[diggers350] Second Homes for the powerful

[Toby Blume]

hey there!

i dont want to be the bad guy here and generally i agree with whatcha 
saying but......

1) our MPs are paid pretty badly compared with other elected 
representatives (and then we're surprised/pissed off when we get crap 
ones!). i'm not saying that MPs should be given money for nothing...but 
actually if i was living in a distant (to london) part of the UK i'd 
kinda want my MP to have somewhere to live in my constituency as well as 
having to be in london to represent me (that's without going into the 
whole issue of indirect representation and indeed democracy... but 
anyway...)

2) homelessness is obviously effected by a lack of suitable/affordable 
housing, but its certainly not the only/most important cause. at this 
point i could go on and on....but i dont want to bore people 
(particularly those who already know what i'd say!). yes we need more 
homes. but we also need to address the real causes of homelessness - 
poverty, lack of employment/prospects, mental health, dependencies, 
relationship break ups... and that's without getting into the whole 
question of what happens to people when they become homeless and the 
cost of not dealing with that properly (ie long term homelessness and 
people who are - quite rightly - chosing to stay outside the system when 
what 'the system' offers them is utterly crap).

anyway... dont wanna go on too much.... but did want to point out that 
it's not always as simple as slating the bad guys (just cos they're bad 
doesnt mean they are always to blame!)

cheers

toby

office at tlio.demon.co.uk wrote:

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-- 
Toby Blume

Groundswell UK
Elmfield House
5 Stockwell Mews
London SW9 9GX

Tel 	020 7737 5500
Fax	020 7733 1305

www.groundswell.org.uk

Change=DissatisfactionxVisionxFirst Steps>Resistance