[jambutty]

Originally Posted by Tealeaf

Absoloute nonsense - another crackpot idea from Jambutty, backed up as usual with no thought whatsoever by Spuggie.

Here we have an organisation which works very well at no cost to the taxpayer. Should the government take over the role of the RNLI, then several things will happen. Firstly, we all pick up the cost, irrespective of usage (currently, a significant amount of funding is raised in the port and coastal towns; secondly, the voluntary ethic will erode and you will find that within a few years, lifeboatmen will be full time and on the payroll, thus increasing the cost further; thirdly, government in it's usual cackhanded way will want control from the centre, with a politician at the top; imagine the chaos that will cause - especially when spending cuts are called for and lifeboat stations have to shut. Finally, the health and safety mob will soon take over - it won't be long before rulings deem when it is too dangerous to go launch lifeboats.

This is the daftest idea of 2007 so far.

It takes a crackpot to recognise a crackpot idea.