Egon Bittner, a sociologist, once defined policing as responding to “something that ought not to be happening and about which someone had better do something now”
Tag: UK
British tax rises: 1975 vs 2016
These days, governments prefer to raise money by stealth. In the Healey budget of 1975, there were eight big tax measures. In George Osborne’s budget in 2016 there were 86 crafty little ones, including higher taxes on landfills
The Economist: Britain’s long-standing opposition to tax-rises is slowly softening
Brexit: a bleak glimpse ahead
Locals worry about who will care for the elderly and wait on tables in restaurants if migrants continue to leave. Moia Wood, a primary-school teacher who specialises in working with minority groups, says many people in Harrogate don’t realise how much migrants do for them.
The Economist: A northern English town offers a glimpse of life when migrants leave
They are beginning to find out—and soon the rest of Britain will, too.
Ironical advantage of Mrs May’s weakness
The Chinese leader calculates that because Mrs May is weak domestically she cannot resist his demands. But she may be so weak she cannot give in to them.
From The Economist Espresso, dated 31 Jan 2018
Would you pass this 2 point personal finance test?
Many South Africans are ignorant of the basics of personal finance, a trait that transcends income levels. Neil Roets, who heads Debt Rescue, a debt-counselling firm, says new clients are first asked for their household budget. Most do not have one.
The Economist: In South Africa, more people have loans than jobs
- Do you understand the basics of personal finance?
- Do you have a monthly household budget, and know when you’re over/under it, and why?
Ignorance of personal finance basics, and lack of a household budget – I’m sure a good proportion of people, across income levels, in India and the UK, would fail this test.
Britain’s politics for the old, strangling its young
One in three of Britain’s houses has two or more spare bedrooms. Yet overcrowding (as measured by the number of people relative to the number of bedrooms) is rising. With grandparents hogging the bigger, better properties, their children struggle to move up the housing ladder.
The way council tax is levied also gives elderly folk less incentive to downsize. It was last updated in 1993 and the priciest homes are taxed lightly.
A little-noticed change in Britain’s housing market spells trouble for everybody, August 8, 2017 at 09:50AM
Winning wars.
“War is a strange game, in which the only winning move—is not to play.”
For all the chest-thumping, India cannot win a war against Pakistan, August 4, 2017 at 02:03AM
Irene’s Law – Estimating Tube Journey Times
If you want to get an estimate of how long a journey will take on the London Underground, you count the number of stations and multiply by two, before adding five for every interchange.
Irene’s Law – Estimating Tube Journey Times, April 2, 2017 at 11:37AM
End of an empire?
“This is probably what it felt like to be a British foreign service officer after World War II, when you realize, no, the sun actually does set on your empire,” said the mid-level officer.
‘They Really Want to Blow This Place Up’: Scenes From Trump’s State Department, March 11, 2017 at 06:59 PM
Policing by consent
The Metropolitan Police, which covers most of London, was founded in 1829 on the principle of “policing by consent” rather than by force.
Giving everyday police officers guns sends the wrong message to communities, so this thinking goes, and can actually cause more problems than it solves.
Why London doesn’t arm most of its police officers, March 23, 2017 at 05:09PM
Use my marker 