. The Tories did share the blindness to a considerable extent over the banking industry, however they had been saying for some time that we needed a more balanced economy and were with the CBI mourning Labours apparent disregard for the manufacturing sector for instance before the crisis struck.</p><p>This theme of greed being the ultimate evil of the rich and powerful reoccurs in your writing and I want to come back to that later in my post.</p><p></p><p>I share your concerns with the ways in which a consumer society and the pressures to earn enough to live in it, eat away a persons time for more productive activities with children and with church for instance, or indeed for the simple concern for ones fellow human beings. It can seem an utterly empty vision and seems petty by contrast to the age of empires, or indeed to the times of grand wars for noble purposes, demanding great sacrifices, or to grand projects like building cathedrals to the glory of God, or sending people to the moon to explore the Creation. Our visions have grown small and parochial even as the world has come together and the mental and chronological distances between global places and cultures have shrunk. There is a distinct lack of nobility in the fat slob on his couch watching TV and posting on Facebook who lacks the energy to reach for anything higher. A real vision energises a culture to aspire to something more and it's true this vision may even be lacking in a church wrapped up in the personal pursuit of inner peace and pastoral advice for complex psychological problems. It may well be that answer for the mess we have allowed to grow within may be something that draws us out there into a larger vision and purpose.</p><p>Regarding the price of houses I think actually the reason for the inflation of prices in England is basic supply and demand. the population is still growing on a small island. It is the price of the land rather than the increasingly cheaper materials used to build houses that is the problem. There has always been an outward population pressure in the place- the early version was male primogenitur and the latest is the price of houses. The difference now is that net inward immigration is accelerating the trend to higher prices. More people may have to live in flats is the simply answer.</p><p></p><p>I definitely disagree that impractically beautiful old church buildings are an unnecessary cost. Though this does depend on the quality of the building we are talking about. Not all are worthy of the cost of preservation but many are a powerful witness to the glory of God built into the very architectural fabric of our nation. It's a fact that beautiful churches often attract larger congregations and also allow for church tourists at weddings and funerals who later join the church proper , originally attracted by nothing stronger than an attractive place for a wedding. The effective management of these resources and fund raising activities are crucial factors of course but go hand in hand with the other aspects of the church budget.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="mindlight, post: 59926864, member: 21246"] I have seriously missed our discussions and have been thinking about your post most of the day. I can respect you are a Christian and yet yes we do have very different ways of looking at the world. The combination of those two things is a definite stimulus to serious debate :-) That's not entirely fair the Tories have always been about smaller government and objected to the various quangos and bureaucracies that Labour were foisting on the public services at an early stage. The mess made of the defence budget is a national disgrace and the mismatch between commitments and expenditure would be funny if it were not so costly. Other countries came into this crisis much better prepared and there is no real reason why Britain, unlike Germany for instance, could not have been running a surplus rather than a substantial deficit coming into this crisis. Gordons Browns vision of a socialist state is a primary factor in Britains current problems. The Tories did share the blindness to a considerable extent over the banking industry, however they had been saying for some time that we needed a more balanced economy and were with the CBI mourning Labours apparent disregard for the manufacturing sector for instance before the crisis struck. This theme of greed being the ultimate evil of the rich and powerful reoccurs in your writing and I want to come back to that later in my post. I share your concerns with the ways in which a consumer society and the pressures to earn enough to live in it, eat away a persons time for more productive activities with children and with church for instance, or indeed for the simple concern for ones fellow human beings. It can seem an utterly empty vision and seems petty by contrast to the age of empires, or indeed to the times of grand wars for noble purposes, demanding great sacrifices, or to grand projects like building cathedrals to the glory of God, or sending people to the moon to explore the Creation. Our visions have grown small and parochial even as the world has come together and the mental and chronological distances between global places and cultures have shrunk. There is a distinct lack of nobility in the fat slob on his couch watching TV and posting on Facebook who lacks the energy to reach for anything higher. A real vision energises a culture to aspire to something more and it's true this vision may even be lacking in a church wrapped up in the personal pursuit of inner peace and pastoral advice for complex psychological problems. It may well be that answer for the mess we have allowed to grow within may be something that draws us out there into a larger vision and purpose. Regarding the price of houses I think actually the reason for the inflation of prices in England is basic supply and demand. the population is still growing on a small island. It is the price of the land rather than the increasingly cheaper materials used to build houses that is the problem. There has always been an outward population pressure in the place- the early version was male primogenitur and the latest is the price of houses. The difference now is that net inward immigration is accelerating the trend to higher prices. More people may have to live in flats is the simply answer. I definitely disagree that impractically beautiful old church buildings are an unnecessary cost. Though this does depend on the quality of the building we are talking about. Not all are worthy of the cost of preservation but many are a powerful witness to the glory of God built into the very architectural fabric of our nation. It's a fact that beautiful churches often attract larger congregations and also allow for church tourists at weddings and funerals who later join the church proper , originally attracted by nothing stronger than an attractive place for a wedding. The effective management of these resources and fund raising activities are crucial factors of course but go hand in hand with the other aspects of the church budget. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Discussion and Debate
Discussion and Debate
Politics
General Political Discussion
Bill Gates: I don't pay enough tax!
Top
Bottom