Tuesday 24 May 2011

Ya Think?

The scheme may irritate customers who simply want to withdraw cash. But donations will be offered as a separate menu item on the cash machine screen, or as a post-transaction option, and ministers say the process will not interfere with those who are in a hurry.
If I had a penny for every time ministers have said ‘this won’t cause a problem’ and been wrong, I’d have….well, enough to be able to afford to give more to charity!
Ministers say it should be the norm for people to leave 10 per cent of their legacies to charities in their wills.
Ministers can take the sex and travel option, frankly! My will is my business, and none of theirs, just as their wills are none of my business. But, if this goes ahead, I'll stand a drink for any MP that introduces a bill to make their wills published in the MSM by law, front page. Just to see if they follow their own dictates.

Hell, maybe they do, and that's why so many of them seem to get caught fiddling their expenses?
And the Government is to fund websites matching people willing to offer time or resources with local charities and groups.
Oh, great! Government IT, collecting our personal contact data! What could go wrong?
Other plans include encouraging shops and restaurants to adopt ‘round the pound’ schemes, in which customers are encouraged to agree to round up their bills and donate the pennies of their change to charity.
I hereby state, here and now – the charities that sign up to, or support, this scheme, will get not a single penny from me ever again.

10 comments:

Hexe said...

Sounds like a perfect opportunity for therapeutic anger release :)

I'm looking forward to being fantastically rude, loud and embarrassing in a 'good cause'...

And I encourage anyone to be 'democratic' about their displeasure, we may even be able to kill off charitable begging for good as people are getting fed up with those charity shysters overdoing it.

Robert said...

Well said, Julia.
Far too much of my money is taken in taxation for be to consider any type of charitable giving.

Robert said...

That's 'for me'.
Doh.

Worth while said...

I will accept rounding up on restaurant bills if the government rounds down their demands.

Um, say, round down to next to nothing?

Wait... sudden wild idea... can me and mine be registered as a charity and receive a share of this abundant cash?

We are worthy, etc.

Clarissa said...

I ripped the green paper on 'charitable giving' apart over Christmas and whilst I have yet to read the white paper (and give it the same treatment) it seems as though very little has changed in the last five months.

Uncle Badger said...

Nothing will change, Clarissa - politicians are transmit-only devices. They don't give the proverbial rat's rectum what you or anyone else thinks - because, They Know Best!

As for charities (sic) I have had too much (professional) exposure to them to have anything at all to do with the big ones - they are, for the most part, self-perpetuating job opportunities for professional grievance-mongers.

What I do is give to small charities, where I can be certain they don't have a Director of Communications or whatever, on £100,000 a year.

Captain Haddock said...

"I hereby state, here and now – the charities that sign up to, or support, this scheme, will get not a single penny from me ever again" ...

And the same goes for any shop or member of its staff, who has the effrontery to ask me if I'd like to particiapte in this legalised version of begging ..

The Charities which I support are ..

The RNLI

The Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal

Help4Heroes

The remainder are politely invited to "perch & pivot" ..

Charles said...

To be fair to the government, they are simply trying to change the culture of giving. Their proposal is that people who leave a certain percentage of their will to charity get a discount off inheritance tax.

What's not to like about that proposal?

JuliaM said...

"...we may even be able to kill off charitable begging for good as people are getting fed up with those charity shysters overdoing it."

Unlikely to kill it off, but very likely to change the methods the bigger charities use to go about it.

"...it seems as though very little has changed in the last five months."

So much for a 'listening government'... ;)

"What I do is give to small charities, where I can be certain they don't have a Director of Communications or whatever, on £100,000 a year."

Ditto (apart from Poppy Appeal and RNLI. Or I ask a small charity what they need, and buy them that. Animal charities are always grateful for extra bedding and food.

"To be fair to the government, they are simply trying to change the culture of giving. Their proposal is that people who leave a certain percentage of their will to charity get a discount off inheritance tax."

One, it's not up to governmrent to 'change the culture' of anything. Especially because all the changes they've managed to make so far have been for the worst!

Secondly, that's bribing me with some of my own money back. How gracious of them. Like potential charity donations, it's my money, and I'LL decide what to do with it!

Charles said...

"One, it's not up to governmrent to 'change the culture' of anything. Especially because all the changes they've managed to make so far have been for the worst!"

- Oh but it has to be. Do you like the fact that there are people who think it is okay to hang around and live on benefits? Encouraging people to work, buy making work pay, is an attempt to change culture

"Secondly, that's bribing me with some of my own money back. How gracious of them. Like potential charity donations, it's my money, and I'LL decide what to do with it!"

Either it goes into some amorphous pot and is dolled out by a politican or you get to choose how it is spent. It may not be perfect, but its better than the alternative.

To put it in perspective, my Dad put most of my inheritence into a charitable trust and I am now having huge amount of fun giving the money away. Not something I had a choice over, but you make the best of the situation