asitis Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 I'm searching through various topics looking for the point at which someone actually interjects the reality that we are skint ! The various topics being debated at the moment must run into the billions ! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinkydevil Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 3 minutes ago, asitis said: I'm searching through various topics looking for the point at which someone actually interjects the reality that we are skint ! The various topics being debated at the moment must run into the billions ! Exactly! That's why we need more rollercoasters to cheer us up. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Passing Time Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 30 minutes ago, slinkydevil said: Exactly! That's why we need more rollercoasters to cheer us up. Or the long awaited mono rail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bastard Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 You're expecting too much. The dreary old IOM has the population of a middle-sized town in the UK, and it doesn't have huge excess revenues from oil to draw on. The money it raises barely covers the bills. It's like expecting Hartlepool to suddenly find 30+ world-leading politicians and hundreds of pioneering business leaders, and to suddenly become *the* most attractive place in earth for business investment, but with no actual money to fund anything. Curb your enthusiasm. The rock is the rock, not Las Vegas. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Poppins Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 1 hour ago, The Bastard said: You're expecting too much. The dreary old IOM has the population of a middle-sized town in the UK, and it doesn't have huge excess revenues from oil to draw on. The money it raises barely covers the bills. It's like expecting Hartlepool to suddenly find 30+ world-leading politicians and hundreds of pioneering business leaders, and to suddenly become *the* most attractive place in earth for business investment, but with no actual money to fund anything. Curb your enthusiasm. The rock is the rock, not Las Vegas. I don't think anyone is expecting us to have 30+ world-leading politicians. Maybe just 10 or 15 politicians that aren't totally incompetent, inept, and utterly sh*te. We don't expect the island to be the most attractive place on earth, just somewhere that has an alright quality of life. That's not too much to ask. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyDave Posted January 28 Author Share Posted January 28 2 minutes ago, Hairy Poppins said: I don't think anyone is expecting us to have 30+ world-leading politicians. Maybe just 10 or 15 politicians that aren't totally incompetent, inept, and utterly sh*te. We don't expect the island to be the most attractive place on earth, just somewhere that has an alright quality of life. That's not too much to ask. Are you standing next time then? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Poppins Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 1 minute ago, CrazyDave said: Are you standing next time then? Who knows. Maybe. Probably not though. If there was a quorum of like-minded people with a set of ideas about reducing government headcount, reducing waste, protecting quality of life, then I would be tempted to take part. Otherwise it seems pointless. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Flint Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 9 hours ago, CrazyDave said: Why not? Why would we want a government where nobody is ever prepared to be bold or take a risk? We would end up living in a dull backwater where nothing ever actually gets achieved . Oh, wait The problem is that government sometimes has to take risks, but few therein understand the principles of risk. Allied to perfunctory decision making that doesn't enable accountability and you end up with either shit decisions or no decisions. I've even written a book about it. 9 hours ago, Non-Believer said: You're right and there's an awful lot of evidence to support that. Vision 9 and a public servant offered 5%. £300k squandered on a World TT series. £225k+ lost on a dodgy clothing supplier. £100M on a terminal in Liverpool. An abortion of a job on Douglas Promenade. £700k+ on the Cabbage. Fairy houses. £500M on a power station that we're all feeling the effects of. £100k on a boat and equipment that we can't use at the airport. I'm sure that others can add more. World TT series should be bringing in tens of millions by now. For all, see above. 1 hour ago, The Bastard said: You're expecting too much. The dreary old IOM has the population of a middle-sized town in the UK, and it doesn't have huge excess revenues from oil to draw on. The money it raises barely covers the bills. It's like expecting Hartlepool to suddenly find 30+ world-leading politicians and hundreds of pioneering business leaders, and to suddenly become *the* most attractive place in earth for business investment, but with no actual money to fund anything. Curb your enthusiasm. The rock is the rock, not Las Vegas. This is a limiting self-belief. The island should be a Celtic powerhouse, snapping on the heels of Eire. There needs to be a mindset shift and bold and visionary leadership 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Flint Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 2 minutes ago, Hairy Poppins said: Who knows. Maybe. Probably not though. If there was a quorum of like-minded people with a set of ideas about reducing government headcount, reducing waste, protecting quality of life, then I would be tempted to take part. Otherwise it seems pointless. I've said this before. 24 credible candidates and one singular manifesto 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyDave Posted January 28 Author Share Posted January 28 4 minutes ago, Hairy Poppins said: Who knows. Maybe. Probably not though. If there was a quorum of like-minded people with a set of ideas about reducing government headcount, reducing waste, protecting quality of life, then I would be tempted to take part. Otherwise it seems pointless. Organise one then? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bastard Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 51 minutes ago, Hairy Poppins said: I don't think anyone is expecting us to have 30+ world-leading politicians. Maybe just 10 or 15 politicians that aren't totally incompetent, inept, and utterly sh*te. We don't expect the island to be the most attractive place on earth, just somewhere that has an alright quality of life. That's not too much to ask. Again, you're dealing with an island with a population the size of Hartlepool. You can't turn out even 10 decent politicians in a population of that size, given that most of the population is politically inert, with limited exposure to other cultures, and without quality higher education. The island already has an "alright" quality of life - it is a peaceful society with low crime, comprehensive social security, good quality infrastructure, low cost medical care, free education, democracy and religious freedom. There are a lot of places that don't have that. I don't understand what isn't "alright" there. 51 minutes ago, Derek Flint said: This is a limiting self-belief. The island should be a Celtic powerhouse, snapping on the heels of Eire. There needs to be a mindset shift and bold and visionary leadership It's a realistic self-belief. You're stating aspirations that simply aren't achievable. Like South Park's Underpants Gnomes you have no idea how to actually achieve this noble end result of being a "powerhouse", you're just stating a desire for it. It's sweet, but doesn't make it appear from the seaweed, when there are so many obvious limiting factors that would get in the way. It reminds me of the letter written by a local figure when Summerland was built, suggesting to the British Government that it could host the Olympics. An aspiration, sure, but not an achievable one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Flint Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 15 hours ago, The Bastard said: Again, you're dealing with an island with a population the size of Hartlepool. You can't turn out even 10 decent politicians in a population of that size, given that most of the population is politically inert, with limited exposure to other cultures, and without quality higher education. The island already has an "alright" quality of life - it is a peaceful society with low crime, comprehensive social security, good quality infrastructure, low cost medical care, free education, democracy and religious freedom. There are a lot of places that don't have that. I don't understand what isn't "alright" there. It's a realistic self-belief. You're stating aspirations that simply aren't achievable. Like South Park's Underpants Gnomes you have no idea how to actually achieve this noble end result of being a "powerhouse", you're just stating a desire for it. It's sweet, but doesn't make it appear from the seaweed, when there are so many obvious limiting factors that would get in the way. It reminds me of the letter written by a local figure when Summerland was built, suggesting to the British Government that it could host the Olympics. An aspiration, sure, but not an achievable one. It is a realistic one if you have given up. It may be a starting point but there needs to be vision and progress. Currently the politicians and civil servants are full of the former but lack the ability to do the latter. Nothing is just going to arrive. The island needs to go looking for business rather than just expecting it to wash up 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bastard Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 35 minutes ago, Derek Flint said: It is a realistic one if you have given up. It may be a starting point but there needs to be vision and progress. Currently the politicians and civil servants are full of the former but lack the ability to do the latter. Nothing is just going to arrive. The island needs to go looking for business rather than just expecting it to wash up You're right in a sense, but the island has a lot of competitors - that's the reason why tourism is dead, there are sunnier destinations elsewhere, and Wales and Ireland have everything we have. There are also financial competitors that a lot of businesses would disappear off to in a heartbeat. What the IOM lacks is a unique proposition. It doesn't need heritage railways that you can find in Wales or Cumbria, or any of the other blandness and mediocrity. It needs a Nurburgring. It needs a cannabis resort. It needs a wire slide down the Laxey valley, a scary, vertiginous epic MTB mountain challenge, a huge sweeping artificial ski trail, a near-impossible 4x4 challenge, miles of green lane motorcycling that aren't boggy ruts. Something you can't just get in Wales, plus oversight to bring it all together. That doesn't just come from Government, that needs private enterprise. Plus a tunnel. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxman1980 Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 1 hour ago, The Bastard said: Plus a tunnel. Hello Boris, how is life after being Prime Minister of the UK? Still dreaming of a tunnel under the Irish Sea with a roundabout beneath the Isle of Man are you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Power Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 2 hours ago, Derek Flint said: It is a realistic one if you have given up. It may be a starting point but there needs to be vision and progress. Currently the politicians and civil servants are full of the former but lack the ability to do the latter. Nothing is just going to arrive. The island needs to go looking for business rather than just expecting it to wash up This has been the case since the Tourism bubble burst and nothing was done to try and hang on to it after the Summerland fire. J.B. Bolton made the government aware of the benefits of being a financial centre, that fell into their lap with very little comparative effort. As that began to become over regulated, we couldn't cope, and began backing any horse that came along, the film industry, space tourism, airships, digital IoM, but nothing which was strategically planned and tested by anyone who really understood anything about them. We fell victim to to many a travelling snake oil salesman, over and over, and because we just don't have a joined up strategy for anything, the TT being an exception. We actually understand very little about anything and rely on people who are only too willing to take our money and make off with it for glorified consultations and projects, without any skin in the game! 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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