Sedan chairs could provide the financially elite with the ideal urban travel solution

However, this is not always the best policy. For example, when I was a child I suffered from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, back then, almost nothing was known about this condition so I wasn't diagnosed. My younger cousins, on the other hand, who also suffer from ADHD, are treated with Ritalin which calms them down. However, this drug has some very nasty side effects and it also wears off after a few hours, which means they can become very badly behaved by bedtime. My parents, of course, had no way of knowing I was suffering from ADHD when I was a youngster - they just thought I was a very naughty boy. So, instead of receiving the sympathy and drugs that my cousins get, I got the buckle-end of my fathers' belt on my bare behind. It wasn't a very scientific remedy for ADHD, that's true, but it was certainly an effective cure for my boisterous behaviour. You know, it's so often the case that the old-fashioned remedies are the best and this same principle applies to the urban transport needs of the posh and I disagree with my opponent that sedan chairs would be unsuitable for city streets. You see, this is exactly what they were designed for and which is why they are narrow. Sedan chairs carve their way through the hoards of peasants with the lead footman politely shouting: "Get out the way you miserable little ticks – there's a highly posh personage coming through. " And those pedestrians who fail to comply with the footmen's instructions are simply knocked over and trampled underfoot. Now I know to some people would consider this is unfair on decent, ordinary people going about their lawful business but you have to understand that in capitalist countries the rich are always trampling the poor underfoot, metaphorically speaking anyway. For example, over half of President Bush's 2004 tax cuts went the wealthiest 10% of Americans and were worth an average of $7.661 to each of them. (1) Moreover, while the rich were spending their tax windfalls, the Bush administration was making savage cutbacks in vital public services used by low- and middle-income families. (2) More recently, capitalist governments around the world lavished trillions of taxpayers' dollars on greedy, corrupt and incompetent investment bankers tthus enabling them to pay themselves multi-billion dollar bonuses as a reward for causing the massive economic crash that cost the jobs of millions of ordinary people. Of course, the aforementioned political support of the wealthy to the detriment of everybody else is not fair but since electorates continue to support political parties that which promote such socially inequitable policies, they surely would not object to standing to one side to let an over-privileged posh person in a palatial palanquin get past. I do, however, accept my opponent's argument that sedan chairs would be unsuitable for those wishing to travel long distances – I would imagine changing lanes on a busy highway in a sedan chair travelling at four miles an hour would be a decidedly unnerving experience! They would also be rather cramped and heavy to lift if occupied by more than one person, especially if the occupants were fat. For these journeys I would recommend the posh use their Lamborghinis or Range Rovers instead. Now, regarding the use of the Popemobile instead of a sedan chair: the pontiff had to start using a bullet-proof vehicle when it became apparent how many Catholic priests are kiddy-fiddlers – most people don't like paedophiles very much and would naturally want to attack the Pope for covering the scandal up for so long and also for allowing so many children to abused in the first place. For most rich people though, the presence of two burly footmen should be enough to deter any jealous peasants from attacking them in their sedan chairs. In conclusion, although my opponent has made some useful observations, for moneyed city-dwellers, the sedan chair must surely become their conveyance of choice. Thank you. (1) . http://www.factcheck.org... (2) . http://www.bushbudget.com... (3) . http://www.reuters.com...