To get fed up with people with people like Jamie Oliver trying to coerce poor people via taxation.

[Booyaka]

I absolutely loathe Jamie Oliver anyway, but this crusade of his over sugar is driving me mad. I think something possibly needs to be done about sugar, but I don't think this is the way to do it. He did make a suggestion about prominently labelling total number of teaspoons of sugar in a product, which seemed quite sensible. But mainly he was pushing the tax angle.

Jamie Oliver's entire schtick seems to be that poor people can't be trusted to make the right decisions so they should instead be priced out to force them to make the decisions that he and his ilk believe that they should be making.

It bloody annoys me that they seem to think if you are wealthy and can afford them anyway you can be trusted to make the right decision anyway, but if you're poor you need to be coerced, and that coercion, of something as basic as what you eat and drink, is fine as long as you are poor. He did very much concentrate on handwringing about 'the deprived' too and how this tax would seemingly save them from themselves.

Apparently 1/3 of the products he sell in his restaurants are high sugar anyway, but he probably doesn't mind that, because he prices his tat so highly only middle class people can afford it and they're sensible enough to be trusted with sugar unlike the proles.

He probably doesn't realise, but a lot of people can't afford to take their kids to Tuscany or the Caribbean, Cornwall or even Skeg-bloody-ness. They can't buy their kids a lot of toys or give them days out. Is it really fair to give these people a financial kicking for giving their kids one of the few treats they can afford? Especially when many of them do so sensibly and in moderation.

of course social housing repairs should be done quickly. I suspect, however, that this may have to do with the trades shortage we have. We (home owner) also have trouble getting in trades people, probably because they are flooded with work.

But I still don't get what that has to do with JO.

red strawberry the lack of cooking facilities in poor housing contributes to the problems. Its not just lack of/slow/no repairs. Many ppl are living in hostels with no proper cooking facilities. These contribute to the problems JO claims to be interested in.

Upthread someone mentioned on here that Channel 4 had to magic up some ingredients for one of their programmes. That alone showed the unrealistic viewpoint the programme makers had and that the need to preach and patronise was so strong they probably hoped no one would notice or that it would get glossed over.

I would have loved to have seen them magic up a full functioning kitchen in a hostel or in a house that didnt have one where the sockets had been removed.

the lack of cooking facilities in poor housing contributes to the problems. Its not just lack of/slow/no repairs. Many ppl are living in hostels with no proper cooking facilities. These contribute to the problems JO claims to be interested in.

right. He isn't Jesus. Why are we expecting him to solve all problems? That's a different problem for which he has not offered a solution. That's not a crime, and an odd reason to criticize him.

Im not expecting him to solve that problem Im expecting him to stop criticizing and patronising the people who are having to live it.

Fair enough, if he said people without kitchens should cook at home while they have no kitchens.

Helena, I think even you must realise that you're grasping at straws here. No one expects people who don't have kitchens to cook.

Of course there are some people who can't afford slow cookers, but they cost about £15 and are an economical way of preparing cheap, wholesome food. I can't see how this fits in the narrative of JO being so elitist and out of touch.

I'm not expecting him to solve all problems.

But I do expect him not to be so deluded as to think that he has the answer to what I think is a much more complex problem than he seems to comprehend. GIven that there are so many surrounding issues, I don't think he should be suggesting the answer is as easy as treating the sugar companies (which he now doesn't work for any more) should be treated like 'one of my kids when it's a bit lairy'. He's regularly shown a fair amount of contempt for the poor - though he likes the picturesque poor in other countries, as long as they eat fresh sardines.

Perhaps it's not us who need reminding that JO isn't Jesus, but him?

We don't have a trade shortage and haven't for years.

I think that is just one factor, certainly not the only one. Personally I'd like to see more PE and swimming at school, fewer fast food places given planning permission, reduction of sugar in processed foods such as baked beans and tomato ketchup, things like that. You can't just do one thing to solve such a complex problem. I think you have to hit it from all directions.

We don't have a trade shortage and haven't for years.

What are you on about? Major trade shortage in the UK.

Great post Seek. Totally agree.

But a shortage of skilled tradesmen probably doesn't fit into this particular narrative, either.

www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/21/number-of-londons-working-poor-surges-70-in-10-years?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Well Sarah there was a time the employer would train ppl while on the job.

Now employers expect them to come to them already trained.

Now employers expect them to come to them already trained.

Quite right, Helena. How can we possibly expect an adult to organise their own training or buy a slow cooker or learn how to cook? It's all hopeless and it's no one's fault.

How can anb adult organise their own training if an employer isnt willing to train them.

Thats like saying a parent should organise their kids schooling in a school with no teachers

My DH organised his own apprenticeship in 1966 when he left school He has just made the same comment i have.....that he wouldnt have had that apprenticeship without an employer willing to train him on the job.

But seek, it's not like the sugar tax is the first and only thing he's come out in support of. He is promoting tackling it from other angles as well. This is just the one in the news at the moment.

How can an adult organise their own training if an employer isn't willing to train them.

It's impossible.

blogs.wsj.com/economics/2014/08/18/blame-employers-not-workers-for-any-skills-gap-economist-says/

Helena there is far more support for vocational training in the UK than the US.

From That Twitter today

I agree feta - i can see this - i work in a hospital .

From the Popbitch mailout:

TV chef Jamie Oliver spoke to a parliamentary committee this week about his campaign for a sugar tax.

They should take his advice. If anyone knows how to skim a bit of cash off the back of sugar it's him. His 2013 TV series was sponsored by Uncle Ben's – a brand that belongs to Mars Inc, the food giant most famous for Mars, Snickers, Bounty, Skittles, M&Ms...

Hmm. Now what was it I was saying about targeting the consumer so he didn't jeopardize lucrative endorsement deals with the producers?

OP, I think he's fond of money (aren't we all?) as well as being arrogant and thick.

Perhaps he should take his foot out of both camps then, if he really wants to be taken seriously. Does he really need sponsors? Shouldn't his work be good enough to stand on it's own?