cchris

It's election year and the same old line has been pushed by a journalist.

"Prime Minister" how much does a loaf of bread cost?

Um...Aahh about 90 cents.

Journalist gets a headline and it's an out of touch leader on the front page of the paper.(Bread here costs about $3).

My question,quite seriously,is should the Prime minister or President of a nation know this stuff or are the important matters that pertain to the running of the Country too demanding to notice?

It is a bad example if I were to use the American President but our bloke here is a knobhead who prides himself on mixing it with the common folk and taking advantage of just dropping into a Pub to have a beer with the locals.He can afford to too due to the relative safety that is Australia.(Can you imagine the uproar from the average Yankie taxpayer? "Hey George,it's your shout". "No worries", I'll have 83 Buds thanks.)

Our guy goes in and orders 3 VB's and a diet coke.

Australia,the lucky country.

Taxpayers laugh,yet rejoice.

Is that the difference between the nations and the responsibilities involved?

Anyway,I don't visit the politics part of the board and I am in no way trying to invoke anything other than an odd question that I feel in my particular part of the world is relevant.

Oddly enough he knows how much a beer costs cause he got that one right,but bread and butter is different?

Harshaw

Honestly, I don't think I could quote the price of a loaf of bread. I buy a loaf every week, but for the life of me I couldn't say. It's like asking me how many stairs between my living room and my bed room. I don't think it's that importiant in the grand scheme of things. Knowing other world leaders would be nice, but I could care less if someone knows the price of a loaf of wonder bread.


edit: I could<b>n't</b> say... I really couldn't

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Aletheia

I don't think knowing the price of bread is very important. Around here you can find cheap bread for 50 cents.

Speed_Gibson

I only buy the Cascade Pride loafs for $.98 apiece at the local Winco.

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Hrothgar

Even if i bought bread everyday i might not remember since in the daily machinations of my life the price of bread is an insignificant matter.

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Aletheia

Wubco rules. The GF and I shop there whenever we don't have much cash to spend.

phredgreen

yeah... so back to the topic now.

i feel it's important to feel that your leaders are in touch with the people, it gives you a sense that the people who make desicions that affect your everyday lives are people who know exactly how those desicions will actually affect you.

that being said, i'll agree with others that there are some things more important that the price of bread, but i know that's simply an example to get a head-scratcher. i'd ask a leader questions more along the lines of the price of healthcare and how the average person working a low-paying job is supposed to afford it. questions that will give you answers that really allow you to gague that leader's insight into how the other half lives.

i would want people asking questions of substance, because i feel that knowledge of the price of a loaf of bread is about as telling as the price of tea in china.

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Cynthetiq

what if he/she is gluten intolerant?

or doesn't ever make sandwhiches or toast?

or happens to like bagels or rice instead of bread?

phred's on the right track.

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lurkette

All hail Phredgreen, font of wisdom!!!

These kind of questions are journalistic low comedy, imho. It's an easy target, and it takes an easy, shallow swipe at what is a complex and important problem: do our leaders have any fucking clue what we're going through? When the median income in the US for a family of 4 is $32K, knowing how much a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk costs is kind of a moot point. How much of that family's money is going to health care? Housing? Taxes? Food in general? Most of the people in office are fairly wealthy, and many of them have been in office for so long that they haven't lived a "normal" life in decades. I would trust someone to make policy decisions for me a lot more if I thought they had any idea what impact those decisions would have on average people, not just on some economic indicator, or on the bottom line of some special interest group.

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billege

I don't know what a loaf of bread costs; and I buy some every week.

That's a silly question designed to make someone appear out of touch.
Fact about bread is this: Unless you're buying some crazy kind of premium bread, you know you can afford it, so who cares what it costs?

When I look at bread, I wander down the isle looking for the kind I want (this time). Occasionally I see some flagged as on SALE, so maybe I look. But, I don't remember what it says, only long enough to maybe compare that price to another of the same type. Then I get the cheaper one. But I couldn't really care less. Bread I know I can afford.

A leader has to know his people's daily struggles to lead. The problems of a country are not seperate or above the people of said country.

Knowing that my HMO costs X dollars a week, and still doesn't seem to pay for shit. Yeah, that's a better question to ask the politico.

So the question to the politico is:
Do you have any idea what a family might pay for healthcare? Any idea what paying co-pays on top of that is like? Do you know that even though you pay the HMOs every check, you still end up arguing with them over what they do, and don't cover?

Unfortunately, questions that make good headlines are all media is out for. How stupid can I make this guy look?

For cyring out loud, I don't give a shit if the guy misspells "potato." I'd rather know if he can help explain/change why Ford spends more on healthcare costs per car it builds than STEEL. (that's true, last year healthcare costs (for its workforce)/vehicle rose higher than the cost of the steel to make the vehicle.)

Silly questions only create more apathy among the American public, because they DO see through them.

To wrangle that all back to the point:
Yup, I'd like the leader of my country to be in touch with my life.

I don't need a King, I need a civil servant.

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Fearless_Hyena

Maybe he's on the Atkins diet.