Comments on: Today’s Ritchieisms

By: David Gillies

David Gillies — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 07:19:39 +0000

Dunning-Kruger effect. God Murphy is a complete arse.

By: and

and — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:12:58 +0000

Without Dickie and his willingness to promote the schemes of which he complains, those nasty tax avoiders would have to spend far more time in tracking them down for themselves.

As to Mrs Murphy, or Dr Murphy as I believe she is properly known, can anyone even begin to imagine how insufferable her home life must be. At least, being a doctor, she can self-medicate to lessen the agony.

By: Winston

Winston — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 22:39:25 +0000

Hey Dickie, in 2010 when you take advantage of the suffering and desperation of some poor souls in 2009 as the basis for your ignorant misuse of statistics, try and remember not to include these two people in the figures…

http://www.thisisjersey.com/2009/09/17/inquest-hears-of-a-double-suicide-pact/

By: CIngram

CIngram — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 22:37:18 +0000

@Richard Murphy

My apologies. The way you expressed it seemed not to suggest matrimony. You don’t actually address the fact that your argument is nonsense, though.

@ReefKnot

I’ll give you the Swedes, especially Bergman, but Norwegian black comedy is among the best I’ve ever seen; tortured, twisted, miserable, weird and quite hilarious. (Not everyone’s cup of tea, I admit, but if you have the right [or wrong] type of mind, it’s great fun.

By: Newmania

Newmania — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:45:05 +0000

It is amazingly amazing that so many people who tell us the Nordics are an earthly heaven somehow forget to go there.

By: Emil

Emil — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 19:10:24 +0000

“No, the real reasons for the high suicide rates in Norway and Sweden are the crap weather and possibly the worst films in the whole world.”

And some of the highest taxes in the world…

By: Charles

Charles — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 18:00:43 +0000

May I, as an actual Jersey person, make a couple of observations?

Firstly, our value system is *not* based on money. As a wag once put it, we’re 100,000 alcoholics clinging to a rock, thankyouverymuch.

Secondly, since us natives are actually a minority of the population these days, if everyone else is feeling alienated from where they were born, it’s probably because they left there and came here. Presumably because they like the abuse and secrecy.

By: ReefKnot

ReefKnot — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:59:05 +0000

No, the real reasons for the high suicide rates in Norway and Sweden are the crap weather and possibly the worst films in the whole world.

By: Dennis the Peasant

Dennis the Peasant — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:26:04 +0000

Wife, girlfriend, what’s the diff? It’s not like you’re dealing in facts here, Dickie…

By: Johnathan Pearce

Johnathan Pearce — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:54:51 +0000

Richard Murphy, your point about Jersey and trying to link this to some sort of business culture there is absurd. I notice you haven’t responded to Tim’s rather obvious point about the issue in the Scandanavian countries he mentions. But then of course they don’t fit your narrative, do they?

R. Murphy: the gift that keeps on giving

By: Richard Murphy

Richard Murphy — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:51:34 +0000

Oh please , let’s get things right – wife, not girlfriend

I’d hate anything said here to be incorrect

By: CIngram

CIngram — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:05:03 +0000

If you follow the links you learn that the long term average in Jersey is 10-11 per 100,000, the same as the rest of the UK. Last year there were 16 (the pop. is 96,000, giving the figure of 17 per 100,000). This increase is statistically meaningless. Even if it were statistically significant, to link it to the island’s tax and banking practices is, quite obviously, ridiculous.

His research, he tells us, consisted of talking to his girlfriend, who agreed with him.

By: Kay Tie

Kay Tie — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 13:49:11 +0000

You are a wag, Tim. Putting in a capitalised word as an acronym where it actually is an acronym, just to taunt one of your comment writers.

By: Mark Wadsworth

Mark Wadsworth — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 12:33:15 +0000

He makes a fair point on people trying to avoid the 50% tax rate (that tip might come in handy at work!). But the easier solution would be to scrap the 50% tax rate. In fact, scrap 40% higher rate tax completely and tax everything at a flat rate.

Deducting tax from UK government bonds is a joke anyway. They ought to just declare all interest on new issues to be tax-free and pay a correspondingly lower amount, problem solved.