tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post4559805624769066200..comments2024-03-28T13:48:13.606+00:00Comments on Ambush Predator: ‘Well, The ‘Lotto’ Is Popular With The Proles….’JuliaMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07844126589712842477noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post-12087338338960361832008-07-10T09:12:00.000+01:002008-07-10T09:12:00.000+01:00I am too.Thishttp://images.google.co.uk/imgres?img...I am too.<BR/><BR/>This<BR/><BR/>http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.whale.to/b/images/capitalism.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.whale.to/b/pyramid_of_capitalist_system.html&h=866&w=700&sz=390&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=DXLR-kMDtMQqTM:&tbnh=145&tbnw=117&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpyramid%2Bcapitalism%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG<BR/><BR/><BR/>gets in the way<BR/><BR/>ttAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post-22633628780880516072008-07-09T18:24:00.000+01:002008-07-09T18:24:00.000+01:00"I'm a great believer in shifting power and accoun...<I>"I'm a great believer in shifting power and accountability to a more local level. You may have noticed."</I><BR/><BR/>:DAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post-24065664406766266652008-07-09T17:43:00.000+01:002008-07-09T17:43:00.000+01:00Is it the French system we need though? Or the Fre...<I>Is it the French system we need though? Or the French attitude to community issues?<BR/><BR/>I can see where this might pay dividends for some groups who are dedicated and can muster the resources that councils often don't bother with; small community libraries would be an ideal example.<BR/><BR/>I just wonder if this is more a way for councils to hive off services that are a nuisance to them in terms of potential future lawsuits...</I><BR/><BR/>Either would be a start. However, the system is worth looking at because it devolves democracy to a very local level. Even at our local council level; we, the electorate, are divorced from those wielding power. The French commune system places power and responsibility with local people. Don't like the way your mayor handles things? With an electorate in the tens, rather than the hundreds or thousands, getting the incumbent removed is rather more possible.<BR/><BR/>I'm a great believer in shifting power and accountability to a more local level. You may have noticed.Longriderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139120804208136012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post-28507154964538679832008-07-09T17:10:00.000+01:002008-07-09T17:10:00.000+01:00"Burst water pipe leading to your house? Speak to ...<I>"Burst water pipe leading to your house? Speak to the mayor and a couple of local lads come out to fix it - promptly, too."</I><BR/><BR/>Is it the French <I>system</I> we need though? Or the French <I>attitude</I> to community issues? <BR/><BR/>I can see where this might pay dividends for some groups who are dedicated and can muster the resources that councils often don't bother with; small community libraries would be an ideal example.<BR/><BR/>I just wonder if this is more a way for councils to hive off services that are a nuisance to them in terms of potential future lawsuits...<BR/><BR/><I>"the council has the authority but getting that authority applied is effectively impossible: even my local councillor threw up her hands and declared impotence."</I><BR/><BR/>Yup, because there's no impetus on them to do anything. Your councillor is elected. The Haringey council workers aren't!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post-42980759487334618692008-07-09T16:29:00.000+01:002008-07-09T16:29:00.000+01:00If a name (and phone number) could be publicly att...If a name (and phone number) could be publicly attached to a responsibility (eg the bloke in the town hall who is responsible for allowing utilities to tear up roads and then wait for a few days or weeks before anything further is done) then maybe we'd be getting somewhere. I've tried on many occasions to get someone at Haringey Town Hall to do something about utilities creating havoc: it's no one person's (or seemingly anybody's) responsibility: the council has the authority but getting that authority applied is effectively impossible: even my local councillor threw up her hands and declared impotence. There's no need for a transfer of assets. As LR writes there's need for <I>accountability</I>. Without that nothing happens.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post-68653973799101086222008-07-09T15:36:00.000+01:002008-07-09T15:36:00.000+01:00The issue, of course, is not necessarily the swimm...The issue, of course, is not necessarily the swimming pool, it's the accountability. If the water is crap, swimmers will know who, exactly, to see about it. Which is pretty much what happens in the French commune system. Burst water pipe leading to your house? Speak to the mayor and a couple of local lads come out to fix it - promptly, too.Longriderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139120804208136012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post-44697342634940649892008-07-09T15:18:00.000+01:002008-07-09T15:18:00.000+01:00I suppose it depends on how they transfer the asse...I suppose it depends on <I>how</I> they transfer the assets - would a neighbourhood group want all the liability and red tape that came with it? <BR/><BR/>What benefit do they imagine they will get from having control of, say, a local swimming pool, that they haven't got now?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-627081175329856970.post-82087177710003304022008-07-09T15:06:00.000+01:002008-07-09T15:06:00.000+01:00...transferring some council assets like swimming ...<I>...transferring some council assets like swimming pools to neighbourhood groups. </I><BR/><BR/>Actually, that might not be as daft as it sounds. If democracy is operated at the lowest level possible, then that is exactly what would happen.<BR/><BR/>The French commune system works very well. Imagine asking a mayor in Britain if they could sort out your missing parcel. I did it in France and the Mayor was happy to help.Longriderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15139120804208136012noreply@blogger.com