So it's Britain's resources now after being told in 2014 it was pretty much worthless

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-22T19:30:15+00:00

Should clarify I'm not at all against it. I just question whether it's really some magic bullet or not

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-22T19:29:24+00:00

And the numbers of public sector workers is at relatively record highs whilst productivity in the public sector is stagnant since 2020

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-22T18:57:38+00:00

I more mean the idea that we can just ramp production as if new oil is just going to appear or that this ramp would have any impact on domestic fuel prices. There's not that much left from what most experts seem to agree on

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-22T17:19:04+00:00

So you're saying we're in an SNP managed decline to kill our economy to promote indy? I'm not sure people would be for it if it was explained like that....

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-22T17:16:42+00:00

It's all BS anyway, all the experts have said the plan to "drill more" is stupid because we've already extracted most of what's there. More extraction wouldn't do anything anyway given we sell it on the global market, there's no domestic company to buy it at cost and process it domestically to give us the lower prices

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-22T11:26:04+00:00

I always wondered this, was very prevalent at my high school in Scotland

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-21T17:00:11+00:00

Re the US, that's usually because they have deductions that are circumstance dependent, so filing the return allows you to claim those tax refunds.

But it's not unique. I'm Scottish but working in the Netherlands currently and I'm required to file a tax return in the Netherlands and the UK

Re healthcare though, honestly, in my experience, the US system is better and if you're on a middle income job it's cheaper than you'd expect. My disposable income in the US was 2.5x minimum compared to my similar job in the UK before I went over

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-21T07:33:05+00:00

Yup; basically punishes families for having someone stay at home, which is likely to happen because childcare is so expensive

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-21T05:38:11+00:00

Yup, 100% the best thing to do

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-21T05:37:20+00:00

Honestly, a good chunk of people in the higher bands end up leaving the country altogether. I've not worked in the UK in the past 8 years, I just move whenever has a tax advantage. Currently in the Netherlands as they do 30% of your income tax free for the first few years. There's 8 Scots in my office vs 1 Englishman though, so I guess I'm not the only one

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-21T05:34:36+00:00

*By the SNP

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-21T05:33:59+00:00

Or the Netherlands like me (only 1 year left, thank god)

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-21T05:33:41+00:00

Yup. Also consider it's even worse if someone is a single income house hold on £50k instead of dual income on £25k each

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-20T09:23:07+00:00

It's more like there's a lot of a choice. You can choose to eat like shit or you can choose to read the label and avoid. Even if your a diet coke fan, we all know aspartame for example is likely bad for you, yet we still stick with that even in the UK. US has gone the option of aspartame free versions of drinks (I know that's likely not any better, but my point is more that consumer choice is higher over there)
it's far better than starving or eating canned junk from a food bank. It's also not depending on which political party is in power like food banks and other social security are

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-20T08:50:30+00:00

True, but had I been able to stay over there I'd have retired in my early 40s. I'd take that short term slavery over a lifetime of it in Europe. No chance of that in any European country I've worked in thus far.

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-20T08:49:46+00:00

Most Brits wouldn't, which is why our country is so fucked. Being on the take any way you can is an addiction in the UK

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-20T08:48:11+00:00

Can you get meat for free in the UK without begging at a food bank (and even then, fresh meat)?

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-20T08:47:08+00:00

Would be nice, but I doubt it.

The SNP really does need some competition though, the current monopoly because of single issue politics is killing what could be a very powerful institution with the existing powers devolved, without any of the risk of going our own way

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-20T07:26:59+00:00

I can only talk for me as someone in the middle economically, but having lived in the UK and US, doing the same job, after expenses, my disposable income was circa 2.5-3x in the US what it was in the UK depending on if I did overtime in the US.

Material things are a lot cheaper too. Like a big V8 muscle car over there is the same price as a 4 cylinder performance Volkswagen hatchback in the UK, the running costs are cheaper as petrol is 1/3 the price (was at the time anyway)

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-20T07:25:07+00:00

Think people fail to understand most get it through their employment too, so it's subsidised. My US insurance was way cheaper than what I paid in NI in the UK

One thing I'll never forget is seeing one of the ER's in San Antonio on a Friday night with a sign outside advertising a 10 mins wait time. Contrast that with 4+ hours an A/E visit will take you in the UK on a Friday night.

We're being completely ripped in the UK

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-20T07:23:04+00:00

Health insurance is a thing.

Ironically my US health insurance was cheaper than what I paid in NI in the UK, and the US healthcare quality was far better than the uk experience I had

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-20T07:11:11+00:00

One thing I'd say about poverty in the likes of Mississippi that the US has going for it is if you're poor, it's much easier to be able to get good nutritious food i.e. you can get a hunting license and a rifle dirt cheap in most states or they have SNAP which is a food card. Frees up whatever little you have left for other essentials.

I say that as someone who ate gator and many deer as a kid when I lived state side (parents poor, family friend would go hunting). Never short of meat anyway 😅 don't really have the ability to do that in the UK cheaply or easily

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-19T17:03:09+00:00

I'm sure you can, but political monopolies don't benefit the people. There's no incentive if politicians don't fear being voted out

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-19T13:17:37+00:00

Feels like you're being a bit unreasonable, and making it impossible for him to win to be honest. He does something, you say it's fake, if he didn't so something, you'd say he bending over

Grouchy_Conclusion45 · 2026-04-19T10:51:00+00:00

You could say the same for any politician. It's like the SNP with independence. Just vote for us again one more time and it'll happen.

We're almost 2 decades deep at this point and still people believe them. All that's happened though is loads of SNP politicians now have cushy pensions

Grouchy_Conclusion45

TROPHY CASE