Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 08/10/2026Can confirm! Do you have any convincing explanation? 000
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 23/09/2026That pattern of immigration started in the late 90s (almost 30 years ago now!), and is probably responsible for most of the current 15 year old "2nd generation" as well. 100
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 19/09/2026The only reason he is able to avoid CGT on gains made (but not realised) in the UK by moving abroad is that there is a giant loophole in the tax code - just like for lifetime gifts with respect to IHT. Why can't Labour with its huge majority close these gaps? 052
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 12/08/2026Saw this projection of the eclipse on a bin. Coincidence? I think not... 000
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 04/08/2026You can make noai.duckduckgo.com your default search engine in most browsers too... Either get the noai extension (Firefox and Chrome) or set it as a custom search engine.noai.duckduckgo.comDuckDuckGo No-AI: Private Search Without AIDuckDuckGo private search with all AI features turned off. The classic results you expect. Always private. 131
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 04/08/2026314k 18-24 year olds is about 6% of that age group. Some may be taking a "gap year", some may be trying to start a business or working in the parent's business. Some may be applying for jobs without claiming benefits, some may care for family members, some may have had a child Many possibilities 000
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 16/07/2026Maybe it's not as simple as supporting or opposing "net zero" Heat pumps, solar, wind, battery, EVs - are all great technologies with many benefits, including a reduced reliance on oil imports Carbon capture and similar are expensive with unclear benefit 000
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 08/07/2026Becker was the youngest and first unseeded winner - I don't think he was a qualifier... He was ranked 20 in the world at the time 000
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 29/06/2026I think the first question is whether the regeneration funding actually "worked" in the first place. I haven't been to Hartlepool in a long time - has the town center got a whole lot nicer? Do more people use the town center and is there more economic activity? 000
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 27/06/2026It's all cyclical - give it two or three years and a crash, and there will be a massive oversupply. Everything will be dirt cheap, from compute to memory, from electricity to components, and chip makers will ask for bail outs This is not the first time... 000
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 18/06/2026A genuine surprise to me was that the Conservative party prioritised growth by hugely *increasing* non-EU immigration to make up for the loss of EU workers I would never have guessed that the one (implicit) promise kept would be easing of immigration rules for Commonwealth countries ... 000
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 15/06/2026Sometimes companies surprise you with amazing service... I broke one of the feet of my keyboard, and www.cherry.de/de-de sent me a replacement part straight away - I offered to pay for shipping at least, but they just sent it... Thank you!cherry.deCHERRY | Willkommen in der Welt von CHERRY - CherryEntdecken Sie die größte Auswahl an CHERRY Produkten: Mechanische Schalter ✓ Gaming ✓ Office & Home Office ✓ Industrial ✓ Cybersecurity ✓ Healthcare Solutions ✓ Original CHERRY hier! 020
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 12/06/2026As someone who also did very well in exams, I completely agree - both with the building skills and the focus on a positive experience. Having 12+ years of your life set aside to learn and develop is an incredible privilege, yet for many it's turned into the worst kind of drudgery! 010
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 12/06/2026I'm not sure "as usual" is particularly accurate. The last time Labour was elected, they were in power for 13 years... But for this particular instance, I agree, it's crazy! Get on with the job, run the country better, and if they want a new leader, do it right before the next election 000
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 26/05/2026There are some ways to make it easier including a subdomain noai.duckduckgo.com and extensions for Firefox and Chrome that default to the noai search - this is the Firefox one: addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefo...addons.mozilla.orgDuckDuckGo No-AI Search – Get this Extension for 🦊 Firefox (en-US)Download DuckDuckGo No-AI Search for Firefox. Search privately by default, without AI features. 1130
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 26/05/2026Absolutely. Much better for him to take one of the big offices of state and prove that he can make a difference. If he is still more popular than Starmer after a year or two in the limelight, then there is plenty of time to switch before the next election. 200
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 23/05/2026Try using noai.duckduckgo.com - that should always have all ai features disabled... 120
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 15/12/2025No need to accuse me of "hanging out with Nazis" - do you "hang out with Nazis" by using Bluesky? Or are you confident there are no Nazis using it anywhere? I'll check out ghost, but at first glance it looks like a CMS rather than a public forum? 100
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 15/12/2025Do you know any place online that is entirely civil? I do not... The substacks I follow and their comment sections are usually a model of sanity when compared to other spaces I know online. If you have better recommendations, please let me know! 100
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 14/12/2025Substack is about as civilised a place as you can find online, and most discussions are entirely civil - presumably that's why they tried it But as soon as any politicians show their face, people seem to think it's ok to behave like absolute idiots... 200
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 14/12/2025Much as I would like politicians to have more open dialogue, I understand why they don't Whatever they say, it will be met with vile insults and abuse - mostly saying they do *too much* for the vulnerable Starmer recently posted on Substack, and the comments were horrifying, and then disabled... 300
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 13/12/2025It's not even true that more Poles are leaving now than before - people using FOM have always been coming and going. The difference now is that *none are coming* anymore... Because we "took back control" to stop them. 020
Reposted by Robin SchlinkertDuckDuckGo @duckduckgo.com · 03/12/2025Duck Tales 🎬 A behind-the-scenes look at DuckDuckGo Ep.11: "I love cookie pop-ups..." said no one, ever. How we're making sites less annoying + more private, with cookie pop-up protection. Full episode: insideduckduckgo.substack.com/p/duck-tales... | 'Inside DuckDuckGo' on Spotify 042
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 28/11/2025I don't know that there is a "right", everything is a trade-off.. But economically, property taxes are *less* distorting than most other taxes, and they are relatively easy to collect. I think the UK under-uses them, *especially* for high value properties (the tax on low value properties is high) 010
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 28/11/2025Exactly, increase tax on property and you can reduce other taxes, in particular on income. 110
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 27/11/2025And a *tiny* tax on mansions at that. It will take the council tax for a £2 million London home from around £2,000 to £4,500 - or ~0.22 % of its value. For comparison, at Texas property tax rates, it would pay 1.8%, or £36,000(!!), in NYC it would be 1.7%, or £34,000 141
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 27/11/2025Or invest £8,000 into a much better performing find in a stocks and shares ISA ... People's reaction to these things are just weird. 1120
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 27/11/2025How many people could possibly pay more than £12,000 into a cash ISA per year??? For a couple that's £24,000. If my intuition isn't completely off track, it must be a tiny minority that has that much spare income *and* wants to invest all of it in cash. 150
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 17/11/2025The article claims profit margins of 20%... which is a lot, but I still don't understand how you can spend £250k per child, unless they are severely disabled and need 24h 1:1 care as well as specialised facilities 000
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 17/11/2025I saw recently that the average cost for a child in residential care is >£300k pa - that's a quite extraordinary amount of money. Are these primarily children with disabilities and very high needs, or how else do these kinds of sums arise? 100
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 14/11/2025You "need" an exit tax if you have a capital gains tax - which the UK does. Currently, if you sell a business (or shares), you pay 24% on the profit you make Alternatively, you move to Dubai, and then sell it, then you pay no tax at all That's what the "exit tax" addresses 000
Reposted by Robin SchlinkertGabriel Weinberg @yegg13.bsky.social · 08/11/2025🆕✍️ Introducing Duck Tales: New audio/video interview series taking you inside DuckDuckGo gabrielweinberg.com/p/introducin...gabrielweinberg.comIntroducing Duck TalesNew audio/video interview series taking you inside DuckDuckGo 052
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 10/11/2025After more than 20 years in the UK, I still cannot tell you precisely, but "not poor" is neither necessary nor sufficient to be considered "middle class"... Some 50+% consider themselves "working class", including any number in professional or managerial jobs, it's at least partially hereditary ... 010
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 02/10/2025Though this is obviously *not* a quick fix, but a very large system built up over many years... 000
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 01/10/2025For a useful benchmark, the Germans call it "Berufsausbildung" these days, and it's very widely used (comparable to university entry) The completion rates are around 85% (much better than German universities!!!), and there is a wide mix of jobs 161
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 17/09/2025Compared to other countries, it seems like the UK could raise substantially more from: - annual property taxes, in particular on mid to higher value homes - income taxes by substantially reducing pension tax relief - VAT by removing many exemptions (would also hit low earners) 100
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 01/02/2025The most frustrating thing in this saga is that "stay in the single market" (eg via EFTA) would have been a perfectly fine solution for many people on both sides And yet, even now with labour in charge, it's not even on the table 010
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 18/01/2025Is there any decent replacement for the "personal connection"-network? Seems like a pretty fundamental need.. 010
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 11/01/2025Yes, sorry if I didn't explain it clearly! That's exactly the point, a single, transparent income account per tax-resident What the person does with the money once taxes and pensions contributions are deducted would of course be entirely up to them 010
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 11/01/2025Unfortunately many "philanthropists" make donations where they are least needed Compare the average state school trying to raise £100s in a bake sale with the regular £millions of donations to Eton, Winchester and the like To me, this always seems the weirdest kind of "charitable" giving! 030
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 11/01/2025So in practice, the *only* function of payroll would be to pay the gross salary into a designated "income account" Everything else is then administered by the bank, and decided by the individual (eg how much is allocated to pensions, which provider, whether it includes some insurance, etc) 010
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 11/01/2025The UK has a strange parallel system - I was really thinking about the "private" part (ie stakeholder and other group pensions arrangements, which are picked by the employer). 010
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 11/01/2025I'm not proposing any specific shape of the pension system But placing that decision on *employers* is a poor design, especially for the many small and micro employers Banks are much better placed both to collect taxes and to administer payments to pension providers (chosen by the individual) 210
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 10/01/2025That's also true for UK (private) pensions. But due to how they are managed, many people end up with multiple small funds. Also, employees of small companies often get worse conditions than those of large companies who can negotiate with providers. 010
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 10/01/2025Glad to hear it works! (assuming it does) The whole concept of "employer provided benefits" is past its sell-by-date in a world where fewer employees stay with one firm throughout their lives And it would be a huge boost to small employers if they didn't have to deal with pensions etc 010
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 10/01/2025An actual huge simplification would be to move all payroll related taxation and benefits away from the employer and on to banks Everyone has one "income account", and taxes, pensions etc would be deducted there Changing employer? Multiple employers? Self employed? Easier for employee and employer 120
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 10/01/2025The system is sufficiently simple that the doctor can just do it in ~30 secs at the end of the consultation. No additional costs for billing / collections / administrative staff, etc. All "typical" procedures have a standard code and price. 000
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 10/01/2025Insurers (often mutuals) work well in many parts of the world. With fixed prices for most procedures, it can be a quick and efficient system. Example from Belgium. I visit my primary care physician for a brief consultation (10 minutes): They charge: ~$30 Mutual pays directly: ~$24 I pay: ~$6 110
Robin Schlinkert @robinschlinkert.bsky.social · 05/01/2025Much lower barrier to entry (as you observed, it looks like an amazing offer) And there is the psychological lock-in of "if I cancel and then rejoin, I have lost this deal, maybe I will use it in the summer" 020
