It seems like a really good idea for the government to be pressured into matching public donations to the Tsunami Disaster Fund - but where will the money ultimately come from?

Will we be forced to contribute more via incresed taxes than we have already chosen to contribute?

I'm not trying to put a damper on this - I'm just wondering how far it will go.

I'd think somewhat along the same lines, that the .gov is not necessarily responsible for taking care of our charitable contributions. Leaving the money to the people to give as they choose I think is preferable to taxing the money and giving as the .gov chooses.

This is a similar question to one which i seen earlier. I think that ultimately we are a developed country and state and a wealthy state at that, we have a morale and human obligation to help our fellow human beings in their hour of need. If a similar situation occured to us here in the UK, how would you feel if your mother, father, wife or any other person close to you died purely becuase America or any of the other countries in the world decided they couldnt find the money to support us, becuase we certainly couldnt fund something like this on our own should it happen to us.

Its a natural disaster nobody seen coming and to some extent could not have been prevented and we in the UK are a wealthy and credit worthy state, we will find the money to support it and whether it means we all have to pay a few pence extra to support it then so be it, we cant be selfish when others need our help. I agree that yes we arent a perfect country and money could be well spent here, however needs must!

The gov. puts a wad of cash aside for just such an occasion.

Small point, but I'd rather the money went to help those people than to fund our war on iraq.

the government has already commited more than the public.
i expect they can spare 100 mill, they won't even notice that it's gone.

sorry, are you saying that the uk would need help for a similar situation?

The only things needing help would be lloyds as they'd pick up most of the bill as everything is insured.

But.... the government money is our money too... they are under pressure to match our money with our money.... sounds like a trick to me.:suspect:

Also, the 'contest' between western countries to see who can give the most I find slightly sickening. This isn't about who is the most generous, its about helping people.

Originally posted by Cyclone
The only things needing help would be lloyds as they'd pick up most of the bill as everything is insured.
As an "act of god", are you sure everything would be insured ?

Originally posted by Snook
But.... the government money is our money too... they are under pressure to match our money with our money.... sounds like a trick to me.:suspect:

Also, the 'contest' between western countries to see who can give the most I find slightly sickening. This isn't about who is the most generous, its about helping people.
Well said Snook, I tend to agree with both your points.

Originally posted by foo_fighter
As an "act of god", are you sure everything would be insured ?

No, you wouldn't. But you could always sue your church, as God is responsible.

Tony Blair was interviewed on Radio 4 on Wednesday. He said then that there was far more money to come for the relief effort but that it would be released as & when it was needed & this was going to be a very long operation. He's estimating it'll be in the region of several 100 million.

He also pointed out that the interest on debt that Britian was going to write off (around 40 million) would be on top of this

If you click on this link then scroll down the running order to the 8.10 'interview with Tony Blair' link you'll be able to hear it again.

interview with Tony Blair (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/wednesday.shtml)

Maybe Governments might do better to wipe off the debts of a lot of these countries. I believe China has already said they will do this, I don't see how these places are ever going to repay them anyway.Of course the countries concerned are still going to need immediate help,but at least let them start with a clean slate. PS the above post must have been while I was typing,I mean the total debt not just the interest.

Of course almost all the government money ultimately comes from us, but people seem to forget the whole idea behind democracy.

Democracy is not "free" in terms of money.
You have a government to run the country, and they run the country with money that comes from us, the population.

people who complain about "tax and spend" miss the fundamental point of what democracy and governments are about.

The idea behind government match funding (I think) is quite democratic in action, in that the more support we give a charity the more the government will put our tax pounds into it, so I think it is a good idea.

just a quick question:

how much have the people of boscastle recieved for thier losses????.

how much have the people of boscastle recieved for thier losses????.

I guess you'd have to ask their insurance companies.

The last thing I saw about the people of Boscastle involved Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen presenting someone with a new & furnished/ decorated camper van sort of thing.

Obviously the floods there devasted the homes of a number of people. The scale & actual impact was on a slightly different level though. Unless of course you're suggesting that we'll shortly be seeing Mr LB running around decorating wooden huts all over Asia ...

Originally posted by trophyman
just a quick question:

how much have the people of boscastle recieved for thier losses????.
Laurence llwellyn bowen gave that woman a camper van on the xmas special if that answers your question!..lol

Originally posted by Siân
I guess you'd have to ask their insurance companies.

The last thing I saw about the people of Boscastle involved Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen presenting someone with a new & furnished/ decorated camper van sort of thing.

Obviously the floods there devasted the homes of a number of people. The scale & actual impact was on a slightly different level though. Unless of course you're suggesting that we'll shortly be seeing Mr LB running around decorating wooden huts all over Asia ...

it would be a godsend if mr LB did that so long as he stayed over there.

i asked the question because the government should be looking after our interests first before aiding other countries. i am not saying that we shouldnt help others and it is a terrible tragedy but we should get our own needs sorted first (IMHO).

i am not saying that we shouldnt help others and it is a terrible tragedy but we should get our own needs sorted first

I guess when the people of Boscastle are in danger of starving to death due to their crops / livelihoods being wiped out or the threat of cholera is imminent Oxfam & other agencies will be out in force :)

i think we will agree to disagree!!

IMHO and IYHO

Originally posted by trophyman
i think we will agree to disagree!!

IMHO and IYHO

If you're trying to compare Boscastle to the tsunami, I doubt many people would agree with you :loopy:

Originally posted by Cyclone
the government has already commited more than the public.
i expect they can spare 100 mill, they won't even notice that it's gone.

sorry, are you saying that the uk would need help for a similar situation?

The only things needing help would be lloyds as they'd pick up most of the bill as everything is insured.

Of course we would need help if it happened to us, we could never deal with such a huge situation.

IM NOT COMPARING THE TWO TRAGEDYS IM JUST SAYING THAT OUR GOVERNMENT SHOULD LOOK AFTER US FIRST. THEY HAVE HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO DONATE SOME CASH TO THE CAUSE.

TSUNAMI NEED AND DESERVE THE CASH BUT SO DO BOSCASTLE.

Originally posted by trophyman
IM NOT COMPARING THE TWO TRAGEDYS IM JUST SAYING THAT OUR GOVERNMENT SHOULD LOOK AFTER US FIRST. THEY HAVE HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO DONATE SOME CASH TO THE CAUSE.

TSUNAMI NEED AND DESERVE THE CASH BUT SO DO BOSCASTLE.

Writing in capital letters doesn't enhance your point. If you'd rather money was directed to Boscastle than to try and help rebuild the lives of those affected - remember, 140,000 died and millions are without basic sanitation - then you're a bit weird, to be honest.

firstly, i was writing in capitals cos im at work and the work i do (engraving) requires capitals so i keep forgetting to change it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

i guess my main grievance is with the government for thier lack of support for boscastle. they have had since august to make a donation of some kind and to my knowledge they havent.

tsunami was a terrible tragedy that happened at the worst time of year and the tremendous loss of life cannot be replaced by any amount of cash. i think all our prayers are for the poor and suffering at this time of great loss and devastation.

finally..............i am sort of weird but not in the ways your implying!!!!!!!

If the British people had thought that Boscastle was in need of as much help, i'm sure they would have donated the money, and if they were in ANYTHING LIKE the same situation as the people involved in the tsunami then of course the government would help them first... but they are not, so why bring it up unless it is some kind of veiled racism, or just plain stupidity... if you are not comparing the two, as you said, then what is your real point. You might as well say it rather than beat around the bush?

Seriously though, you could always try setting up a fund for the people in Boscastle, maybe that would help?

Originally posted by trophyman
IM NOT COMPARING THE TWO TRAGEDYS IM JUST SAYING THAT OUR GOVERNMENT SHOULD LOOK AFTER US FIRST. THEY HAVE HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO DONATE SOME CASH TO THE CAUSE.

TSUNAMI NEED AND DESERVE THE CASH BUT SO DO BOSCASTLE.

Oh come on, do you have food to eat? Hot and cold running water? A roof over your head, imunisation against disease!? Its completely different and the government cant pay for everything!

tsunami was a terrible tragedy that happened at the worst time of year and the tremendous loss of life cannot be replaced by any amount of cash

The cash being raised isn't meant as any form of compensation it's to go towards efforts to prevent further loss of life through disease & starvation.

If the people of Boscastle were at similar risk then you may have a point but they aren't.

trust me, my point is not racially motivated (check the tsunami thread and you wont find me on there) im just saying that our government could have made some sort of donation to boscastle.

i started off on this thread by asking a simple question out of curiosity. how much has our government donated to boscastle??. has the british public made any donations and if so have the government matched them???.

so i will end it here -

YES the government should match public donations to tsunami
just like they should match any donations to any other disasters.

p.s.: no offences where intended to anybody on this matter and if any where taken i apologise.

Originally posted by Snook
Seriously though, you could always try setting up a fund for the people in Boscastle, maybe that would help?

nice one. its worth a thought that.

why are the people of boscastle in need of compensation?

As already stated, none of them are left living on the street or starving.
They all had insurance or if not they should have done.

The aid that is going to the tsunami affected countries is not to pay to individuals (which is what you are talking about), it's to repair and replace the basic infrastructure that is damaged.
Is boscastle still without power, water, food, roads, telephones? I think not.

The total cost of this disaster has been estimated at several billion dollars. The UK government is perfectly capable of providing that much if there were a disaster here. I'm not saying that help wouldn't be offered and accepted, just that it wouldn't be required. Financial help anyway. Manpower and materials might be required, but we can always pay for that.

And i'd think that 'act of god' isn't a clause you see very much in insurance contracts on infrastructure or the like.
Lloyds started of insuring ships against loss. They'd have never paid out if they put act of god in contracts then.

Originally posted by Cyclone
And i'd think that 'act of god' isn't a clause you see very much in insurance contracts on infrastructure or the like.
Lloyds started of insuring ships against loss. They'd have never paid out if they put act of god in contracts then.
Erm, ships are infrastructure ?

You have ship insurance on your house ?

BTW, don't bother to answer, my original post was just light hearted banter (not meant to be taken too seriously).

you can't say don't bother to answer, that's not fair.

The ship thing was just an example. Not all insurance contracts have "get out of jail free" for the insurance company written in.
It's Trophymans reply regarding boscastle that i'm holding my breath for.

Why would anyone want to pressure the government to MATCH public donations......it seems to me that all the government has been asked to do is match the donations with our taxes......in other words you are paying in twice.....Would be nice to see all government ministers and MP's donate one months salary to the greater cause instead of using public money to do so.

Originally posted by Delboy3
Why would anyone want to pressure the government to MATCH public donations......it seems to me that all the government has been asked to do is match the donations with our taxes......in other words you are paying in twice.....Would be nice to see all government ministers and MP's donate one months salary to the greater cause instead of using public money to do so.

why should they donate more than anyone else from their personal income? They may be the government but they are also citizens.

Originally posted by Delboy3
Why would anyone want to pressure the government to MATCH public donations......it seems to me that all the government has been asked to do is match the donations with our taxes......in other words you are paying in twice.....Would be nice to see all government ministers and MP's donate one months salary to the greater cause instead of using public money to do so.

I don't think MP's earn that much money. There was a letter in Metro this monring saying Bill Gates should donate some of his vast fortune, like we all would if we were him.

Maybe it's just me, but I find the front page of tonights Star really... worrying. I think it's sad that we are all giving ourselves a such a big pat on the back for helping people out.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that we are giving so much money, but when the headline story is about how great we are... just seems to make the donations more about making ourselves feel good rather than doing a selfless act.

I would much rather read about what is happening to the money, and how people are trying to help out there than being told how generous we are, and how proud we should be.

my views on this subject where IMHO. whatever anyone else says then that is up to them. freedom of speech and all that.

i have this very afternoon made a donation to the fund.

Originally posted by trophyman
my views on this subject where IMHO. whatever anyone else says then that is up to them. freedom of speech and all that.

i have this very afternoon made a donation to the fund.

your dropping the whole boscastle thing then?
I was serious with my questions.

Originally posted by Delboy3
Why would anyone want to pressure the government to MATCH public donations......it seems to me that all the government has been asked to do is match the donations with our taxes......in other words you are paying in twice.....Would be nice to see all government ministers and MP's donate one months salary to the greater cause instead of using public money to do so.

Would you donate a whole month of your salary? I certainly couldnt afford to and im sure it would be a lot to ask politicians to do so as well!? Be reasonable and realistic!

my views on boscastle....hmmmmmmm..........

if the government are to be pressured to match public donations to tsunami then they should be pressured to match donations to other disasters. personally, i think they should match donations for tsunami.

if they matched donations for all disasters though then this country would be in serious trouble financially. only the government know how much cash they can spare. maybe the chancellor could defer some of the tax on fags/booze etc in his next budget??!!!!!!!!.

if the government can spare say, 100m and public donations total say, 150m then what??. where would the other 50m come from????. if the government have the readies then fair enough.

another question springs to mind....how much would the tories have contributed to the cause???????????

Since I started this thread, the goalposts have moved several times.

Now Thailand are saying that they don't need our money - they need their tourism industry back. :thumbsup:

Will our government be offering to subsidise flights for us to holiday out there? :)

I'll bet you any money, they got as much from the government as the people of Barlby in the floods of 2000 trophyman, which was sod all.

We were among the lucky ones of course, well out of the flood plain but a lot of our friends lost everything that year and one of them didn't have home insurance, fortunately this particular couple had family close to hand so it didn't become a major issue, and I know that local charities helped them out too (being pensioners).

I'm not saying that those affected by the tsunami don't deserve our help - obviously they do - but British citizens die on our streets every year as a result of hypothermia and homelessness. We do have some serious problems in this country and those areas ought to be addressed by those who have the power to do so.