Posted on 10/23/2011 5:55:55 PM PDT by little jeremiah
25million empty bedrooms across the country at a time when many are struggling to bu
Older people should be taxed out of their family homes to free up space for younger generations, says a report backed by Labour.
It argues that 'empty nesters' in their 60s are taking up too much room and should be 'encouraged' by a new 'land tax' to downsize to smaller homes.
The call comes from the Intergenerational Foundation, a left-leaning think-tank that aims to 'promote fairness between generations'.
Labour MP Tessa Jowell sponsored the report's launch in a Commons hospitality room yesterday, saying the current situation ran against Ed Miliband's vision for Britain.
But the 'bedroom blocker' plan drew condemnation from Tory ministers and pressure groups for older people.
Tory housing minister Grant Shapps said: 'We do not agree that people should be taxed or bullied out of their homes.'
The Intergenerational Foundation says there are 25million unused bedrooms in the country and eight million ‘under-occupied’ homes. More than half of people aged over 65 live in homes with two or more spare bedrooms that could be used by young families, it adds.
The report, Hoarding of Housing, says: ‘While younger families are increasingly being squeezed into small flats and under-sized houses, older people are often rattling around in big houses with many bedrooms standing empty, often for years.’
Report co-author Matthew Griffiths said: ‘It is perfectly understandable that retired people cling to their home long after it has outlived its usefulness as a place to bring a family up in.
‘But there are profound social consequences of their actions which are now causing real problems in a country where new house building is almost non-existent.
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(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
New Cities! Excellent! Let’s design one.
Bingo
Will the fair and balanced Muslims provide for the elderly Brits in 40 years?
Well ... I misspoke. I don’t really mean a “city” as that implies some public space, a local government, local taxes, etc.
I’d like to see a large developer build a complex of fifty story skyscrapers arranged in a large circle. Say fifty such buildings arranged in a circle 1.5 miles in diameter. Apartments for 150K people (3000sf per family of 4) with schools and hospitals at ground level, shopping mall with 1500 small shops and 100 large stores at basement level, with restaurants and some indoor gyms and sports courts at the penthouse level, and offices taking up the next four floors. Warehouse and freight handling at sub-basement level.
Huge 1.5 mile diameter central park with ponds, trails and golf course in the center. 1/4 mile wide and 5 mile circumference “moat” around the outside for water sports and sailing.
Every apartment with a stunning unobstructed view onto either the central park on the inside or the lake on the outside. 100ft wide “hallway” lawns on every floor between inner and outer rings of apartments. Small thorium LFTR reactors for power. A series of adjacent indoor moving walkways at mall level around the outside forming a continuously moving carousel so you can walk from the sidewalk to a 3mph walkway to a 6mph walkway on up to a 30mph walkway. No vehicles needed, and anything within ten minutes walk.
I want to know why new housing is unheard of over there
A full answer would be long and complex, but here are the main points:
Firstly, the acute shortage of land for new housing; coupled with the strong opposition of local communities to further urbanisation of what remains of the British countryside, and national planning regulations which in any case make it difficult to build on these 'greenfield' sites. (The previous Labour government had zoned large areas of the country for new housing: but this was immediately axed by the new Conservative government, who are, however, in the process of liberalising the planning laws - to much opposition from within their own party).
Secondly, the shortage of credit is making it more difficult than ever for first-time buyers to enter the housing market, despite recent falls in house prices which remain among the developed world's highest.
Thirdly, the private rented sector, as an alternative to owner-occupation, is smaller in Britain than in any other western European country, and there are currently no economic incentives for new investors to enter this market.
Finally, government spending cuts have removed almost all funding for not-for-profit Housing Associations to build new social housing for subsidised rental.
Thanks for the boots on the ground.
Well, they were really stupid to open up the country to gazillions of immigrants, then!
Maybe so, but how easy is it to obtain shotguns and rifles?
Wow! What a hypocritical scumbag! He hates his parents obviously. These feaking sickos need a horsewhip.
Obviously England’s problem (besides leftist scum) is too many immigrants. They opened the floodgates to a small country (and now a poor one) and gave them all welfare.
The UK is reaping what it sowed, as do we all... They should stop welfare and see how many immigrants go back home!
People - check mewzilla’s link - the little fag Angus lives in a mansion himself - much bigger than his parent’s moderate sized house!
My own middle sized town has one dealer. The next big town has another. Cities will have a few dealers, and you can of course by online or by catalogue.
The main thing is that to own a rifle or shotgun, you need a licence. You have to apply, and the police can veto it if you have a criminal record or mental problems. And you have to prove you have proper storage ie a locked cabinet.
Do people have to have a reason for a fire arm? I read about a farmer that could not get a shotgun to protect his animals.
:O( have to list that under-- things I wish I didn't know..
70 million people in a country roughly the same size as the state of Oregon.
There ain’t enough room!
Yes. To obtain a firearm certificate, the police must be convinced that a person has “good reason” to own each firearm, and that they can be trusted with it “without danger to the public safety or to the peace”. Under Home Office guidelines, firearms licences are only issued if a person has legitimate sporting or work-related reasons for ownership. Self defence has not been a legitimate reason since 1946, BUT that was based on a statement by the then Home Secretary in Parliament, not a law passed.
To my knowledge, that 1946 ‘ruling’ has never been challenged legally, and I am not sure that it would hold up in a court.
Shotgun licences are easier to get, although you still have to go through a process. It is rare for a farmer or gamekeeper not to get a licence.
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