"No, but I'm full of ideas."

[usuallyhats]

1.) Am distinctly unimpressed by the goverment's proposals to pay people who inform on benefits cheats. For a start, it'll encourage nasty, divisive, judgey attitudes to flourish (and you know there'll be an awful lot of "so-and-so's on disability but they don't look disabled" - newsflash, you can't actually tell just by looking at someone whether they're disabled or not!). I rather feel that the amount recovered is not likely to be that significant in the scheme of things, and is much smaller than the approx. £16billion worth of benefits that go unclaimed every year, which to my mind is a much bigger problem - lots of people going without money that they're entitled to and almost certainly need! I just don't think that this is that massive a problem compared with the amount that corporations duck out of paying through tax evasion, can't we focus on going after them instead? Anyway, I was quite pleased to see a couple of articles on this subject appear in my Google Reader from Comment is Free: one by Zoe Williams, who points out that people already overestimate the cost of benefit cheating , and another by Deborah Orr. Don't read the comments! I haven't, but they are usually awful.

2.) Changing the subject entirely, isn't Horror of Fang Rock great? I rewatched it the other evening and was dead impressed. It's wonderfully atmospheric and spooky - the mist and the darkness at the beginning as Four 'n' Leela arrive works beautifully. I really loved Vince and was sad he died so unceremoniously, but that also worked to amp up the horror aspect, especially since we then had quite a few scenes before anyone realised what had happened ("Vince will help you." NO HE WON'T DDDD:). Four's "I thought I'd locked the monster out, but instead I've locked it in here with us" cliffhanger was classic. Louise Jameson was brilliant, I particularly liked her happy smile after she referred to someone as a "teshnician" and her delivery of "our enemy is not bold" - a lovely mixture of scorn for its weakness and relish at the thought that this might make it easier to defeat. The actor who played Reuben was also great: I was impressed at the way he went from "comically superstitious" to "inhumanly creepy". I did think the Doctor was a little too unconcerned at the end given that six people and a lot of Rutans had just died, but other than that no criticisms. (OK, the model shot of the boat wrecking on the rocks was... not good. But all the other effects were fine!)

3.) I have had a headache lurking about all morning. STOP THAT.

Comments

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

That's terrible and really stupid. People are going to be trying to make money by doing it. We have a "dob in a benefit cheat" phone line here, but you don't get paid. That's a dangerously slippery slope.

compared with the amount that corporations duck out of paying through tax evasion, can't we focus on going after them instead?

Word. And tax the rich bastards and evil CEOs who earn millions a year to the hilt. TO THE HILT, I say.

[usuallyhats]

Yeah, we have those too, but the idea of adding payment to them is... yuk.

And tax the rich bastards and evil CEOs who earn millions a year to the hilt. TO THE HILT, I say.
Exactly!