Class and peak oil

[Aurora]

Also with an impoverished middle-class, you sabotage your tax income. We (I'm unashamedly middle class) do have some uses, y'know

I'm middle class too, but pay no tax whatsoever (not VAT, not income, not local taxes, not road tax, not fuel tax, etc..)

Who will pay for your medical costs should you become unfortunate enough to require an operation or long term care?

[contadino]

Also with an impoverished middle-class, you sabotage your tax income. We (I'm unashamedly middle class) do have some uses, y'know

I'm middle class too, but pay no tax whatsoever (not VAT, not income, not local taxes, not road tax, not fuel tax, etc..)

Who will pay for your medical costs should you become unfortunate enough to require an operation or long term care?

The rich.

[Aurora]

I'm middle class too, but pay no tax whatsoever (not VAT, not income, not local taxes, not road tax, not fuel tax, etc..)

Who will pay for your medical costs should you become unfortunate enough to require an operation or long term care?

The rich.

In your dreams!

[contadino]

Who will pay for your medical costs should you become unfortunate enough to require an operation or long term care?

The rich.

In your dreams!

OK, so I was being a bit flippant. However, here in Italy, there is a high tax regime compared to the UK, which funds the health service. Sure, there's a lot of tax evasion and corruption, but on the whole it works fairly well. Our national debt is there due to historical reasons (a string of coalition governments and strong unions.)

There's also a lot of transparency. For example, there is no tax on petrol or diesel - the market sets the prices (and they're the same or a little higher than the UK - fuel companies don't get given tax breaks then have their products taxed to hell.) Road repairs are paid for directly from the poll income from the Autostrade. Sales taxes aren't applied to non-luxury things (like electricity.)

[JohnB]

Only if you're lower class. If you're upper class (or from the sowf), it rhymes with arse, as in glass.

I'm from the sowf, and not lower or upper class, and it rhymes with arse for me!

Actually I should probably now spell sowf as sowff, otherwise I might have to pronounce the f as a v in my new homeland!

[Vortex]

I was talking to a friend yesterday who had a meal with someone recently at a posh restaurant in London.

They decided to pay separately. The other person paid with some sort of mega platinum card, whilst my friend paid with a bog standard card.

My friend jokingly apologised to the waiter for not having a platinum card. The waiter replied: "... but Sir has a Cartier wallet."

There's money and there is class!