Posts by BenWilson
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Speaker: The Government you Deserve, in reply to ,
I expect it's for similar reasons that the elected leadership isn't. Too cowardly, too worried about their own position. Which is bizarre in both cases, because the main reasons given for the existence of the monarch and the non-proportional democracy by representatives is that they're so wonderfully decisive and practical and capable. But what they're showing is the exact opposite, disarray, distancing, fear, weakness, uncoordination. On both sides of the political fence, too. It's quite pathetic.
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I guess what I'm saying here is that there never was a more appropriate time for a proper representative leader to rise above the madness and lay out a sensible path. I'm personally not that much of a fan of representative democracy because I think the leadership can too easily ignore the popular will. But that is the system in most of the democratic world, and it is definitely the system in Britain. Now is the time for the value, the famous practicality, the robustness of that system to show itself. If not an elected leader, if no one will stand up, then perhaps the disaster clause, the official head of the state, could be calling for that. This is a serious enough choice for her to make her displeasure at the craven vacillation of the supposed leadership known. There is not even a leadership to demand her abdication for such arrogance. FFS this is the system the Brexit supporters are voting for? It's beyond irony and into laughing stock territory.
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It's hard to see how nutting out an exit plan and then putting it to the people is ignoring their will. But then I don't live in under Westminster democracy any more so perhaps I have forgotten what a pale shade of democracy it is, how little experience they have with such simple ideas. How ironic that this is the very system that Brexit is a vote to make supreme again.
If it then leads to a massive rise and election of the UKIP, then perhaps that is the due process here. The people who initiated Brexit take lead on organizing it. Of course this is more likely to be calling a bluff and there is no chance of a one issue party gaining even a significant minority. So the off chance that Britain has actually lapsed into collective insanity is still not a good reason to not enter into a sane democratic engagement with the withdrawal process.
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Speaker: The Government you Deserve, in reply to Rich Lock,
I’m not sure I buy Monbiot’s ability to see the future on this. Not do I buy that it’s “bad democracy”. It’s way worse democracy to roll over and accept disaster just because of a single poll result. AFAIK it’s still a representative democracy, and the referendum is non binding. The representatives are the ones democratically elected to make choices on behalf of the people, that is how their system works. One of those choices can certainly be to enter into a better plebescite process than this balls-up, in which there is a real concrete plan that people are voting on. This can quite righteously be seen as a strong message that such a process be entered into. Democracy is meant to take time. It’s meant to be a process of public engagement. I can accept that the British government has been pretty shit at that for ages, but that doesn’t mean they can never learn. This could be that time.
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I mean FFS you practically have the entire political establishment on your side. For once. Use the damned thing, make it easy for them to at least have another poll.
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The saddest part about Brexit to me is how easily people seem to have given up. The fight is not yet over and Remain seems worth fighting for. Take it to the bitter end if you ever had the courage of your convictions. This thing could still be rescued.
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Since there is a power vacuum, it might be a good time to ask the Queen what she thinks. If there was ever a time for a constitutional monarchy, it would be when the democratic system suddenly collapses. This might be a moment in which the entire justification for her position could be made or broken. She is staring down the barrel of the end of her kingdom, and surely has something to say about it.
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I'd be amazed if a single referendum could really trigger such a large event. Surely even the Brits aren't that daft? I mean we only changed the way we vote and it took two referendums to get there. This is a much, much more massive change. It's going to look pretty silly if the polls reverse rapidly, to go ahead with something that's immediately unpopular because the Brits used a referendum as a protest vote against the government, not fully realizing that there is really a lot more than their current government at stake.
That said, I haven't followed it closely, because I take British politics about as seriously as they take the EU. A remote and weird system, strangely backwards. I guess you get that when you once had an empire and still haven't gotten over losing it. If they continue down this path I'd be surprised if they can even keep their kingdom. Perhaps that's a path they just have to walk.
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Yes it's a safety net in the same way that washing car windows at intersections is. Anyone can do it, even though they probably aren't following any employment laws. Startup cost is the cost of a squeegee, rates are good until the next guy starts up next to you. It's somewhat dangerous and compromises the public safety a bit. The difference that you have to buy a late model car, take risks on wear and tear, damage, pay petrol and run the gauntlet every day of being caught and severely punished. Which are all things the unemployed don't really need. Also, whilst being a job that anyone can get, it's a job it's easy to lose. You have basically no legal recourse at all and are required to provide not just a good service, but one that is either a 4.75 or 5 star service depending on whether you calculate the average completely unfairly, or in a way that makes sense respectively. There is no natural justice whatsoever, you never get to face you accusers, nor even to hear the accusations. You just get a chance to be retrained, to get your last chance, or you get terminated.
Small wonder that the average length of service for an Uber Driver is around 6 months. It's a business model literally predicated around staff churn.
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Speaker: Confessions of an Uber Driver…, in reply to Brent Jackson,
They are extremely careful to never give any specific details (and certainly no contracts) about what “standing by 100%” means. I think drivers will have a hard enough time with them breaching their actual contract, let alone an implied and illegal contract (I’m pretty sure a contract covering fines for illegal activity would be a very dangerous document for Uber to ever release, it would be hard evidence of inciting crime, not to mention profiting from it).
But I agree, the drivers should most certainly be asking for support from Uber. The problem is, the non-compliant folk pretty much are as powerless as you could possibly get, with no leg to stand on. They’re basically begging Uber to help.
So far I’m not aware of any evidence that Uber pays driver’s fines. Nor am I aware of any driver complaining that their fines were not paid by Uber, which suggests to me that it does, in fact, happen, and it’s done on the downlow, privately, after the fact, possibly on proviso that it is not made public. But that is just speculation.