Posted all over
[quote]Highest estimated cost of riots: £100m.
Tax Avoidance by Vodafone: £6 Billion
Tax spent on Libyan intervention: £1 Billion
Tax avoidance in 2010 by richest people in UK: £7 Billion
…Tax payers bill for banking crisis: £131 Billion
Tax money spent in Iraqi conflict: £4.5 billion
Tax money spent on Afghan conflict (up until 2007): £7 billion
Total MP expenses bill (2007): £87.6m
Perspective: priceless.![/quote]
[quote]slender (16/08/2011)[hr]Posted all over
[quote]Highest estimated cost of riots: £100m.
Tax Avoidance by Vodafone: £6 Billion
Tax spent on Libyan intervention: £1 Billion
Tax avoidance in 2010 by richest people in UK: £7 Billion
…Tax payers bill for banking crisis: £131 Billion
Tax money spent in Iraqi conflict: £4.5 billion
Tax money spent on Afghan conflict (up until 2007): £7 billion
Total MP expenses bill (2007): £87.6m
Perspective: priceless.![/quote][/quote]
Um, sorry but this seems fatuous to me.
Vodaphone
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/22/vodafone-tax-case-leaves-sour-taste[/url]
Libya
[urlhttp://www.channel4.com/news/libyan-campaign-is-costing-britain-millions-a-day]
Tax Avoidence
[url]http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/apr/14/liberal-democrats-tax-avoidance-crackdown[/url]
Bank bailout
[url]Bailing out the banks cost £5,500 per family
Iraqi - pre 2006
[url]Financial cost of the Iraq War - Wikipedia
Cost of afgan/iraq
[url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10359548[/url]
Expenses
Can’t be arsed to look it up 
The only figure I think is out is the actual cost which has been estimated at £200 million and a lots of knee jerk reactions 
I don’t question the figures, just the idea that their existence in some way puts the riots in “perspective”.
Just what point is being made? The riots were ok because they didn’t cost that much?
We shouldn’t worry about it because these other things should take our time and energy?
Other things cost more?
It doesn’t put it in any kind of perspective other than the, in some cases perceived, cost to the tax payer of some things.
If you want to put it in perspective you need to compare something comparable and you need to look at not only the cost but the other important factors such as how many people were killed, how many people lost their houses, how many people lost their jobs, how many people lost their businesses, how many people will go to jail etc.
It is interesting that the damage will be paid for by the police, not from insurance companies. Obviously the police get money from taxation.
Well equally you can say that for the cost of war - what the true cost of a soldier being killed or permanatly disabled to stae and family
The true cost of the country we are bombing (ok they are not tax payers)
Concerning the loss of taxation can be seen in a presepective if we look at sentences for tax evaders compared to looters and how much value each one had finacially gained - also the loss revenue in taxation could be linked to how much a country has to to borrow
But agree it has always puzzled me why the police authority has to foot the bill in civil disorder incidents - maybe its something to do with protecting the person who can not afford insurance
Regarding war, yes these are all very good points. But there is another side to these actions, if you agree with them or not there were reasons given for starting these wars and you need to take those outcomes as well ,for example the number of Lybian’s that would’ve been killed if we didn’t intervene.
I really can’t see anything in the riots that is comparable there.
Tax avoidance is legal, tax evasion isn’t. The examples were avoidance and so legal (although morally bankrupt).
See this interesting article about the cost to the police:
http://blogs.channel4.com/factcheck/factcheck-counts-the-cost-of-the-riots/7486
Just a small point as I said before here I think, I would not class these as riots due to there not being a clear political motive unless we start discussing poverty, education, unemployment etc which we can leave to politicians I think
Intertesting post concerning costs to the police - so at the end of the day the insurance company would pay but te tax payer will always pay in the end
The point of illegality fair enough - but then it is not a crime to have say a son or daughter out on a riot (again maybe seen as morally wrong) but the wandsworth family who maybe kicked out of their flat because of their 18 year old does not seem just to me
Anyway I am going to stop defending the post as it not mine - LOL:P
[quote]slender (16/08/2011)[hr]The point of illegality fair enough - but then it is not a crime to have say a son or daughter out on a riot (again maybe seen as morally wrong) but the wandsworth family who maybe kicked out of their flat because of their 18 year old does not seem just to me[/quote]
Agreed. Also it is the job of the courts to punish people for crimes, not the government.
[quote]TheAnt (16/08/2011)[hr][quote]slender (16/08/2011)[hr]The point of illegality fair enough - but then it is not a crime to have say a son or daughter out on a riot (again maybe seen as morally wrong) but the wandsworth family who maybe kicked out of their flat because of their 18 year old does not seem just to me[/quote]
Agreed. Also it is the job of the courts to punish people for crimes, not the government.[/quote]
Yeah - plus I am not sure how enforable the so called sanctions that came up yesterday actually are , let alone the legality
Cameron Heckled by “Young People” News Censored by British Press
The London Riots and How They Will be Used to the Elite’s Advantage
and song to relax:
Awww… J4 - That song isnt available in my country!! 
[quote]slender (16/08/2011)[hr][quote]TheAnt (16/08/2011)[hr][quote]slender (16/08/2011)[hr]The point of illegality fair enough - but then it is not a crime to have say a son or daughter out on a riot (again maybe seen as morally wrong) but the wandsworth family who maybe kicked out of their flat because of their 18 year old does not seem just to me[/quote]
Agreed. Also it is the job of the courts to punish people for crimes, not the government.[/quote]
Yeah - plus I am not sure how enforable the so called sanctions that came up yesterday actually are , let alone the legality[/quote]
This is interesting as well (even though it is from the same source, I do read other sites, honest!)
http://blogs.channel4.com/factcheck/factcheck-can-councils-convict-and-evict-rioters/7526
Interesting stuff - I would agree its very hard to evict families and not only the expense to goto court but the expense to rehouse them in private accommodation. Lucky we don’t live in a society that puts people on the street (well not so directly) - as for taking a way benefits basically if you tale away peoples benefits the only other choice is try and find a job but no one is going to employ a convicted looter or they start more criminal activities
Not sure what the answer is maybe a more comprehensive community service system
Though not so sure about there being spaces in our prisons - we work in our local prison and the Governor theyre has told us its been at breaking point for at least 5 years
The problem with community service is that people don’t turn up to them, and very little is done about non attendance. The think people turn up for most is working in a charity shop, apparently.
[quote]TheAnt (16/08/2011)[hr]The problem with community service is that people don’t turn up to them, and very little is done about non attendance. The think people turn up for most is working in a charity shop, apparently.[/quote]
Thats a problem with the community service again under funded, surely they could have better incentives to turn up
How about not going to prison as an incentive. There seems to be so little courage and morality these days. You do the crime you pay the time (or CSO at least).
I find myself to be very right wing thinking about these riots and what should be done. I rly like that guy thats on newsnight who was like ex editor of the sun. I think he has it spot on. Teachers cant do anything to little scrotes and police cant do anything to big scrotes. There is a giant culture of yobs and wasters in the UK. They live in a terrible cycle of living on benefits, crime and enpregnating woman and then leaving them which in turn produces more yobs and the cycle repeats.
Now I have no idea how to solve these social issues bit I do think police need to be able to enforce the law and not worry about these awfull scum of the earth left wing liberals and human rights activists because dont get it confused, these are the same people that want to let a pedofile move in next door to you and your family and not tell you about it because they believe even someone who has molested a child, or raped someone or murdered someone deserve a second chance…
If criminals don’t deserve a second chance Jan we may as well get rid of the prisons and just shoot everyone who commits a crime.
Or is it just special crimes? The ones you find horrendous? But then not all murders are equal. Not all rapes are equal. Where do we draw the line?
Four years for a Facebook group that didn’t cause any looting. Man that is harsh.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/16/facebook-riot-calls-men-jailed
That’s pretty harsh for sure. The sad thing is that the other sentences will not be proportional to these. If incitement merits 4 years then surely the act of rioting should be 8 or 10 years. How much do you want to be it’s not?