Saturday, 3 December 2011

Market Research.

Updated
Capitalists At Work market research.
Where do you stand?

Where do you stand on?
1} Public sector pensions
A} They are barely adequate

B} They are decent, but then they need to be to make up for their poorer wages
C} They are far too generous. They must be brought into line with the private sector

This was pretty unanimous and one of the most open questions asked. 88% felt that a PS pension cut was in order. 0% felt they weren't adequate. A bit worrying for Mr Prentis.
For us at C@W it indicates a strong private sector readership, but we knew that already.


2} Defence Spending
A} Its far too low for all the commitments the military has.
B} It needs to be cut in line with other government departments.
C} Its a complete waste of money. Scrap Trident and the the carriers and halve it now.

An even split. 41% for cut in line and 41% for its too low. The too low indicates an increase is needed. But defence has been the most wasteful of the departments. Carriers, Nimrods, Typhoons, SA-80s, all being scrapped or going unsold in the wider world. The non-flying Nimrod MRA4 cost at least three £3 billion The US sells its M16A2 main infantry automatic rifle to 95 different countries, including 15 Nato ones. The SA80 is sold to Jamaica.
However, many feel the military needs more cash.


3} Unemployment Benefits.

A} Unemployment benefit needs to be increased to be adequate to live on.
B} Benefit should be paid for a fixed period only, say two years. Then it is reduced.

C} You've got 12 weeks to find a job or starve.


64% go for option B. Currently JSA ends after 6 months. It then becomes income based. If you have a home or savings, you might get nothing. Its a very poor system. The question implies two years is plenty, and if after that time you haven't found something in your field, its time for a complete change.
But quite a generous response for the babbling blues?


4}Coalition government

A} It seems to be working quite well
B} Well..its better than Brown

C} I never thought I'd support Labour again but ...

Another firm decision.68% say Better than Brown. That is something I feel. When Cameron goes to Nice or Strasbourg I never expect him to get off the plane with one black and one brown shoe or his tie tucked into his top pocket like a handkerchief. With Gordon it was always likely the airline steps would be too short and he'd have to jump down 6 feet or when the heads of the G-20 all trooped back in from a photo shoot on the steps he'd somehow be left locked outside trying to find the bell to be let back in.

5}Europe

A} We have to go along with any bailouts, if we don't we'll be sunk.
B} We should do our limited best to help the Euro, without making too many commitments

C} Not one more farthing should be sent across the channel


50-50 for limited help and no help. The euro heads are hoping for the traders Christmas like never before. This summer, for the first time in memory, that didn't help. The stock markets sold in May and went away and....it got a lot worse.

6}Cameron

A} He's doing well in very difficult circumstances.
B} He's not as effective as I'd hoped. But compared to Miliband he's a giant of a politician

C} You're seriously asking me about that 'Call me Dave', hoody hugging, Green faced, windmill tilting, u-turning, Euro loving, liberal coward Cameron?


11% doing well -52% OK and 35% he's a traitor. Pretty much the same as the last YOUGOV.

7}Economic action
A} The government should not cut spending, but instead have a mini, targeted stimulus, to get the economy moving
B} There isn't any money. The government has no choice but to do what its doing.
C} Cut more. Including taxes.

88% for more cuts including taxes. Is that really plan B? A cut in income tax? Better yet N.I. There are a few schemes but they're typical new labour soundbite plans that look impressive but actually effect only a few hundred people. IF the government won its pension battle AND its end to national pay deals within the public sector there could be a big reduction in future expenditure, so allowing for future cuts. Osborne MUST have something ready for 2014/15.

8}Energy
A} Green energy is the future. Its madness to cut investment and jobs in solar energy now.
B} We must reduce our carbon emissions. But we must do so slowly, so as not to damage the economy or drive up energy prices.
C} Global warming is a scam. Even if it isn't what's the point when China builds a coal power station a week?

65% think its a waste or worse. 35% that it needs to be reduced sensibly. No one fancied a green energy future.

9}Banks

A} The banks need to face much,much higher taxation and bonuses must be capped.
B} Banks need to be forced to hold more reserves and the retail split from the investment in some way.
C} Finance is the only large profit industry we have. It would be insane to destroy it because a few get super wealthy.


No takers for a Tobin tax. Ken Livingstone was going on about it again today. How much will it raise? No one knew. He also felt no bank would leave London but if any did it would be to New York, not Europe, so it wouldn't matter much. Please don't be mayor-please don't be mayor.
Please don't be mayor-please don't be mayor.

10} Media
A} British media, Daily Mail, Sun, Sky and BBC are right wing and they have too much influence on the nation.
B} British TV and investigative journalism is the best in the world. Do we really want a US style hysterical, partisan media?

C} British media, Daily Mirror, The Guardian, Channel 4 and BBC are left wing and they have too much influence on the nation.

The left leaning media got the most votes but best in the world also took 29%. A number also thought the broadcast/print media irrelevant. Well..not yet. But on the Simpsons when they introduced a character from The New York Post Nelson Munce said "Ha-ha! Your medium is dying."

Thanks everyone for taking the time to fill all that in.

26 comments:

Hopper said...

1. Halfway between B and C
2. B
3. B
4. B
5. B
6. A
7. C
8. C
9. B
10. A + C

Richard Manns said...

C
B
B
B
C
B
C
Between B and C
C
Between B and C

alan said...

1 C)
2 B)
3 B)
4 D) I'm never voting Labour, but the coalition are muppets
5 B)
6 CCCCCCCCCCCCC ;-)
7 C)
8 D) peak oil trumps AGW. Manhattan style project to get off fossil fuel ASAP (cheaply)
9 D) send in fraud investigators and offenders goto prison
10 C x 10

Anonymous said...

1 C, 2 A, 3 D, 4 D - None of the above, 5 C, 6 C, 7 C, 8 C, 9 D –responsibility should lie where it falls, 10 D – blogs!

BTW, what`s the prize?

BrianSJ said...

I think you are framing the questions in terms that are now past their sell-by date. The problem is that we have a Marie Antoinette elite that has allowed problems to get completely out of control, 'assisted' by the enemy within, Sir Humphrey.

Botogol said...

i guess

1C
2C (but also A is true (!)
3B
4A
5B
6B
7C
8C
9C
10C

someday said...

1} Public sector pensions
C} They are far too generous. They must be brought into line with the private sector

2} Defence Spending
A} Its far too low for all the commitments the military has.

3} Unemployment Benefits.
B} Benefit should be paid for a fixed period only, say two years. Then it is reduced.

4}Coalition government
B} Well..its better than Brown

5}Europe
C} Not one more farthing should be sent across the channel

6}Cameron
C} You're seriously asking me about that 'Call me Dave', hoody hugging, Green faced, windmill tilting, u-turning, Euro loving, liberal coward Cameron?

7}Economic action
C} Cut more. Including taxes.

8}Energy
C} Global warming is a scam. Even if it isn't what's the point when China builds a coal power station a week?

9}Banks
B} Banks need to be forced to hold more reserves and the retail split from the investment in some way.

10} Media
C} British media, Daily Mirror, The Guardian, Channel 4 and BBc are left wing and they have too much influence on the nation.

GSD said...

Hi BQ. At risk of ridicule forevermore:

1) C
2) A
3) B
4) B
5) C
6) B
7) C
8) C*
9) B
10) C

* but energy security is paramount.De-linking from the unstable producing areas of the world can only be good.

Sean said...

The intern is not a russian spy is she Bill?...and does she have a pierced belly button?

1, Phase out and go for the Pinochet solution.

2, Drones, invest in drones in the air and on the ground and special forces, marines and spooks. More bang for your buck.

3, Minimum Income, based on a 5 year budget voted on by the public

4, B

5, c

6, I dont turn the telly off when he comes on....YET

7, More cuts, with the proceeds cut taxes to the same amount. Put up interest rates and do some more QE.

8, Blow up Blackpool instead, a few pebble bed nukes and move to the thorium cycle asap. lets not suck Putins dick like the Germans.

9, Its not what you do its when you do it, so in the long run a split. The crisis has not yet played fully out, what I suspect will be needed is some sort of currency reform unless by hyper inflation we all end up back on the Gold standard as the least worst option.

10, The licence fee should be optional and when the digital roll out is complete a timetable should be set out.

in the internet age the media is off much less reliance and it will get much worse for them. The glory days are over.

It waz the Net that Dun it.

Bill Quango MP said...

All right, so far Dave doing ok, and the unemployed getting plenty of sympathy. If that question was reworded 'never worked' would be as generous? I expect not.

Roundup later.

Buildingstoat said...

1, B
2. C + A
3. B
4. B
5. C
6. C + B
7. C
8. C
9. C
10 C

citizenSmith said...

@BQ

...after less than a dozen comments...well I suppose that's how the Bungling Blue Buffoons come up with their manifesto!

Jan said...

1. C
2. C
3. leave as it is (option D)
4. B
5. C
6. B
7. C
8. B
9. B
10.B

andrew said...

1 Public sector pensions
C

2 Defence Spending
B

3} Unemployment Benefits.
D - the last thing we give up on is keeping fellow humans warm, dry and fed (however i see no reason to pay for the sky subscription)

4}Coalition government
B

5}Europe
B

6}Cameron
B

7}Economic action
B

8}Energy
B

9}Banks
D - in a wider sense, do the shareholders of the banks/any public company really have effective control over the pay of people paid (say) 500K+?

10} Media
D - Does anyone take these people really seriously anymore?

ivan said...

1 - C
2 - A
3 - B
4 - B
5 - C
6 - C
7 - C
8 - C
9 - B
10- C

asquith said...

Well, you did ask.

1. c
2. b
3. a
4. a
5. b/c
6. a/b
7. b
8. b (I'd add that many of the "green" schemes being brought in are useless or worse, so can be scrapped without any environmental damage at all).
9. b
10. b

HarryD said...

1.C
2.B
3.B
4.B
5.C
6.B
7.C
8.B
9.C
10.C

lilith said...

Where do you stand on?
1} Public sector pensions
C} They are far too generous. They must be brought into line with the private sector

2} Defence Spending
A} Its far too low for all the commitments the military has.

3} Unemployment Benefits.
B} Benefit should be paid for a fixed period only, say two years. Then it is reduced.


4}Coalition government
B} Well..its better than Brown


5}Europe
C} Not one more farthing should be sent across the channel

6}Cameron
C} You're seriously asking me about that 'Call me Dave', hoody hugging, Green faced, windmill tilting, u-turning, Euro loving, liberal coward Cameron?

7}Economic action
C} Cut more. Including taxes.

8}Energy
C. Global warming is a scam. Even if it isn't what's the point when China builds a coal power station a week?

9}
C} Finance is the only large profit industry we have. It would be insane to destroy it because a few get super wealthy.

lilith said...

10 C

James Quigley said...

1-C
2-C
3-C
4-A
5-B
6-B
7-C
8-C
9-B/C
10-B, but it's in need of more accountability/regulation than currently

Roy S. said...

1C 2B 3B 4B 5B 6B 7C 8C 9C 10C

Nick Drew said...

Mr Q is Tim Montgomerie and I claim my 50p

Bill Quango MP said...

Mr Drew: This is valuable research..And I've already sold it to Ashcroft, so you can have your 50p.

Anonymous said...

For what it's worth...

1 - C
2 - B (but withdraw from these mad foreign adventures)
3 - B
4 - B/C (better than Labour, but a colossal disappointment)
5 - C
6 - C+ (again, a massive disappointment)
7 - C (and, as I'm sure your readers are aware, spending is higher now than it was when the Coalition came to office)
8 - C, obviously
9 - B/C
10 - C, but I'm no fan of the Murdoch press...

GSD said...

@BQ: [re Q3 word change] Probably - although any policy like that would be accused of targeting the poor-hardworking-young-schoolleavers.

A couple of further points:

2.A) could be resolved by fewer commitments too...

9) So what was the B/C split?

hatfield girl said...

Mr Monti's going to deliver his view of all this by decree tomorrow, so I thought I'd keep my powder (or expletives)dry till then.