Saturday 8 October 2005

Students: don't you just love them?

I posted this in answer to DK's complaint about students and the Council Tax.

"…the fact that students pay no Council Tax”

Not true, DK. Some students pay no Council Tax.

A number of years after I moved to London I decided to study to become a Company Secretary. That’s a four-year course leading to one becoming somewhat like a mixture of accountant and lawyer. Guess what? I paid Council Tax throughout my study period because I was working at the same time. Getting up at 5.30 in the morning, studying at home, studying on the tube, studying during lunchtime, studying on the tube again, studying at home and, finally, going out for a pint or two, often accompanied by a law book. And I paid the cost of the course and the revision classes taken during my holidays. Some years later I decided to get the degree that I’d always wanted. By this time I was Finance Director of an ad agency and certainly couldn’t afford to give up the day job. So, again, I studied for four years at my own expense and in my spare time and eventually graduated with a First. Naturally I continued to pay Council Tax throughout this period as well as vast amounts of income tax to subsidise all those whingeing fulltime students.

I’ll probably have the last laugh. The more personable of today’s “students” may manage to get jobs as nannies or butlers for Shanghai entrepreneurs, but most of the others will be totally unemployable.

1 comment:

David Farrer said...

Comments made on previous template:

David Farrer
Kenny: 
 
Yes, the first was in the Thatcher years and the second started during the time of Major.

10 October 2005, 18:58:37 GMT+01:00
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David Farrer
Andrew: 
 
I expect to be paying for them whether they get a job or not!

10 October 2005, 18:56:27 GMT+01:00
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Andrew Duffin
"most of the others will be totally unemployable" 
 
But David, that assuredly does NOT give you the last laugh. 
 
Who do you think will be paying their bills? (Hint - think lottery adverts...)

10 October 2005, 12:13:38 GMT+01:00
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Andrew Ian Dodge
Nah, Latin is fun. Being able to make snide remarks/tell vile jokes in the company of non-Latin speakers was jolly good fun in prep-school & university. I have found my learning of latin is good for making up names for vile tomes for use in my Cthulhu Mythos tales as well.

10 October 2005, 12:01:48 GMT+01:00
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dearieme
Awfully over-rated, Latin.

10 October 2005, 02:13:28 GMT+01:00
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David Farrer
So true!

9 October 2005, 20:53:34 GMT+01:00
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Martin Kelly
No,we get up to blog instead

9 October 2005, 20:29:23 GMT+01:00
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Kenny McCormack
David, your are the last of the 'lad o' pairts', I am sure you would never advocate changing the name of the Adam Smith College to the Mao Zedong College for the advancement of enlightened thinking. 
 
You say this all happened a number of years ago, which I presume was on Mrs Thatcher or Mr Major's watch. We should remember that the states punishment of those who are daft enouh to work for a living has been going on since before 1/5/1997. 
 
Thomas Hardy used to get up at 5.30am every morning to read Latin and Greek, I bet nobody does now.

8 October 2005, 18:11:01 GMT+01:00