h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

>> It used to be quite the thing for the well-to-do to indulge in a little opium.

And heroin and cocaine were included in WI care packages sent to our boys in the trences. If they'd sent some decent green, the WWI might have ended sooner.

Funny, I was just talking about that with someone recently. They had been told by a relative of the "Penny Specials" that were available at the chemists.

Is that like the 'Special' Happy Meals that were available from the Maryhill branch of...a well known fast food chain? Allegedly.

No idea. But I know of at least two newsagents on Dumbarton Rd who'll sell you something to make you happy about the news in the papers

And then there's the guy on...another large Glasgow thouroughfare...who sells ethnic-y crafts. You can buy Indian wooden boxes from him at £10 or ££25. Both boxes are identical - but the more expensive one contains a free gift. And, if you're a woman, I'm told you get a free grope. Whether you want it or not.

And, of course, there's always the ice cream vans.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_Ice_Cream_Wars

A pity to have to link to Wikipedia. Especially with our current shortage of Entries! Hint. Hint. Hint.

Oof! That one might cover some dodgy legal territory. Plus, you wouldn't want to cross [name deleted on advice from my lawyer].

...the indisputable/ Close friends get to call him...

Quite common then. There used to be a record shop in Dundee where, if you asked for the "Number One" copy of a record, a little extra something was in the sleeve. There was also the clothing stall at Ingliston market where girls could get amazing bargains for the latest fashions, so long as the "haggling" took place in the back of the van behind the stall.

I wasn't suggesting an Entry on where to get special deals!

Did someone mention tanning parlours?

Why not Mal? In these Credit Crunch times, every pound (or oz) helps

So, returning from the best shops to score, the evidence suggests that society is better off getting more equal.

So, in the current climate, should the govt shy away from chasing growth and turn us into a hippy commune? Or more seriously, is it time for a rethink on moving heaven and earth to get the economy growing again? After all, we'll still have a sick society if we have 10 times the times with the same inequality.

>>So, in the current climate, should the govt shy away from chasing growth and turn us into a hippy commune?

Well...this is just it, isn't it? It's not individual attachment to material goods that's the issue. It's the structure of ociety as a whole.

Growth vs equality. Hmm. I shall have to think about that. Is it possible to pursue growth *and* equality? The Conventional Wisdom (and I use that in the Galbraithian sense <winkeye)) is that the top end are the engines of growth who trickle down to the remainder. Is this necessarily true? Can - eg, an educated, equal, 'knowledge society' achieve growth without increasing inequality?

Or is this growth inevitably at the expense of others - eg overseas?


I wonder...what about an optimum level of sustainable growth? Is this where the Brownian 2% comes from?


C'mon, p - you're the expert.

<<Is it possible to pursue growth *and* equality? The Conventional Wisdom (and I use that in the Galbraithian sense >


Well, one Nobel prize-winning view of development is that it's driven by technological development. The other view is that it's a by-product of the growth of markets (ie bigger markets leads to further specialisation which in turn leads to higher productivity). I don't think many economists these days view inequality as part of capitalism (which means all, admittedly).


<>

What, the way the West did between the 40s and 70s? Although it occurs to me that was really a social effect caused by the rich being surrounded by the poor during WW2, and (both) realising that being rich or poor meant nothing in terms of character. A lesson many seem to have forgotten these days.

>>(both) realising that being rich or poor meant nothing in terms of character.

Hmm. I think there may have been other factors also - such as the working class realising that they could exercise their political muscle. Specifically in the UK, that is. In mainleand Europe, nations were busy establishing Social Democracies and industrial cooperation.

There will always be inequality because without it why would people aspire to be any better than they are?

Would I have gone to university? Would I carry on going through the stress of some parts of my job when I could live equally doing a less stressful and easier job knowing I would get the same as others?

There is the unfortunate cycle of people at the bottom needing more help and money hand-outs than those 'at the top' to try get them out of the 'bottom' but when people 'at the top' or even in the middle see that they are working their ass off and having nothing given back to them but taken and handed to people who don't seem to want to move from where they are it p1sses them off.

It goes deeper than inequalities it requires more respect and discpline instilled into people not for other people for themselves as well. This would go someway to helping people realise they can get out of the 'bottom' of society.

It does seem that people are meeting half way but taking the cash and going back to where they started from.

But when you see MP's creaming £14,000 off us all on a 'second home' 8miles from his first home and in central London you can see why people aren;t bothered about getting better education etc. They haev got used to their lives and get handouts, get drunk, have casual sex, laze around...OK, I'm jealous alright!!!!!

But seriously...there needs to be a meeting half way to gte rid of inequality.

Yes it's true, I wouldn't have spent all those hellish 4 years in university (we only got 32 weeks of holiday a year! the horror!) and stressful 4 years doing a PhD (sometimes I had 1pm meetings to get up for! can you imagine?) if I couldn't have become a highly paid scientist at the end of it, with a university provided Mercedes. It even has those seats that warm your bum. No, if only it paid the same I would have opted to work cleaning toilets and collecting rubbish because that would obviously have been much easier.

>>But when you see MP's creaming £14,000 off us all

Frankly, that's a screamingly trivial issue in the context of the economy as a whole. .

But eventually Dottie makes a decent point:

>>But seriously...there needs to be a meeting half way to gte rid of inequality.

I afree. I'm not sure anyone's proposing *equality* - merely limits to *inequality*. And, as has been pointed out, this would benefit all, across the wealth spectrum.

Edward the Bonobo


>>But when you see MP's creaming £14,000 off us all

Frankly, that's a screamingly trivial issue in the context of the economy as a whole. .

It all add's up and it's the principal of the matter. In other walks of life they would be fined, sacked, jailed.

But eventually Dottie makes a decent point(Sometimes, when I read your consistently belittling and condesending replies to my posts do just think you should go 'duck' yourself:

Dogster



Strange, I did a proper degree where it was a full-on stressful degree to get the one I got...I also didn't bother with a PhD as I would rather do something useful...rather than sit around for 4years.



Hmmm, university provided Mercedes? No, wonder Universities are calling for the doubling of tuition fees.



And yet some jobs ARE much easier...I've done plenty of other jobs during my period at university to pay myself through University and overall it was great. Go in do fairly brainless job for 8hours, let mind wander, go home, relax. If I got paid what I get now for one of the previous jobs I've done I'd be more than happy.