--- In MUFC@yahoogroups.com, Paul Rodes <prodes111@...> wrote:
> 1. The Queen works a hell of a lot harder at her job than I do at mine, and I dare say she's better at it. Where do people get this "doing very little" thing?
Paul, surely the effort you put into your job isn't the objective benchmark by which everyone else is judged? I'm sure the Queen works hard at what she is expected to do (open shopping centres, meet-and-greets, entertaining dictators at the palace, etc.), but she doesn't have to get up at 5am for her shift at the factory, just to put food on the table for her family.
> 2. If they weren't royals they'd still be incredibly rich. Most rich people have careers and wealth that are guaranteed just by being who they are. Haven't you noticed that yet? People just don't complain about it so much with the non-royal sort.
In Britain they do complain about it! The Monarchy stands at the pinnacle of the British class system, representing centuries of accumulated wealth and status on the basis of bloodline rather than merit. Britain is not a meritocracy, which is why it has one of the lowest rates of social mobility in the developed world. It is why only 7% of the population are privately educated and yet go on to occupy between 24-70% of the top professions (http://goo.gl/p4Dp1).
> 3. The foundation of almost every nation in Europe is bloody conquest, whether it has a monarchy or not. In most cases the absence of a monarch is also due to bloody conquest. Should the Frenchies stop singing La Marseillaise too?
A lot of blood has indeed been spilled during the founding of many nations, but that says nothing about whether a 21st-Century society should be monarchical, especially in light of my point above.
> 4. As a Yank (and an anglophile) I would pay good money to go see the queen, whereas I can't even name the presidents of Italy or Ireland or Germany, the kind of ceremonial figurehead they would replace her with. Why would anyone prefer that?
Let's flip the argument. Would you really come to the UK rather than Italy, Ireland or Germany just BECAUSE of the Queen? And what does it mean to say you'd pay good money to see her? You'd be lucky to catch a 10-second glimpse as she passes by in a carriage. I fear you'd go home disappointed if you spent thousands of dollars for that experience.
As for your question about who should replace her, it's simple: Someone who is elected to that position.
> 5. A midfielder! Praise be! :-)
Agreed!
DA wrote:
> Not a thought for the hundreds of millions of pounds that the UK
makes in Tourism because of the Royal Family, they pay their way and then some!
That's a myth that is repeated endlessly. Berni has articulated a excellent response, so I will add only this. Think about the current top-earners in this country and how they are vilified for hiring accountants to find ways of reducing their tax responsibilities. Think about how the low-to-middle income earners are then left to pick up the tax burden. Now think about the tax exemptions afforded to the Queen as Head of State. Think about the fact that she did not have to pay nearly £20m in inheritance tax after the death of her mother (http://goo.gl/FMtvZ). Think about her extensive private income as the UK's largest landowner. Think about the ongoing cost of security, which is tax-payer funded and which does not form part of the Civil List. Need I go on?
All that is money that is directed towards one family at the cost of the greater public. And once again, it is money that is accrued not because the Queen has a particular talent, physical or intellectual expertise that cannot be found elsewhere on these isles. She occupies that position just because of who her father was.
Anyone who supports the Monarchy is happy to live in a society that celebrates inequality and subordinacy. A place where it does not matter how clever you are, how talented or hard-working you are, there are just some positions that you can never hope to attain.
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