Josem

I'm not familiar with the authorisation process, but the road closure order is here: https://one.network/?tmi=GB22237579 and https://one.network/?tm=GB127774360

It isn't possible to get around it. After it was listed, there was a planning application submitted (and approved!) to redevelop the building, keeping the shell there. But the building is in such a state, that when they brought in the appropriate folks to implement that approved application, they realised that it wasn't safe to do so. Hence, the later application to demolish (which has been rejected by the Govt). The building can't be knocked down, because of the heritage protection. The building can't be used without knocking it down, because of the safety risks. If anyone thinks they have an idea on what they can do, the property is available through Cowley Groves.

Here's actual data on the issue as it relates to the Isle of Man: https://taxpayersalliance.im/isle-of-man-benefits-over-time/ In short, for the period from 2016 to 2021, there was a big increase in people receiving Disability Living Allowance, and a big reduction in number of pensioners receiving Income Support payment.

I think the thing that aggravates the various keyboard warriors is that while they wiffle waffle and talk, I take action. None of their abuse has any substance or meaning. Not long after I arrived on the island, I was the target of homophobic abuse. Then - as demonstrated in this thread and elsewhere - I was falsely accused in the reverse direction. It's just noise from angry little men. The worst lot are the preening politicians in Tynwald: They spout self-aggrandising crap in Tynwald and on social media about caring for refugees, but as far as I can tell, not a single member of Tynwald took a single refugee into their home (not even the members who own multiple properties!). Virtue signaling is when people talk about stuff but don't actually do anything about it - the clowns who talk about poverty, but have never created a business, never created a job, never even done relatively easy stuff like volunteering for the food bank. Others post on social media about how "we" should take in refugees, but don't actually provide a space for refugees to live when the opportunity arises. Others talk about how "we" should do more to care for the homeless but don't try to provide housing or even do simple things like volunteer for homeless charities. It is revealing that when they talk about "we" helping people in need, they never seem to include themselves in taking action.

I am not selling a bed; I am giving it away. Next time I share something on social media, I will give all due consideration to the stylistic preferences of ManxForums users.

I distributed the press release that sparked the latest round of reporting, I don't know what else you would expect to be done here.

No: the appeal was heard by Sarah Maltby MHK who made the final decision on behalf of the Minister for DEFA: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpwgx1991ego

I was hosting a refugee in my apartment through 2022-2023. He has now moved to London. Thus, I no longer needed the bed frame and mattress he was sleeping on. Consequently, I wanted to give the bed frame and mattress away. To do that, I posted a picture of it on the various Facebook buy/sell pages. Depending on where you're from, the size of the bed frame and mattress is commonly described as either a "King-sized single" or "Euro single".

Writing an article about the GDP of the 2021/22 being "up" 10.3% compared to the previous year, without even mentioning that the "previous year" was the COVID year of multiple lockdowns, is absurd. 2020/21 is such a big outlier in modern economic history that it is absurd to make comparisons to it without highlighting the fact. A more reasonable benchmark would be the 2019/20 year, immediately prior to the major COVID impacts. Every time that people write about the 2020/21 financial year, it should come with a giant asterisk: "THERE WAS COVID LOCKDOWNS HERE."

Strongly concur. More frequent reminders that politicians are our representatives, not our rules, would be good.

That's obviously false - I'm glad to have contributed many positive proposals that would have been useful and offset many of the problems that the Government is now facing. I've published almost 800 articles on my own website with literally hundreds of positive proposals contained therein. For example, while the Government increases taxes on working families, for the last two years I advocated removing the 10% tax bracket in its entirety. See here (2022) and here (2023). You could do this by moving the 20% bracket to be marginally lower than it currently is, such that high earners continue paying the same tax rate, but low earners get a tax cut. The cost of this was under £3m in the 2018-19 tax year, which is roughly what the Government spends on heritage railways. The benefit of abolishing the 10% tax bracket would be the lowest-paid workers would essentially receive a 100% income tax cut, encouraging more people to get into the workforce, earn more money, get out of welfare, and reduce inflation by increasing labour supply by Manx workers. By encouraging people to get into work, we might also save some money on welfare spending (because they wouldn't need it! good!) and that would further reduce the cost of such an improvement to our tax system. Similarly, the people of Braddan sure would have benefited if the Government had introduced my proposal to "Cap all local government rates, charges and taxes at inflation, subject to a local vote". It is - of course - reasonable for people to disagree with my positive proposals to improve our community. But to say that I don't have such ideas? Absurd.

Especially since the minimum wage is £10.75.

The "higher" income tax rate takes effect from £21,000, which is almost exactly equal to the full-time minimum wage. Further, the minimum wage is likely to increase soon, pushing more of such people to paying more of the higher tax rate. Further, because the tax free and "standard rate" allowances remain stuck at the same low level for two years of very high inflation, workers on the minimum wage are suffering the most from this tax bracket creep.

It used to be normal - before 2013 - for many more than 250 homes a year to be built in the Isle of Man. From 2005 to 2012, there were more than 250 homes completed in the Isle of Man every calendar year except 2011. Since 2013*, there has never been 250 homes completed in the Isle of Man in a calendar year. The data with underlying sources is published here: https://taxpayersalliance.im/new-data-reveals-collapse-in-manx-housing-construction/ This is what makes me so angry about the false claims that there's a lot of house building on the Isle of Man. There isn't! It's even more extraordinary when the Government has agreed to try to slam in an extra 20% people into our island (equal to putting in two extra Ramseys) when there aren't even enough homes being built for current families and residents. *I don't yet have data for 2022 or 2023, but I'd be very confident that there hasn't been a return to the home building halcyon days of 2005 or 2009.

But the Government support for the establishment of the club was essentially zero?