Adam Smith Institute says SCRAP the TV Licence

[RebelSouls]

Bet some of the lefties spit their yogurt all over their keyboards when they read the Guardian today

http://www.guardian.c...ee-scrapped-thinktank

[R1Geezer]

well I don't think anyone would accuse me of being a lefty but I think it's a disastrous idea. Generally the BBC is the world's top quality broadcaster and I think the licence fee is VFM.

[sp1814]

Rebelsouls...I mean this in the kindest way possible.

I've noticed that the majority of your posts are about the BBC. It comes across as an obsession, and because not many people share your passion to the same extent, it'll become more and more difficult for AB'ers to respond because we'd all get 'BBCed out'.

There are only so many angles you can attack the corporation from, and I think you may have exhausted them....for now.

[RebelSouls]

It is a news item from the Guardian some people on here like to post about black people or gay or muslims do i ever go and *** them off. NO SIR

[sp1814]

Not s lagging you off at all...it's just a difficult subject to really get people piqued about.

[Gromit]

The licence fee is a tax. We already collect tax in several ways, there isn't really a justification for collecting the tv tax separately. The money the BBC receives (and the money for the upkeep and running of the transmitting stations) should be allocated from income tax. It should be a guaranteed sum, and increases should be recommended by a independent panel.

A subscription is a stupid way to run a Public Service Broadcaster.

[AlBags]

Find another way in taxation to pay for TV.
TV Licensing needs to be abolished in my opinion. That will save a few millions in stupid mail hassle, etc.

[rojash]

"Bet some of the lefties spit their yogurt all over their keyboards when they read the Guardian today "
Why would you bet that?
The Adam Smith Institute is a right-wing monetarist think tank, which believes in lower taxation, so their opinion hardly comes as a surprise.

[joggerjayne]

whats wrong with the guardian ??

[birdie1971]

God forbid that the BBC should become commercial. I mean that most sincerely. I know the BBC has been accused of dumbing down its output and I sometimes think that some of the shows they air are poor to say the least. But it has to be said that the BBC's output, taken as a whole, is head and shoulders above anything that the commercial channels have to offer.

I honestly think that £145.50 (or £12.13 a month, or 40 pence per day) is a tiny price to pay for mostly quality television. Yes, we can all find BBC programmes that we personally don't like – that's to be expected. But if you look at the variety and quality of the BBC's output (which includes television, radio and their impressive website) I think most people will conclude that it's pretty impressive.

We could scrap the licence fee and let the BBC earn it's money from the private sector (or from the suggested subcription service) but don't be surprised if the number of channels decreases, radio stations close and their output becomes derivative and moronic much like ITV's output.

Be careful what you wish for.

[LegalOccupier]

birdie the thing is i can pick which paper i buy and read with the tv licence i have no choice i have to pay for something that i may not want to watch. When you quote the prices per year please check your facts, for a person on a low income or on benefit who wants to pay weekly he has to pay double so that person would pay £291 a year or £5+ a week.For a person on benefit of £68 a week £5+ is a nice chunk.Same goes for a person who wants to pay by direct debit quarterly there is an extra charge.
The sooner they scrap the licence fee the better.Let them do the same as sky if it is so good you have nothing to worry about.

[sandyRoe]

Murdock looking his reward for supporting the Tories?

[factor-fiction]

Any funding should come from general taxation in my view rather than from the licence because it's more efficient to collect and the current system rewards the dishonest who dodge the licence (including someone on here who boasted recently about dodging it).
I recall that you don't pay for the licence do you, RebelSouls? If it were added to taxation (income tax or VAT) it would mean you'd have to start paying something. Would you prefer that?

[LegalOccupier]

factor name names who said they dodged the fee

[factor-fiction]

Legal Occupier- someone in thsi thread said he's not
http://www.theanswerb...2.html#answer-5037572

The poster said "I Didn't have a TV licence, when I bought my last TV, I gave my mates address as he already had a licence. I've never had anything from the TV people....that was 7 years ago, its nonsense, they don't know WHO you are and WHERE you are lol "

I'm not clear whether RebelSouls has a licence or not. In this thread:
http://www.theanswerb...s/Question921785.html
he says "Factor i have more than 10 years licence slips form past years. Now i have seen the light should i not have a view on the waste of the parasites. Do you only comment on the things you pay for ? ". Of course this may mean he's not got a TV and that's why he doesn't pay

[LegalOccupier]

Thank you i shall have a read of these

[Haggisdj]

If the funding came from the Government of the day do you think that they would want some input into the types of program or content of the news broadcasts?

[Coobeastie]

legaloccupier the lowest paypoint payment is £5.60 a week but it just refers to letting you spread the cost of the fee...the payments are made over 26 weeks which comes to £145.60 not £291.00

http://www.tvlicensin...ay7&iqdocumentid=pay7

[LegalOccupier]

Coobeastie

* Weekly payments: you pay for your first licence in 26 weekly payments. After this, you can move to fortnightly payments
* Monthly payments: you pay for your first TV Licence monthly over six months. After this you begin to pay for your next licence over 12 months, so your payments will be smaller.

So in 6 months you pay for 1 licence then you start again so in fact you pay for One and a half licences in your first 12 months and in real life if you miss a payment they come banging on your door and you are threatened with going to court and a £1000 fine.
In real life they make you keep paying or they do up here. I know a women who is waiting for a court date of these nice people. She missed some payments when they came they wanted the full licence fee ( not part) there and then. She offered her weekly payments which they refused she was unable to pay more because the DWP had not made a payment to her in over 4 months.
If you give them your bank details there are people who have had the full payment taken out ( by accident ) instead of fortnightly payments.You would have to have had dealings with these unscrupulous people to know how they operate.They are the lowest form of human life on this planet.

[Coobeastie]

Is the ownership of a tv now considered a basic human right?

Defaulting on a payment plan that you've agreed to abide by usually means that you forego the benefit of continuing on the plan. The trick is to get in touch the minute you know you're going to have trouble paying to come to some other arrangement. Defaulting on payments and then trying to ask for clemency at the point where they've come to your door is not the way to go about it.

"If you give them your bank details there are people who have had the full payment taken out ( by accident ) instead of fortnightly payments.You would have to have had dealings with these unscrupulous people to know how they operate.They are the lowest form of human life on this planet"

I've had a licence for years, so has everbody I know...never had any problems, never had the full amount taken in one hit when not requested. Are you suggesting that they do this on purpose as part of some fiendish plan...if so surely it would work better doing it to people who wouldn't miss the money going out.

[LegalOccupier]

Coobeastie do you agree that they pay for at the very least one and a half licence fees ?
As for them taking payments they do seem to make a lot of mistakes with the people having trouble paying.If all the people you know never have a problem paying you would never come across this situation would you.