The virus. PPE. Part 1

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Canon Bob said:
The French are reporting that the mortality rate is 50% higher for men and that's a far bigger difference than they would expect from a respiratory illness.
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Hmmmm! what about mitigating factors.......................are the frenchman of the 'at risk generation' more likely to still be those Gaulloise & Camel smokers i.e. not so much an underlying clinically defined health issue that raised the risk but a lifestyle habit (even if an ex-smoker) that is showing in France as literally a coffin nail for those who have died???
 
KitsuneAndy said:
£94 a week is what SSP is.

Mortgage holidays aren't worth taking, they actually cost you more, as after the holiday your repayments go up to cover the additional interest you've accrued.

Whereas if I was a Ltd company I could be claiming 80% of my salary back from the govt.
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So im better paying £1100 a month on repayments when receiving £94 a week SSP than paying an additional £50 a month when earning full pay after the holiday period. Nonsense.
 
Box Brownie said:
Hmmmm! what about mitigating factors.......................are the frenchman of the 'at risk generation' more likely to still be those Gaulloise & Camel smokers
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I think it’s MERS you get from smoking camels not COVID :).:exit:
i.e. not so much an underlying clinically defined health issue that raised the risk but a lifestyle habit (even if an ex-smoker) that is showing in France as literally a coffin nail for those who have died???
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That has been raised in relation to China where it seems a lot of people (men?) are still smokers.
 
Box Brownie said:
Hmmmm! what about mitigating factors.......................are the frenchman of the 'at risk generation' more likely to still be those Gaulloise & Camel smokers i.e. not so much an underlying clinically defined health issue that raised the risk but a lifestyle habit (even if an ex-smoker) that is showing in France as literally a coffin nail for those who have died???
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I would imagine that such things would be factored in when doing a comparison of C-19 v 'regular respiratory ailments'....maybe not.
 
Just speaking to my oldest daughter who is the boss of racing welfare the racehorse charity ,and they are totally overwhelmed at the moment with the shut down of a major industry ... she is trying her hardest to help out people but the stress is enormous when they are getting thousands of calls for help daily .. and all of her staff nationwide are working from home .
The mess this leaves behind will take years to unravel I fear ,not just in terms of debt but phycological harm to .
 
Gremlin said:
I've been saying this for a longtime, we may suppress by shutting everything down but as soon as restrictions are lifted it
"will come back, that I would say is a foregone conclusion.
Sits back and awaits the flak ":)
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Yes, it all comes across as mitigation control......................in part promolgated by the fact that we have the fewer per 100,000 of the population 'critical care beds' than many(all?) other EU nations. That alone is why the 'suppression & re-exposure by relaxing control measures.....' will work.............................................thus increasing the herd immunity???

As I said, much earlier. we are in for a challenging time for the short to medium term :(
 
sphexx said:
And now polls find majority (55% I think) Americans think Trump is doing a good job on the virus :(
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That he is in power shows the quality of rational thinking amongst a lot of Americans. :rolleyes:

A person in power who is an egomaniac, only out for himself, has no empathy for anyone, is the totally wrong person to lead a country, never mind through a crisis. Almost every utterance out of his mouth needs to be backtracked by his staff or himself and just makes things worse, be that how serious it was in the first place, the availability of tests, the number people being tested, those and so much more may add to the number of people who may die from this in America sadly. He lies so much that he is not someone who can now be a source of facts or reliable information. Which again is not something you want from a leader in a crisis.

I'm not sure I have seen him express any sympathy for anyone who has it, or to the family and friends of those who have died from it. I don't think he is capable of having those types of emotions or thoughts. Quite scary.
 
Canon Bob said:
I would imagine that such things would be factored in when doing a comparison of C-19 v 'regular respiratory ailments'....maybe not.
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That may be in the patient records, but cynic that I am, yet to be publicly included in the Covid-19 deaths stats. There are other countries where smoking is almost a national institution, so perhaps a wait and see whether that can be discerned as a key factor in the male/female difference as noted in France?
 
redhed17 said:
That he is in power shows the quality of rational thinking amongst a lot of Americans. :rolleyes:
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Though in most of the interviews I’ve seen his supporters seem to be saying “yes , he’s a terrible person but he’s doing good things for me/the economy”.
A person in power who is an egomaniac, only out for himself, has no empathy for anyone, is the totally wrong person to lead a country, never mind through a crisis. Almost every utterance out of his mouth needs to be backtracked by his staff or himself and just makes things worse, be that how serious it was in the first place, the availability of tests, the number people being tested, those and so much more may add to the number of people who may die from this in America sadly. He lies so much that he is not someone who can now be a source of facts or reliable information. Which again is not something you want from a leader in a crisis.

I'm not sure I have seen him express any sympathy for anyone who has it, or to the family and friends of those who have died from it. I don't think he is capable of having those types of emotions or thoughts. Quite scary.
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All true :(
 
Box Brownie said:
That may be in the patient records, but cynic that I am, yet to be publicly included in the Covid-19 deaths stats. There are other countries where smoking is almost a national institution, so perhaps a wait and see whether that can be discerned as a key factor in the male/female difference as noted in France?
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Another stat just released....
There are 1300 people in ICU (France) and approximately 50% are under the age of 60.....a big change from last weeks figures when they stated that the 'vast majority were over 60'.
 
AgentOrange76 said:
So im better paying £1100 a month on repayments when receiving £94 a week SSP than paying an additional £50 a month when earning full pay after the holiday period. Nonsense.
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If you have the savings, yes you are. Because in the longer term, you'll be better off.

Not that difficult a concept to grasp.
 
arclight said:
The age factor is undoubtedly relevant, but it is not the only one. You mention Japan as being the country with the oldest population. That is indeed the case.

Italy : 51 days since Covid 19 started - fatality rate 8.57%

Japan : 55 days since Covid 19 started - fatality rate 3.48%

Looks like the outlook for the UK is nearer that of Italy than Japan (n)
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I don't think you should read too much into fatality rates calculated by dividing number of deaths by current number of cases in a rapidly evolving pandemic, especially in different countries, because (a) there may be many unsampled cases with few if any symptoms and different countries have very different testing policies, so the current denominator is uncertain but probably larger than you think, but (b) by the time many diagnosed cases become fatal the local epidemic may have become significantly larger (potentially 2 or 3 doublings) which means that the relevant denominator (at the time the case was diagnosed) was much smaller than it is now. So the ratio can be shifted very significantly in either direction, and be strongly influenced by the extent of community testing, which is currently minimal in (e.g.) the UK but significant in South Korea and probably Germany. This may be one explanation for Germany's anomalously low ratio of deaths to confirmed cases (as well as the average age of the cases, younger in Germany than in Italy).
 
Tringa said:
It seems the sacking of the hotel staff in Aviemore was an admin error.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-51972372

Of course it was. How silly and ungenerous of us to think otherwise.

Dave
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They have well and truly shot themselves in the foot!

If ever a business has brought scorn on themselves it is that one. I feel sorry for the (rest of) employees because I fear the reputational damage could be oh so detrimental to that company and its survival going forwards!!!
 
sphexx said:
Though in most of the interviews I’ve seen his supporters seem to be saying “yes , he’s a terrible person but he’s doing good things for me/the economy”.
:(
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His success in their economy has been mostly following the trajectory during the Obama presidency. Rather than helping the average American, he gave huge Tax breaks to the rich, and after Trump and Republicans railing against the size of the Deficit, this has contributed to America going past $1 Trillion Deficit during his presidency. What he has actually done for the average person in the street eludes me as an outsider.

Anyway, back to the virus. ;) Like last week I am watching real life motor racers and YouTubers race online atm. Unlike last week, there seems to be signs of the internet, or this race host, not being able to cope atm. :( :rolleyes:

There is another similar race later doing the same thing with a different host.

And tomorrow the real F1 is hosting an online virtual alternative with a lot of the real drivers racing over 50% distance. Could be interesting when they all in theory have the same car. ;)
 
Gremlin said:
I've been saying this for a longtime, we may suppress by shutting everything down but as soon as restrictions are lifted it
"will come back, that I would say is a foregone conclusion.
Sits back and awaits the flak ":)
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Saying this is one thing, coming up with a policy is quite another. Imagine you are in charge. You can (a) just try to mitigate, not suppress, the pandemic, knowing that there'll be hundreds of thousands of deaths and our healthcare system will be completely overwhelmed like it was in Italy or worse, or (b) suppress using social distancing and shutdowns and try to hold out until there's a vaccine (assuming an effective vaccine can be made), knowing what this will do to the economy, or (c) suppress and then try something else like the sort of mass testing, isolation and contact tracing programme backed by Big Data that seems to have had significant success in South Korea.
 
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Easyjet have apparently asked the government for a bailout,but have insisted that a £174m dividend payout with £60m going to Stelios will go ahead. Nice.
 
redhed17 said:
His success in their economy has been mostly following the trajectory during the Obama presidency. Rather than helping the average American, he gave huge Tax breaks to the rich, and after Trump and Republicans railing against the size of the Deficit, this has contributed to America going past $1 Trillion Deficit during his presidency. What he has actually done for the average person in the street eludes me as an outsider.
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Oh yes, I know, and I think maybe he just makes them feel good .
 
JohnC6 said:
Watch how Trump deals with a question at a press conference yesterday about people becoming frightened (scared) of the increasing number of virus cases and deaths. Immediately following is Vice President Pence answering the same question. Those around Trump at these press conferences must surely wince

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th1k8_aZwK8
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Clearly he's a man-child but honestly I'd prefer him over Pence, who's a religious nut job. He'd bomb the cr@p outta anyone because god told him too. Despite his evangelical support, Trump doesn't believe in god, or if he does he doesn't reflect that in his lifestyle.
 
jakeblu said:
Clearly he's a man-child but honestly I'd prefer him over Pence, who's a religious nut job. He'd bomb the cr@p outta anyone because god told him too. Despite his evangelical support, Trump doesn't believe in god, or if he does he doesn't reflect that in his lifestyle.
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Sadly true, the devil and the deep blue sea, or out of the frying pan into the fire, take your choice. The only thing I would say is that Pence at least is a Politician whereas Trump never has been.
 
jakeblu said:
Clearly he's a man-child but honestly I'd prefer him over Pence, who's a religious nut job. He'd bomb the cr@p outta anyone because god told him too. Despite his evangelical support, Trump doesn't believe in god, or if he does he doesn't reflect that in his lifestyle.
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Don't tempt me..:) Not appropriate in this thread, though.Going well off-piste. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is also out of the same stable as Pence but that aside I just wanted to (A) Highlight how Trump dealt with the question which won't surprise anyone. I originally just saw his response on Chn4 News so it was fortuitous that the clip goes on to show the contrast with a mature response in the form of Pence. I was going to say 'a more mature response from Pence' but as Trump's response wasn't mature in any way whatsoever I didn't.
 
JohnC6 said:
Don't tempt me..:) Not appropriate in this thread, though.Going well off-piste. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is also out of the same stable as Pence but that aside I just wanted to (A) Highlight how Trump dealt with the question which won't surprise anyone. I originally just saw his response on Chn4 News so it was fortuitous that the clip goes on to show the contrast with a mature response in the form of Pence. I was going to say 'a more mature response from Pence' but as Trump's response wasn't mature in any way whatsoever I didn't.
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+1 but I’m not sure you’re right about Pompeo. I read an account of him and his West Point classmates that tended to show he was acting out of character. Not sure where I read it, I’ll have to think:(.
 
KitsuneAndy said:
£94 a week is what SSP is.

Mortgage holidays aren't worth taking, they actually cost you more, as after the holiday your repayments go up to cover the additional interest you've accrued.

Whereas if I was a Ltd company I could be claiming 80% of my salary back from the govt.
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But how much would you pay yourself in salary and how much in dividends?
 
MatBin said:
But how much would you pay yourself in salary and how much in dividends?
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I don't agree with the practice of paying yourself in dividends in order to lower your tax burden, so anything I'd taken out the company to pay myself I'd have considered salary. Which is one of the reasons I haven't gone LTD.
 
sphexx said:
+1 but I’m not sure you’re right about Pompeo. I read an account of him and his West Point classmates that tended to show he was acting out of character. Not sure where I read it, I’ll have to think:(.
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Not sure I’m right about “out of character” but I’m right that he’s not following the “West Point honour code”:
https://www.businessinsider.com/arm...pompeo-west-point-class-2020-1?op=1&r=US&IR=T
https://www.npr.org/2019/10/05/767383696/opinion-did-secretary-pompeo-forget-his-west-point-pledge
https://www.politico.com/news/magaz...t-alumni-pompeo-esper-state-department-071212

By which he should not even give evasive answers to questions let alone lies :(
 
KitsuneAndy said:
I don't agree with the practice of paying yourself in dividends in order to lower your tax burden, so anything I'd taken out the company to pay myself I'd have considered salary. Which is one of the reasons I haven't gone LTD.
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Dividends don't lessen the tax burden, but dividends are not subject to NI contributions, however dividends over £2k per year do attract additional tax over already deducted Corp Tax. Mute point and tbh I agree dividends do lessen the total deductions. Dividends can also be taxed at an effective rate of 40% if you are in the higher tax band.
 
MatBin said:
Dividends don't lessen the tax burden, but dividends are not subject to NI contributions, however dividends over £2k per year do attract additional tax over already deducted Corp Tax. Mute point and tbh I agree dividends do lessen the total deductions. Dividends can also be taxed at an effective rate of 40% if you are in the higher tax band.
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Let's face it, if there was no overall difference in burden between salary and dividends, then no one would be taking both from a company they're the sole owner, shareholder, director and employee.

Still doesn't change the fact either, that if someone was paying themselves a £30k salary from their LTD company they could now claim 80% of that from the Govt. But if they were paying themselves that as a sole trader, they could get £94 per week - if they don't have savings.
 
Peter10d said:
Today witnessed someone coughing openly, no hankies or arm and then go on to spit on the ground. No chance of stopping the spread with idiots like that :mad:
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But did you do anything about it?
 
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