Am I the only person who finds the quote from the Cabinet Member for children's services, Cllr Rosalie Monbiot, regarding the cost to students of the increase enforced by Norfolk County on students the slightest bit insulting ?
Quoting directly from the EDP, she said "“That £83 increase is less than a pint of beer a week". Why do people instantly relate the cost to drink when they refer to students ? Yes, there is a stereotype of students drinking all the time, but can I remind the Conservatives who run County Hall that not all students are drinking beer all the time, many find it difficult to make ends meet and those most directly affected by this Tory cut will be 16 and 17 year olds, who should not be drinking anyway.
It's like putting up the price of school dinners for primary school children then telling kids its only the cost of a packet of cigarettes each week.
I know Norfolk County Council are facing severe financial problems (not enough though to prevent them increasing the budget for entertainment by several tens of thousands of pounds per year), and they have difficult decisions to make. However, they should show more sense in the language they use to justify their actions and they should think more about how the language they use might enflame passions and/or pander to stereotypes that are not always true.
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