comments on guardian article - Green Party Promises 10% cut in fares

Here are two of my fave comments from below the article

    Private companies should be allowed to charge what they like. Although if you want the costs reduced how about jailing the RMT and Aslef thugs that work on these things, automating the lot and outsourcing the few remaining customer service roles. That would save more money and would protect the middle class from shaven haired union economic terrorists.
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    Goddammit Green Party!
    Don't you know there are people who are trying to paint you as woolly-headed, tree-hugging, idealistic radicals? You aren't making it easy for them with all these sensible, progressive policy ideas supported by a majority of the British population, you really aren't.
    Can't you just announce a policy mandating lentil stew for every meal? Then we can all go back to our cosy preconceptions.
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    I'm a taxpayer and I also use public transport. Its about time that this separation between the two was no longer implied. It suggests that those of us who use public transport don't pay taxes. That is utter bunkum and its disgusting.

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    My comment: Gosh, this is supposed to be fun. Isn't King's Cross square such a lovely new environment for campaigning? I organised this Monday happening and didn't have to liaise with the pigs once! Lots of passers by told us they vote green and it's about time someone re-nationalised the railways. We came together with socialists, all types of media characters, commuters, cleaners, Transport Salaried Staff Association, RMT members, East Coast staff, Climate Change campaigners, Bring Back British Rail (please sign the petition), MPs, one party leader, volunteers new and old. Thanks everyone who supported. 
    Thanks critics for opening an interesting discussion.
    The scandal is not the Greens having a "money fairy" and we are quite the opposite of "authoritarians". In 2010 Channel 4 were about to run a documentary exposing the Green's budget as fiscally illiterate. They went through it with a fine tooth comb and decided not to run because the boring truth is that the Greens have the best manifesto. This ties in with cynicism of politics that commenters like Leekliberal are quite happy to attack the Greens behind the anonymity of the internet whilst proposing an unrealistic 50% or 100% cut and targeting a small number of tactical voters. Tactical voting leads to situations where unpopular parties can get away with going against, in this case, 60-80% of the public's opinion that public transport for the common good is essential to this country and deserves all levels of support - including from us Greens. You can see a photo of Monday's protest at Kings Cross on the London Green Party's facebook page.

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