Any suggestions for a new Poll this week? There is clearly no answer to the ISEQ question. It is going up and (mainly) down like a roller coaster.

Are our democratic institutions failing to serve the people?

Respvblica wrote:

Are our democratic institutions failing to serve the people?

Are you suggesting a poll question, or asking why would we have a poll?

Should voting be compulsory ála Austrailia

cactus flower wrote:

Respvblica wrote:

Are our democratic institutions failing to serve the people?

Are you suggesting a poll question, or asking why would we have a poll?

Should voting in General Elections be compulsory ?

Yes
No

.... ?

Good poll question I think.

Respvblica - yours is good too, but is complex, and imo needs a thread.

cactus flower wrote:

Should voting in General Elections be compulsory ?

Yes
No

.... ?

Good poll question I think.

Respvblica - yours is good too, but is complex, and imo needs a thread.

You're right. I'll be busy over the next few days, but I do mean to ask peoples opinions on democratic reform.

How about: Is it time to scrap the TV license?

Or: Should the Irish people be proud of the "Irish" mainstream media?

Maybe: Should a copy of Bunreacht Na hÉireann be sent to every household along with the literal English translation as opposed to the official and incorrect one?

Hermes wrote:

How about: Is it time to scrap the TV license?

Or: Should the Irish people be proud of the "Irish" mainstream media?

Maybe: Should a copy of Bunreacht Na hÉireann be sent to every household along with the literal English translation as opposed to the official and incorrect one?

I like the TV licence one - what about scrap the smoking ban in pubs or lower the cost of cigarettes ? There are one million smokers in Ireland according I think to the indo today - the RSS feed showed it earlier - so the price hike is not working evidently. 1 million smokers paying I guess €6 or more a day in tax is 6 million a day euros - that's a lot to give up on the part of the govt. That's 2 billion a year or more.


http://www.independent.ie/health/latest-news/over-one-million-smokers-puff-on-15-a-day-1511914.html

That is shocking, shocking, shocking.

How many of them are smuggled, do you think?

cactus flower wrote:

That is shocking, shocking, shocking.

How many of them are smuggled, do you think?

What's shocking ? The fact that smokers are paying a fair fraction of the HSE bill ? (one eighth I think)

Couldn't tell you how many are smuggled but are you surprised they are ? You're allowed to purchase as many as you want abroad as long as you can prove you're a smoker yourself. Think of someone on the dole or a pensioner and what they are paying for cigarettes .. they'll be told they can always give them up of course by those who know what's best for them.

Auditor #9 wrote:

cactus flower wrote:

That is shocking, shocking, shocking.

How many of them are smuggled, do you think?

What's shocking ? The fact that smokers are paying a fair fraction of the HSE bill ? (one eighth I think)

Couldn't tell you how many are smuggled but are you surprised they are ? You're allowed to purchase as many as you want abroad as long as you can prove you're a smoker yourself. Think of someone on the dole or a pensioner and what they are paying for cigarettes .. they'll be told they can always give them up of course by those who know what's best for them.

What about giving people vouchers for sports massage, hot tubs and yoga for people who want to give up ? People need to de-stress, but not to fry their lungs surely?

cactus flower wrote:

Auditor #9 wrote:

cactus flower wrote:

That is shocking, shocking, shocking.

How many of them are smuggled, do you think?

What's shocking ? The fact that smokers are paying a fair fraction of the HSE bill ? (one eighth I think)

Couldn't tell you how many are smuggled but are you surprised they are ? You're allowed to purchase as many as you want abroad as long as you can prove you're a smoker yourself. Think of someone on the dole or a pensioner and what they are paying for cigarettes .. they'll be told they can always give them up of course by those who know what's best for them.

What about giving people vouchers for sports massage, hot tubs and yoga for people who want to give up ? People need to de-stress, but not to fry their lungs surely?

It's a fair auld addiction cactus - I take it you never smoked ? I really don't know what could be done but I don't think what IS being done is even legal. There is no basis for discriminating against smokers like that - none. The 2 billion collected from cigs more than covers the HSE issues I'd say so if they are going to try to justify it like that let them make a rough assessment of what smokers are costing the HSE and put tax on the fags to that degree. The extra money is not at the moment getting spent on helping smokers stop smoking anyway. Meanwhile they are being degraded by all the price hikes.

Another failed policy - if smokers were to take a class action against the Govt. they might feckin' win it. I don't know how this would work constitutionally or anything (would it be like the Army Deafness thing ?)

Auditor #9 wrote:

cactus flower wrote:

Auditor #9 wrote:

cactus flower wrote:

That is shocking, shocking, shocking.

How many of them are smuggled, do you think?

What's shocking ? The fact that smokers are paying a fair fraction of the HSE bill ? (one eighth I think)

Couldn't tell you how many are smuggled but are you surprised they are ? You're allowed to purchase as many as you want abroad as long as you can prove you're a smoker yourself. Think of someone on the dole or a pensioner and what they are paying for cigarettes .. they'll be told they can always give them up of course by those who know what's best for them.

What about giving people vouchers for sports massage, hot tubs and yoga for people who want to give up ? People need to de-stress, but not to fry their lungs surely?

It's a fair auld addiction cactus - I take it you never smoked ? I really don't know what could be done but I don't think what IS being done is even legal. There is no basis for discriminating against smokers like that - none. The 2 billion collected from cigs more than covers the HSE issues I'd say so if they are going to try to justify it like that let them make a rough assessment of what smokers are costing the HSE and put tax on the fags to that degree. The extra money is not at the moment getting spent on helping smokers stop smoking anyway. Meanwhile they are being degraded by all the price hikes.

Another failed policy - if smokers were to take a class action against the Govt. they might feckin' win it. I don't know how this would work constitutionally or anything (would it be like the Army Deafness thing ?)

didnt they do that in Germany and win?

Hate smoking but its effects are probably overrated. If people could get as over the top about the lack of democratic accountability and the inequalities in our country as much as they do about smoking we'd be doing grand.

Auditor #9 wrote:

cactus flower wrote:

Auditor #9 wrote:

cactus flower wrote:

That is shocking, shocking, shocking.

How many of them are smuggled, do you think?

What's shocking ? The fact that smokers are paying a fair fraction of the HSE bill ? (one eighth I think)

Couldn't tell you how many are smuggled but are you surprised they are ? You're allowed to purchase as many as you want abroad as long as you can prove you're a smoker yourself. Think of someone on the dole or a pensioner and what they are paying for cigarettes .. they'll be told they can always give them up of course by those who know what's best for them.

What about giving people vouchers for sports massage, hot tubs and yoga for people who want to give up ? People need to de-stress, but not to fry their lungs surely?

It's a fair auld addiction cactus - I take it you never smoked ? I really don't know what could be done but I don't think what IS being done is even legal. There is no basis for discriminating against smokers like that - none. The 2 billion collected from cigs more than covers the HSE issues I'd say so if they are going to try to justify it like that let them make a rough assessment of what smokers are costing the HSE and put tax on the fags to that degree. The extra money is not at the moment getting spent on helping smokers stop smoking anyway. Meanwhile they are being degraded by all the price hikes.

Another failed policy - if smokers were to take a class action against the Govt. they might feckin' win it. I don't know how this would work constitutionally or anything (would it be like the Army Deafness thing ?)

I like a good Havana cigar once or twice in a year. I gave up the cigarettes when I was a student, and it was smoke or eat, but not both. I wasn't really hooked so it was easy. I've heard that nicotine is harder to get off than heroin. It does take an average 15 years life off a person though, I also heard, and makes them go wrinkly. It always nice to see people who have given them up look healthier. And then there's the money.

Poll proposal:

With which school of economic thought do you most closely agree?

-Keynesianism

-Classicism

-Monetarism

-Marxism

-Galbraithianism

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

Poll proposal:

With which school of economic thought do you most closely agree?

-Keynesianism

-Classicism

-Monetarism

-Marxism

-Galbraithianism

None of the above ?

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

Poll proposal:

With which school of economic thought do you most closely agree?

-Keynesianism

-Classicism

-Monetarism

-Marxism

-Galbraithianism

None of the above ?

I don't like none of the above options, it's a bit of a cop-out.

I defend my right to cop out.